Rhode Island welcomes ruling on land-into-trust case

Tuesday, February 26, 2008  

Rhode Island Gov. Donald Carcieri (R) says the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in a land-into-trust case will affect states nationwide.

Carcieri is challenging the Interior Department's ability to acquire land in trust for the Narragansett Tribe. The state says the Narragansetts can't follow the provisions of the Indian Reorganization Act because they weren't recognized as of 1934.

The state also says the tribe's land claims settlement act bars any future trust land acquisitions. Under the act, the state has jurisdiction over the tribe's reservation but wouldn't have jurisdiction on trust lands outside the reservation.

"This is great news for the people of Rhode Island and an important step for every state facing similar issues. For too long, the legitimate concerns of states in the federal land-to-trust process have been ignored. It is simply not acceptable for any state to be stripped of its sovereignty over land within its borders by mid-level bureaucrats in Washington," Carcieri said in a statement [Link].

The case is Carcieri v. Kempthorne, No. 07-526.

Get the Story:
Supreme Court to hear R.I. case (The Providence Journal 2/26)
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Supreme Court Says It Will Hear Narragansetts' Land-Trust Case (The New London Day 2/26)
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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

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