Supreme Court declines to take up Gila River land rights suit

Wednesday, November 2, 2011  

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined a petition in Gila River Indian Community v. Lyon , a land rights dispute involving the Gila River Indian Community of Arizona.

The tribe's reservation surrounds a parcel of non-Indian land known as Section 16. The tribe and the owner ended up in federal court over access to the 657-acre property.

During the litigation, the tribe raised an aboriginal claim to Section 16 and said the federal government should be a part the case. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, however, ruled that the United States was not a "necessary party."

"Fee title to the Reservation land is held by the United States in trust for the Community, but Section 16 is not, and has never been, part of the Reservation," the 9th Circuit wrote last November. "Thus, the United States has no interest in Section 16."

The tribe appealed but the Supreme Court, without comment, declined the petition in an order list on Monday.

Get the Story:
Tribe says Supreme Court denial in Arizona case sets dangerous precedent (Cronkite News 11/1)

9th Circuit Decision:
Lyon v. Gila River Indian Community (November 24, 2010)