The U.S. Supreme Court began laying the groundwork for its upcoming term this week by accepting one Indian-related case and considering three Indian law cases.

The court's term officially starts on October 2. But the justices already held their opening conference on Monday.

The next day, the court granted a petition to review the federal Impact Aid program. The Education Department distributes Impact Aid to public schools located on or near reservations in order to offset the inability to tax Indian lands.

The program normally helps ensure that Indian students receive adequate funding. But two public school districts in New Mexico that educate Pueblo and Navajo children say they are being shortchanged $50 million a year.

The case, Zuni Public School District v. Department of Education, No. 05-1508, challenges the formula used to distribute Impact Aid. The school districts contend the government is failing to follow Congressional intent.

The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals deadlocked on the issue this past February by a 6-6 vote.The decision left the Impact Aid formula intact, prompting the school districts to seek further review.

The state of New Mexico and the Department of Justice urged the Supreme Court not to accept the case. According to government lawyers, only two states -- Kansas and Alaska -- are in the same position as New Mexico, so they argue the matter is not of national significance.

Two cases that are undoubtedly of national importance were also considered during the conference on Monday. They involve a challenge to the Interior Department's ability to take land into trust for tribes and individual Indians.

The states of South Dakota and Utah, backed by several more states, argue that Section 5 of the Indian Reorganization Act is unconstitutional. They say the provisions that authorize the land-into-trust process are an illegal delegation of power to Interior.

The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals and the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected that stance in two separate cases. The courts upheld land-into-trust decisions for the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe of South Dakota and the Shivwits Band of Paiute Indians in Utah.

A third court, the 1st Circuit, made a similar finding in favor of the Narragansett Tribe of Rhode Island but that case is not yet ready for Supreme Court review.

South Dakota attempted to bring the land-into-trust issue to the high court a decade ago. The Clinton administration averted review by changing the land-into-trust regulations to give state and local governments more say in the process.

The Bush administration is considering additional changes that would boost the role of state and local governments but the proposal was not raised in any of the briefs.

The cases are South Dakota v. Department of the Interior, No. 05-1428, and Utah v. Shivwits Band of Paiute Indians, No. 05-1160. The Supreme Court is expected to announce next week whether it will hear the cases.

In addition to the land-into-trust cases, the justices considered a tax dispute involving a member of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation of Connecticut. The state contends Jo-Ann Dark-Eyes failed to pay taxes for income she earned as a tribal official.

At issue is the legal status of Dark-Eyes' home. Her property is located within the boundaries of the reservation, as dictated by Congress, but since it wasn't taken into trust until 1988, the state says she owes taxes prior to that date.

The case is Dark-Eyes v. Conn. Commissioner of Revenue Services, No. 05-1464. An announcement on the case is expected next week as well.

A fourth case, Morris v. Tanner, No. 05-1285, was due to be considered on Monday but was pushed back to October 6. The same day, the court will consider Means v. Navajo Nation, No. 05-1614.

Both cases challenge the ability of tribes to prosecute members of other tribes. The Supreme Court has upheld tribal jurisdiction over "all Indians" but legal experts say constitutional questions remain, some of which are being raised in the petitions.

Zuni Public School District Documents:
Questions Presented | Petition | New Mexico Brief in Opposition | Department of Justice Brief in Opposition

Relevant Links:
NARF-NCAI Tribal Supreme Court Project - http://doc.narf.org/sc/index.html