Supreme Court Unanimously Holds Reservation Boundaries not Diminished in Favor of the Omaha Tribe in Nebraska v. Parker
On Tuesday, March 22, 2016, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled in a unanimous decision written by Justice Clarence Thomas in favor of the Omaha Tribe of Nebraska in Nebraska v. Parker (14-1406) that an 1882 Act of Congress did not diminish the Tribe’s reservation. The judgment upholds the decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.
“The Supreme Court’s unanimous decision to uphold the Omaha Tribe’s reservation lands which were established by treaties is a substantial victory for Indian Country,” said NCAI President Brian Cladoosby. “The ruling in Nebraska v. Parker reaffirms long settled legal precedent protecting reservation lands from erroneous claims of diminishment. It also provides tribes with additional certainty when exercising jurisdiction, self-governance, and self-determination over their lands.”
John Echohawk, Executive Director of Native American Rights Fund, said, “I congratulate the Omaha Tribe and its attorneys on today’s unanimous decision. Every judge that heard this case, from the District Court all the way to the United States Supreme Court, has affirmed and followed long-standing legal rules protecting reservation lands. This tribe’s hard-won victory is also an important win for Indian Country.”
At issue in the case is whether the 1882 Act of Congress, which opened the western end of the Omaha Tribe’s reservation to settlement, diminished the boundaries of the reservation or opened the land to settlement while keeping the reservation intact.
Justice Thomas writing for the unanimous Court held that “[t]he 1882 Act bore none of [the] hallmarks of diminishment . . . [and] it is clear that the 1882 Act falls into another category of surplus land Acts: those that ‘merely opened reservation land to settlement and provided that the uncertain future proceeds of settler purchases should be applied to the Indians’ benefit.’”
Further, the Court found that the “subsequent demographic history” of the land being occupied by a majority of non-Indians “cannot overcome our conclusion that Congress did not intend to diminish the reservation in 1882. . . [a]nd it is not our role to ‘rewrite’ the 1882 Act in light of this subsequent demographic history.”
NCAI, along with NARF as co-counsel, filed an amicus brief in support of the Omaha Tribe, joined by many tribal Nations and other intertribal organizations. We congratulate the Omaha Tribe of Nebraska for this historic victory.
###
About The National Congress of American Indians:
Founded in 1944, the National Congress of American Indians is the oldest, largest and most representative American Indian and Alaska Native organization in the country. NCAI advocates on behalf of tribal governments and communities, promoting strong tribal-federal government-to-government policies, and promoting a better understanding among the general public regarding American Indian and Alaska Native governments, people and rights. For more information visit www.ncai.org.
About The Native American Rights Fund:
The Native American Rights Fund is a non-profit organization that has been protecting the legal and sovereign rights of tribes and Native people within the American legal system for 45 years. NARF is headquartered in Boulder, Colorado with offices in Anchorage, Alaska, and Washington, D.C. For more information visit www.narf.org.