fee to trust

New Student Scholarship on Trust Land Acquisitions for Alaska Tribal Nations

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Alexis Studler has published “Reviving Indian Country: Expanding Alaska Native Villages’ Tribal Land Bases Through Fee-to-Trust Acquisitions” in the Michigan Journal of Race & Law.

Here is the abstract:

For the last fifty years, the possibility of fee-to-trust acquisitions in Alaska has been precarious at best. This is largely due to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971 (ANCSA), which eschewed the traditional reservation system in favor of corporate land ownership and management. Despite its silence on trust acquisitions, ANCSA was and still is cited as the primary prohibition to trust acquisitions in Alaska. Essentially, ANCSA both reduced Indian Country in Alaska and prohibited any opportunities to create it, leaving Alaska Native Villages without the significant territorial jurisdiction afforded to Lower 48 tribes. However, recent policy changes from the Department of Interior reaffirmed the eligibility of trust acquisitions post-ANCSA and a proposed rule from the Bureau of Indian Affairs signals a favorable presumption of approval for Alaska Native fee-to-trust applications. This Note reviews the history and controversy of trust acquisitions in Alaska, and more importantly, it demonstrates the methods in which Alaska Native Villages may still acquire fee land for trust acquisitions after ANCSA.

SCOTUS Denies Cert in Challenge to Mashpee Wampanoag Trust Land Acquisition

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is today’s order list.

The cert petition is here.

These guys shoulda been on the Supreme Court. . . .

Federal Circuit Rejects Takings Claim Arising from Cherokee Trust Land Acquisition

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here are the materials in Berry v. United States:

Unpublished Opinion

Opening Brief

Answer Brief

Lower Court Decision

No Casino in Plymouth v. NIGC Cert Petition

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here:

cert-petitionDownload

Questions presented:

  1. Did the Ninth Circuit err when it dismissed plaintiffs’ challenge to DOI’s approval of a trust transfer for the Ione Band which was not a recognized tribe in 1934 as required by the IRA?
  2. Did the Ninth Circuit err when it dismissed plaintiffs’ challenge to NIGC’s authority to approve a gaming ordinance for the Ione Band which has no Indian lands as defined by IGRA?
  3. Did the Ninth Circuit err when it dismissed plaintiffs’ claim that federal acknowledgement as a tribe under 25 CFR Part 83 is a prerequisite for the Ione Band to receive IRA and IGRA benefits?

Lower court materials here.

Littlefield v. DOI Cert Petition

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here:

Littlefield Cert Petition.pdfDownload

Questions presented:

Whether the decision of the court of appeals conflicts with Carcieri?

Lower court materials here.

Wisconsin Federal Court Dismisses Property Owners’ Challenge to Interior Trust Land Acquisition for Menominee

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here are the materials in Legend Lake Property Owners Assn. v. Dept. of the Interior (E.D. Wis.):

1 Complaint.pdfDownload
15 Motion to Dismiss.pdfDownload
18 Brief in Opposition.pdfDownload
20 Reply.pdfDownload
21 Menominee Motion to File Amicus Brief.pdfDownload
21-1 Menominee Proposed Amicus Brief.pdfDownload
25 DCT Order.pdfDownload

Michigan COA Affirms Dismissal of Quiet Title Action Implicating Federal Trust Land Held for GTB, BMIC, and Sault Tribe

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here are the opinions in Nelson v. Chippewa Ottawa Resource Authority:

Unpublished Opinion

Dissent

Minnesota Municipalities Challenge Interior Trust Land Acquisition for Mille Lacs Band Ojibwe

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is the complaint in Morrison County v. Dept. of the Interior (D. Minn.):

1 Complaint.pdfDownload
1-1 IBIA Decision.pdfDownload

(Belatedly, We Announce the) New 25 CFR Part 151 Land Acquisitions Rule

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here.

Been busy having fun out of the office . . . .

I’d say courtesy of Bill Wood, the king of sigma, but I didn’t ask for his permish for this one.

New Student Scholarship on Trust Land Acquisitions for Alaska Tribal Nations

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Alexis Studler has posted “Reviving Indian Country: Expanding Alaska Native Villages’ Tribal Land Bases Through Fee-to-Trust Acquisitions,” forthcoming in the Michigan Journal of Race & Law, on SSRN. Here is the abstract:

For the last fifty years, the possibility of fee-to-trust acquisitions in Alaska has been precarious at best. This is largely due to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971 (ANCSA), which eschewed the traditional reservation system in favor of corporate land ownership and management. Despite its silence on trust acquisitions, ANCSA was and still is cited as the primary prohibition to trust acquisitions in Alaska. Essentially, ANCSA both reduced Indian Country in Alaska and prohibited any opportunities to create it, leaving Alaska Native Villages without the significant territorial jurisdiction afforded to Lower 48 tribes. However, recent policy changes from the Department of Interior reaffirmed the eligibility of trust acquisitions post-ANCSA and a proposed rule from the Bureau of Indian Affairs signals a favorable presumption of approval for Alaska Native fee-to-trust applications. This Note reviews the history and controversy of trust acquisitions in Alaska, and more importantly, it demonstrates the methods in which Alaska Native Villages may still acquire fee land for trust acquisitions after ANCSA.