Margaret Robison Kantlehner, an associate professor of law, has had an article published in the ABA Preview of United States Supreme Court cases about the pending Supreme Court Case, Carcieri et al. v. Kempthorne et al., which deals with whether the Indian Reorganization Act authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to take land into trust on behalf of an Indian tribe that was neither federally recognized nor under federal jurisdiction at the time of the statute’s enactment in 1934.
Petitioner Donald L. Carcieri, governor of Rhode Island, sued respondent Dirk Kempthorne in his capacity as Secretary of the Interior to prevent him from taking title to land in Rhode Island in trust for the Narrangasett Indian Tribe. Also named in the suit was Franklin Keel in his capacity as Eastern Area Director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
Other plaintiffs included petitioners: State of Rhode Island, Providence Plantations, and the Town of Charlestown, Rhode Island.
The Supreme Court of the United States heard oral arguments on the decision on Monday, Nov. 3, 2008.
A ruling in the petitioner’s favor, holding that the Secretary of the Interior has no authority under the IRA of 1934 to take land in trust for the Narragansett Indian Tribe, will limit the ability of the Secretary to take title to the 31-acre parcel in trust for the tribe, thereby exempting it from state and local civil and criminal law and jurisdiction.
Ruling in favor of the petitioner would mean that land owned by the Tribe will continue to be subject to state and town jurisdiction and taxation. Many other actions of the Secretary, on behalf of dozens of Indian tribes federally recognized after 1934, may be challenged as a result of a ruling in favor of petitioner in this case.
To read the full article – “Can the Secretary of the Interior Take Land into Trust for a Rhode Island Indian Tribe Recognized in 1983?” – click on the attachment.