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FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2001

The Department of Interior doesn't have to grant allotments to five Alaska Natives even through their parents and elders used the land in question, a federal appeals court ruled on Thursday.

Longstanding government policy doesn't recognize a minor's use of ancestral land, said the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. Unless a Native who was underage can show "substantial use and occupancy," he or she isn't entitled to the land under federal law, a three-judge panel of the court ruled.

"It is evident that at certain ages, an allotment applicant under the control and supervision of his parents cannot be said to be capable of engaging in the use and occupancy required," by federal law, the court said.

Under the Alaska Native Allotment Act of 1906, Alaska Natives are entitled to parcels of land if they demonstrate "substantially continuous use and occupancy of the land for a period of five years" prior to the land being withdrawn from the public domain.

Get the Case:
AKOOTCHOOK v. US, No 00-35325 (9th Cir. November 08, 2001)