Indian Land Claims Settlements
Encyclopedia
Indian Land Claims Settlements are settlements of Native American
land claims by the United States Congress
, codified in 25 U.S.C. ch. 19
.
In several instances, these settlements ended live claims of aboriginal title in the United States
. The first two—the Rhode Island Claims Settlement Act and the Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act—extinguished all aboriginal title in Rhode Island and Maine, respectively, following initial rulings in the tribes favor. The Mohegan Nation (Connecticut) Land Claims Settlement also followed a judicial ruling in favor of a tribe, but did not extinguish all aboriginal title in the state. The Passamaquoddy
(1975), Narragansett I and II (1976), and Mohegan (1980, 1982) cases occurred in the U.S. Supreme Court's Oneida I
(1974) decision, which held that there was federal subject-matter jurisdiction for such claims.
The Florida Indian (Miccosukee) Land Claims Settlement and Florida Indian (Seminole) Land Claims Settlement relate to water rights in the Everglades
.
Canada
New Zealand
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
land claims by the United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
, codified in 25 U.S.C. ch. 19
Title 25 of the United States Code
Title 25 of the United States Code outlines the role of Indians in the United States Code.—Bureau of Indian Affairs—Officers of Indian Affairs—Indian Claims Commission—Agreements With Indians—Performance by United States of Obligations to Indians—Protection of Indians—Government of Indian Country...
.
In several instances, these settlements ended live claims of aboriginal title in the United States
Aboriginal title in the United States
The United States was the first jurisdiction to acknowledge the common law doctrine of aboriginal title...
. The first two—the Rhode Island Claims Settlement Act and the Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act—extinguished all aboriginal title in Rhode Island and Maine, respectively, following initial rulings in the tribes favor. The Mohegan Nation (Connecticut) Land Claims Settlement also followed a judicial ruling in favor of a tribe, but did not extinguish all aboriginal title in the state. The Passamaquoddy
Joint Tribal Council of the Passamaquoddy Tribe v. Morton
Joint Tribal Council of the Passamaquoddy Tribe v. Morton, 528 F.2d 370 , was a landmark decision regarding aboriginal title in the United States...
(1975), Narragansett I and II (1976), and Mohegan (1980, 1982) cases occurred in the U.S. Supreme Court's Oneida I
Oneida Indian Nation of N.Y. State v. Oneida County
Oneida Indian Nation of N.Y. State v. Oneida Cnty., 414 U.S. 661 , is a landmark decision concerning aboriginal title in the United States...
(1974) decision, which held that there was federal subject-matter jurisdiction for such claims.
The Florida Indian (Miccosukee) Land Claims Settlement and Florida Indian (Seminole) Land Claims Settlement relate to water rights in the Everglades
Everglades
The Everglades are subtropical wetlands in the southern portion of the U.S. state of Florida, comprising the southern half of a large watershed. The system begins near Orlando with the Kissimmee River, which discharges into the vast but shallow Lake Okeechobee...
.
List of settlements
Act | Passed | Tribe | Preceding litigation | Subject matter | Monetary compensation |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Rhode Island Claims Settlement Act | Sept. 30, 1978 | Narragansett Narragansett Narragansett may refer to:*Narragansett , a Pennsylvania Railroad train*Narragansett , an Amtrak train*Narragansett **Narragansett land claim*Narragansett, Rhode Island, a town*Narragansett Bay*Narragansett... |
Narragansett Tribe of Indians v. S. R.I. Land Dev. Co., 418 F. Supp. 798 (D.R.I. 1976); Narragansett Tribe of Indians v. Murphy, 426 F. Supp. 132 (D.R.I. 1976) | Aboriginal title Aboriginal title Aboriginal title is a common law doctrine that the land rights of indigenous peoples to customary tenure persist after the assumption of sovereignty under settler colonialism... |
$3,500,000 |
Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act [modified by Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians Supplementary Claims Settlement Act and Aroostock Band of Micmacs Settlement Act] |
Oct. 10, 1980 | Passamaquoddy Passamaquoddy The Passamaquoddy are the First Nations people who live in northeastern North America, primarily in Maine and New Brunswick.... , Penobscot Penobscot The Penobscot are a sovereign people indigenous to what is now Maritime Canada and the northeastern United States, particularly Maine... , and Maliseet |
Joint Tribal Council of the Passamaquoddy Tribe v. Morton Joint Tribal Council of the Passamaquoddy Tribe v. Morton Joint Tribal Council of the Passamaquoddy Tribe v. Morton, 528 F.2d 370 , was a landmark decision regarding aboriginal title in the United States... , 388 F. Supp. 649 (D. Me. 1975), aff'd, 528 F.2d 370 (1st Cir. 1975) |
Aboriginal title Aboriginal title Aboriginal title is a common law doctrine that the land rights of indigenous peoples to customary tenure persist after the assumption of sovereignty under settler colonialism... |
$81,500,000 |
Florida Indian (Miccosukee) Land Claims Settlement | Dec. 31, 1982 | Miccosukee Miccosukee The Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida are a federally recognized Native American tribe in the U.S. state of Florida. They were part of the Seminole nation until the mid-20th century, when they organized as an independent tribe, receiving federal recognition in 1962... |
Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida v. Florida, No. 79-cv-253 (S.D. Fl.) | Water rights | None |
Connecticut Indian Land Claims Settlement Connecticut Indian Land Claims Settlement The Connecticut Indian Land Claims Settlement was an Indian Land Claims Settlement passed by the United States Congress in 1983. The settlement act ended a lawsuit by the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe to recover 800 acres of their 1666 reservation in Ledyard, Connecticut, sold in 1855, allegedly in... |
Oct. 18, 1983 | Mashantucket Pequot Tribe Mashantucket Pequot Tribe The Mashantucket Pequot are a small Native American tribal nation of the Algonquian language community in the state of Connecticut. Within the tribe's Reservation, in Ledyard, New London County, Connecticut, the Mashantucket Pequot operate Foxwoods Resort Casino, the world's largest resort... |
W. Pequot Tribe of Indians v. Holdridge Enters., Inc. Connecticut Indian Land Claims Settlement The Connecticut Indian Land Claims Settlement was an Indian Land Claims Settlement passed by the United States Congress in 1983. The settlement act ended a lawsuit by the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe to recover 800 acres of their 1666 reservation in Ledyard, Connecticut, sold in 1855, allegedly in... , No. H76-cv-193 (D. Conn.) |
Aboriginal title Aboriginal title Aboriginal title is a common law doctrine that the land rights of indigenous peoples to customary tenure persist after the assumption of sovereignty under settler colonialism... |
$900,000 |
Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians Supplementary Claims Settlement Act [modifying the Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act] |
Oct. 27, 1986 | Wolastoqiyik | N/A | Aboriginal title Aboriginal title Aboriginal title is a common law doctrine that the land rights of indigenous peoples to customary tenure persist after the assumption of sovereignty under settler colonialism... |
$200,000 |
Massachusetts Indian Land Claims Settlement | Aug. 18, 1987 | Wampanoag | Wampanoag Tribal Council of Gay Head v. Town of Gay Head, No. 74-cv-5826 (D. Mass.) | Aboriginal title Aboriginal title Aboriginal title is a common law doctrine that the land rights of indigenous peoples to customary tenure persist after the assumption of sovereignty under settler colonialism... |
$4,500,000 |
Florida Indian (Seminole) Land Claims Settlement | Dec. 31, 1987 | Seminole Seminole The Seminole are a Native American people originally of Florida, who now reside primarily in that state and Oklahoma. The Seminole nation emerged in a process of ethnogenesis out of groups of Native Americans, most significantly Creeks from what is now Georgia and Alabama, who settled in Florida in... |
Seminole Tribe of Indians of Florida v. Florida, No. 78-cv-6116 (S.D. Fla.) | Water rights | None |
Washington Indian (Puyallup) Land Claims Settlement | June 21, 1989 | Puyallup Puyallup Puyallup may refer to:* Puyallup, Washington* Puyallup River* Puyallup , a Native American tribe* The Puyallup Fair, formerly named the "Western Washington Fair," held in Puyallup, Washington... |
Excludes land from settlement in: Puyallup Tribe of Indians v. Port of Tacoma, 717 F.2d 1251 (9th Cir. 1983) | Aboriginal title Aboriginal title Aboriginal title is a common law doctrine that the land rights of indigenous peoples to customary tenure persist after the assumption of sovereignty under settler colonialism... |
$162,000,000 |
Seneca Nation (New York) Land Claims Settlement | Nov. 3, 1990 | Seneca Seneca nation The Seneca are a group of indigenous people native to North America. They were the nation located farthest to the west within the Six Nations or Iroquois League in New York before the American Revolution. While exact population figures are unknown, approximately 15,000 to 25,000 Seneca live in... |
18 Stat. 330; 26 Stat. 558; Seneca Nation of Indians v. United States, 39 Ind. Cl. Comm. 355 (1977) | Retroactive federal approval of leases and previous inadequate settlement | $60,000,000 |
Aroostock Band of Micmacs Settlement Act [modifying Maine Indian Land Claims Settlement] |
Nov. 26, 1991 | Micmacs | N/A | Aboriginal title Aboriginal title Aboriginal title is a common law doctrine that the land rights of indigenous peoples to customary tenure persist after the assumption of sovereignty under settler colonialism... |
$900,000 |
Mohegan Nation (Connecticut) Land Claims Settlement | Oct. 19, 1994 | Mohegan Mohegan The Mohegan tribe is an Algonquian-speaking tribe that lives in the eastern upper Thames River valley of Connecticut. Mohegan translates to "People of the Wolf". At the time of European contact, the Mohegan and Pequot were one people, historically living in the lower Connecticut region... |
Mohegan Tribe v. Connecticut, 483 F. Supp. 597 (D. Conn. 1980), aff'd, 638 F.2d 612 (2d Cir. 1980), cert. denied, 452 U.S. 968 (1981), on remand, 528 F. Supp. 1359 (D. Conn. 1982) | Aboriginal title Aboriginal title Aboriginal title is a common law doctrine that the land rights of indigenous peoples to customary tenure persist after the assumption of sovereignty under settler colonialism... |
None |
Crow Boundary Settlement | Nov. 2, 1994 | Crow Crow Crows form the genus Corvus in the family Corvidae. Ranging in size from the relatively small pigeon-size jackdaws to the Common Raven of the Holarctic region and Thick-billed Raven of the highlands of Ethiopia, the 40 or so members of this genus occur on all temperate continents and several... |
Indian reservation Indian reservation An American Indian reservation is an area of land managed by a Native American tribe under the United States Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs... boundary surveying error |
$35,000,000 | |
Santo Domingo Pueblo Claims Settlement | Nov. 1, 2000 | Pueblo Pueblo Pueblo is a term used to describe modern communities of Native Americans in the Southwestern United States of America. The first Spanish explorers of the Southwest used this term to describe the communities housed in apartment-like structures built of stone, adobe mud, and other local material... |
United States v. Thompson, 941 F.2d 1074 (10th Cir. 1991); Pueblo of Santo Domingo v. Rael, Civil No. 83-1888 (D. N.M.) | Aboriginal title Aboriginal title Aboriginal title is a common law doctrine that the land rights of indigenous peoples to customary tenure persist after the assumption of sovereignty under settler colonialism... |
$23,000,000 |
Torres-Martinez Desert Cahiilla Indian Claims Settlement | Dec. 27, 2000 | Torres-Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians Torres-Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians The Torres-Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians is a federally recognized tribe of Cahuilla and Chemehuevi Indians, located in Imperial and Riverside counties in California... |
United States ex rel. Torres-Martinez Band of Mission Indians v. Imperial Irrigation Dist., No. 82-cv-1790 (S.D. Cal.), Nos. 93-cv-55389, 93-cv-55398, and 93-cv-55402, No. 92-cv-55129 (9th Cir.); Torres-Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians v. Imperial Irrigation Dist., No. 91-cv-1670 (S.D. Cal.) | Indian reservation Indian reservation An American Indian reservation is an area of land managed by a Native American tribe under the United States Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs... flooding |
$14,200,000 |
Cherokee, Choctaw, and Chickasaw Nation Claims Settlement | Dec. 13, 2002 | Cherokee Cherokee The Cherokee are a Native American people historically settled in the Southeastern United States . Linguistically, they are part of the Iroquoian language family... , Choctaw Choctaw The Choctaw are a Native American people originally from the Southeastern United States... , Chickasaw Chickasaw The Chickasaw are Native American people originally from the region that would become the Southeastern United States... |
(Ct. Cl.); United States v. Cherokee Nation, 480 U.S. 700 (1987), Nos. 218-cv-89L and 630-cv-89L (Ct. Cl. 1989); (E.D. Ok. 1997); excluding Choctaw Nation v. Oklahoma, 397 U.S. 620 (1970) | Mismanagement of tribal resources | $40,000,000 |
Pueblo De San Ildefonso Claims Settlement | Sept. 27, 2006 | Pueblo Pueblo Pueblo is a term used to describe modern communities of Native Americans in the Southwestern United States of America. The first Spanish explorers of the Southwest used this term to describe the communities housed in apartment-like structures built of stone, adobe mud, and other local material... |
Pueblo of San Ildefonso v. United States, No. 660-87L (Ct. Cl.); prior history: United States v. Pueblo of San Ildefonso, 513 F.2d 1383 (Ct. Cl. 1975); Pueblo of San Ildefonso v. United States, 35 Fed. Cl. 777 (1996) | Aboriginal title Aboriginal title Aboriginal title is a common law doctrine that the land rights of indigenous peoples to customary tenure persist after the assumption of sovereignty under settler colonialism... , inter alia |
$6,900,000 |
Other compensated extinguishments in the US
- Decisions of the Indian Claims CommissionIndian claims commissionThe Indian Claims Commission was a judicial panel for relations between the United States Federal Government and Native American tribes. It was established in 1946 by the United States Congress to hear claims of Indian tribes against the United States...
- Alaska Native Claims Settlement ActAlaska Native Claims Settlement ActThe Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, commonly abbreviated ANCSA, was signed into law by President Richard M. Nixon on December 23, 1971, the largest land claims settlement in United States history. ANCSA was intended to resolve the long-standing issues surrounding aboriginal land claims in...
(ANCSA) - South Carolina v. Catawba Indian TribeSouth Carolina v. Catawba Indian TribeSouth Carolina v. Catawba Indian Tribe, Inc., 476 U.S. 498 , is an important U.S. Supreme Court precedent for aboriginal title in the United States decided in the wake of Oneida Cnty. v. Oneida Indian Nation of N.Y. State ["Oneida II"]...
, 476 U.S. 498 (1986): settled for $50,000,000 by the Catawba Indian Tribe of South Carolina Land Claims Settlement Act of 1993, Pub. L. No. 103-116, 107 Stat 1118 (codified at 25 U.S.C. § 941)
See also
Australia- National Native Title TribunalNational Native Title TribunalThe National Native Title Tribunal is an independent body that assists people to reach timely and effective outcomes for disputes about native title in Australia....
(NNTT)
Canada
- Nunavut Land Claims AgreementNunavut Land Claims AgreementThe Nunavut Land Claims Agreement is a 1993 land claims agreement between the Inuit of the Nunavut Settlement Area and the Government of Canada subject to the Constitution Act of 1982...
- Sahtu Dene and Metis Comprehensive Land Claim AgreementSahtu Dene and Metis Comprehensive Land Claim AgreementThe Sahtu Dene and Metis Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement, signed in September 1993 by Pauline Browes, then Minister of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, the Chiefs of the Sahtu First Nations, and the Presidents of the Métis Councils marking the resolution of the Sahtu Dene and Metis claims to...
- Yukon Land ClaimsYukon Land ClaimsThe Yukon Land Claims refer to the process of negotiating and settling aboriginal land claims agreements in Yukon, Canada.-History:Unlike other parts of Canada, Yukon First Nations did not conclude any treaties until the 1990s, despite Chief Jim Boss of the Ta'an Kwach'an requesting compensation...
New Zealand
- Treaty of Waitangi claims and settlementsTreaty of Waitangi claims and settlementsTreaty of Waitangi claims and settlements have been a significant feature of New Zealand race relations and politics since 1975. Over the last 30 years, New Zealand governments have increasingly provided formal legal and political opportunity for Māori to seek redress for breaches by the Crown of...
External links
- Full text of 25 U.S.C. tit. 19