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FEBRUARY 13, 2001

The Interior Board of Indian Appeals (IBIA) last week ruled that the Bureau of Indian Affairs must reconsider its decision to take 32,000 acres of land into trust for the Jicarilla Apache Nation of New Mexico.

The IBIA said the BIA acting regional director in Albuquerque made an error regarding the effects of taxation on local and state governments. Officials from Rio Arriba County, where the land is located, initiated the appeal to the IBIA because they say the loss of the property would decrease their own finances.

The tribe last month had celebrated the decision to increase the size of their reservation.

Get the Ruling:
Rio Arriba, New Mexico, Board of County Commissioners v. Acting Southwest Regional Directo (36 IBIA 14 2/6/01)

Get the Story:
Jicarilla Ranch Ruling Reversed (The Albuquerque Journal 2/13)

Relevant Links:
The Interior Board of Indian Appeals - www.doi.gov/oha/ibiaindex.htm

Related Stories:
Jicarilla reservation gets bigger (Tribal Law 12/21)