Supreme Court hearing tribal-land case

By Susan A. Baird
PBN Web Editor

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Supreme Court today is hearing arguments in a closely-watched dispute over land purchased by the Narragansett Indian Tribe in 1991.

The tribe, which contends it purchased the 31-acre lot for use in economic development, has been building housing for the elderly on the parcel. It is seeking to place the land into federal trust under the U.S. Indian Reorganization Act of 1934.

The State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, which contends that the tribe is seeking to establish a casino or other tax-free enterprise, has sued to prevent the land from being taken into trust. That action would remove the property from the tax rolls and all state and local government control.

The dispute – “Carcieri, Gov. of R.I., v. Kempthorne,” Case 07-526 – was accepted by the court in a writ of certiorari issued Feb. 25.

Points at issue include whether the Indian Reorganization Act was intended to apply to tribes that were later recognized by the U.S. government – or, as the state argues, only to those recognized before the law’s passage in 1934; “whether an act of Congress that extinguishes aboriginal title and all claims based on Indian rights and interests in land precludes the [U.S. Secretary of the Interior] from creating Indian country there”; and whether the Indian Reorganization Act “establishes a sufficiently intelligible principle” for the taking of land into trust on behalf of a tribe, the court said in accepting the case early this year.

Oral arguments on behalf of the state and the Town of Charlestown will be presented by prominent lawyer Theodore Olson, who will be joined at the table by Joe Larissa, who has represented the town in the case, and a representative of the R.I. Office of the Attorney General. R.I. Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch and Gov. Donald L. Carcieiri also will be on hand as arguments are presented.

Olson’s selection was announced Friday by state and town officials, ending a lengthy dispute. “The governor, the Town of Charlestown and I are united in our choice of Ted Olson to argue the case, and our only focus now is assisting Mr. Olson in preparing to present the best case that he can possibly present,” Lynch said in a statement last week, adding: “This is a very positive development not only for Rhode Island, but also for the 21 states that joined the amicus [curiae] brief. The stakes are high, but I like our chances for success.”

The case could have ripples far beyond the Ocean State and its longrunning dispute over a potential tribal casino, potentially affecting “several hundred” tribes nationwide, state and town officials have said.

But Richard Guest, a lawyer with the Native American Rights Fund, told the New London Day that the number of tribes affected is more likely in the dozens. The fund is hoping for a narrow ruling from the court, he added. “We are concerned that they could reach broader decisions and reopen these challenges that go across the board.”

The Narragansett Indian Tribe of Rhode Island has its administrative offices in Charlestown and its Nuweetooun School and Tomaquag Indian Memorial Museum in Exeter. Additional information is available at www.Narragansett-Tribe.org.

Information about the U.S. Supreme Court, its schedule and its rulings is available at www.SupremeCourtUS.com.