Sovereignty at issue in Supreme Court case

Thursday, March 13, 2008  

It's states versus tribes in one of the most important cases before the U.S. Supreme Court this year.

The state of Rhode Island is trying to block the Interior Department from acquiring land in trust for the Narraganset Tribe. Sixteen states agree and say the Indian Reorganization Act only applies to tribes that were federally recognized as of 1934.

"It always comes down to sovereignty," former Sen. Lincoln Chafee told The Brown Daily Herald.

Chafee wrote a rider that limited the tribe's sovereignty after a federal court ruled that the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act superseded the tribe's land claim settlement act. The state is now using the settlement act to argue that Congress blocked the Narragansetts from acquiring land in trust by extinguishing all aboriginal title.

Get the Story:
Carcieri '65 challenges Narragansett sovereignty (The Brown Daily Herald 3/13)
Officer describes pre-raid briefing (The Providence Journal 3/13)
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Supreme Court Documents:
Docket Sheet | Questions Presented | Order List

1st Circuit Decisions:
En Banc (July 20, 2007) | Panel (February 9, 2005)

Briefs and Other Documents:
Carcieri v. Kempthorne (NARF-NCAI Tribal Supreme Court Project

Relevant Laws:
Rhode Island Indian Claims Settlement Act (US Code)

Relevant Links:
Narragansett Tribe - http://www.narragansett-tribe.org
Tribal Supreme Court Project - http://www.narf.org/sct/index.html

Related Stories:
Court takes land-into-trust case (2/26)
U.S. Supreme Court accepts land-into-trust case (2/25)
High court weighs Narragansett land-into-trust (2/22)
Groups file brief in pending land-into-trust case (02/06)
Supreme Court brief backs land-into-trust (1/29)
Rhode Island appeals land-into-trust ruling (10/19)
Narragansett Tribe plans to use land for housing (07/27)
State of Rhode Island loses land-into-trust case (7/23)
Court upholds Narragansett land-into-trust (7/20)
Appeals court hears land-into-trust dispute (1/10)
Appeals court to hear land-into-trust case (1/8)
Appeals court to rehear land-into-trust dispute (12/07)
High court rejects state raid, land claim (11/28)
Supreme Court won't hear land-into-trust cases (10/3)
Court subjects Narragansett Tribe to all state laws (05/25)
Appeals court hears tribal-state sovereignty dispute (12/07)
Narragansett Tribe back in court over sovereignty (12/6)
Rhode Island set to appeal trust land decision (09/16)
Trust land challenge rejected by appeals court (9/14)
Appeals court agrees to rehear sovereignty case (07/11)
Tribal sovereignty must be respected, court rules (05/13)
Appeals court sides with tribe in trust land dispute (02/10)
Court won't rehear challenge to tribal land base (05/21)
Massachusetts court deals blow to tribe's sovereignty (12/10)
R.I. tribe takes smokeshop case to higher court (01/27)
R.I. to appeal Narragansett land-into-trust case (10/1)
Judge affirms Narragansett Tribe land-into-trust (9/30)
State's raid on tribal land sparks strong reactions (07/16)
Court says U.S. can protect tribe's interests (02/04)
Land still in limbo after decade-long fight (10/16)
The day the Supreme Court said no (10/16)