Appeals court rules no relief funds for Alaska Native Corporations
Several tribes join case as plaintiffs including Oglala Sioux Tribe
Wednesday, September 30, 2020
Native Sun News Today Health & Environment Editor
• SPREADSHEET Coronavirus Relief Fund allocations for tribal governments
WASHINGTON – In the most recent about-face on CARES Act funding for Alaska Native Corporations, a federal appeals court panel ruled September 25 that they are not eligible for any of the $8 billion in pandemic relief Congress earmarked for tribal governments.
The decision responds to the consolidated cases of dozens of plaintiff American Indian tribes, including Alaska Native villages, which maintain that the corporations are for-profit state-chartered businesses and have no government-to-government trust relationship with the United States that would qualify them to administer the funding.
The tribes prevented the disbursement to the corporations early this year, suing the U.S. Treasury Department for its interpretation of Congressional intent in the March allocation to tribal and local governments provided by Title V in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act.
n Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin opted to include the corporations at the recommendation of Assistant Interior Secretary for Indian Affairs Tara Sweeney, an Alaska Native Corporation shareholder. District of Columbia Federal Judge Ahmet P. Mehta ruled them eligible in July but barred disbursement of their share pending the appeal that led to the most recent decision — reversing his. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, thanked Mehta for his opinions in the cases, saying: “In considering the difficult legal question now before us, we have benefitted greatly from the district court’s two thoughtful opinions, rendered under severe time constraints, which carefully assess the arguments on both sides.” The unanimous higher court decision hinged on the 1975 Indian Self Determination and Educational Assistance Act. Under it, “Because no Alaska Native Corporation has been federally recognized as an Indian tribe,” Circuit Judge Gregory G. Katsas wrote, “We hold that Alaska Native Corporations are not eligible for funding under Title V of the CARES Act.”Now in spreadsheet form! Search and sort to find out how much tribal governments received from the $8 billion #CoronavirusReliefFund. #COVID19 #Coronavirus #CARESAct https://t.co/aVuyyitszv
— indianz.com (@indianz) September 25, 2020

Contact Talli Nauman at talli.nauman@gmail.com
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