The E. Barrett Prettyman United States Courthouse houses both the federal court for the District of Columbia and the Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Photo by Indianz.Com (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)
Indian Country will get its say in the CARES Act lawsuit and the fate of an $8 billion coronavirus relief fund promised to tribal governments.
A federal judge on April 22, 2020, granted a motion for nearly every major inter-tribal organization in the United States to submit a brief in the case, which is headed to a showdown in court this week.
- Indian Country Motion Granted: https://indianz.com/covid19/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/indiancountrymotiongranted.pdf
Led by the National Congress of American Indians, the tribal organizations will file a brief no later than 7pm Eastern on April 22. They have already indicated what they plan to say in connection with the distribution the $8 billion coronavirus relief fund.
“Participation by the Tribal Organizations through an amicus brief is desirable and relevant to the disposition of this case. Their brief will explain to the Court the nature of federally recognized Indian tribes and their unique government-to-government relationship with the United States in contrast to private, corporate entities,” a motion filed on April 21, 2020, reads. The motion was the one granted by the federal judge.
In addition to NCAI, the brief will be signed by the All Pueblo Council of Governors (APCG); the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians (ATNI); the Arizona Indian Gaming Association (AIGA); the California Nations Indian Gaming Association (CNIGA); the California Tribal Chairperson’s Association (CTCA); the Great Plains Tribal Chairmen’s Association, Inc. (GPTCA); the Inter Tribal Association of Arizona, Inc. (ITAA); the Inter-Tribal Council of the Five Civilized Tribes (ITCFCT); the Midwest Alliance of Sovereign Tribes (MAST); the National Indian Gaming Association (NIGA); and the United South and Eastern Tribes Sovereignty Protection Fund (USET SPF).
Final briefs from the tribal plaintiffs and from the federal government are due ahead of a videoconference hearing on the afternoon of April 23. The outcome will impact how the Trump administration distributes the $8 billion fund — payments are supposed to be made as soon as April 24.
Indianz.Com reported on April 21 that the Department of Treasury had not yet determined how to distribute the funds.
The case is Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation v. Mnuchin. The original plaintiffs are:
- Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation (Washington)
- Tulalip Tribes (Washington)
- Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians (Maine)
- Akiak Native Community (Alaska)
- Asa’carsarmiut Tribe (Alaska)
- Aleut Community of St. Paul Island (Alaska)
On April 21, five tribes joined the case. They are:
- Navajo Nation (Arizona, New Mexico, Utah)
- Quinault Nation (Washington)
- Pueblo of Picuris (New Mexico)
- Elk Valley Rancheria (California)
- San Carlos Apache Tribe (Arizona)
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