County of Amador, California v. Department of the Interior, et al.

The Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 permits the Secretary of Interior to take land into trust for certain Indian tribes, significantly impairing the jurisdiction of State and local governments like Petitioner Amador County. The 1934 Act, construed by this Court in Carcieri v. Salazar, 555 U.S. 379 (2009), provides that the only Indian tribes for whom land can be taken into trust are those consisting of “persons of Indian descent who are members of any recognized Indian tribe now under Federal jurisdiction” in 1934. Additionally, the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (“IGRA”) prohibits tribes from conducting gaming activities on lands that are acquired in trust on their behalf after the effective date of IGRA, October 17, 1988, with certain, narrow exceptions. One such exception is for “lands taken into trust as part of . . . the restoration of lands for an Indian tribe that is restored to Federal recognition.” 25 U.S.C. § 2719(b)(1)(B)(iii). In this case, the Department of Interior proposes to take land into trust for the Ione Band of Miwok Indians for gaming purposes. The questions presented are: 1. Whether Congress intended the phrase “under Federal jurisdiction,” as used in the 1934 Act, to encompass a tribe that, as of June 18, 1934, had no land held on its behalf by the federal government, either in trust or as allotments; was not a party to any treaty with the United States; did not receive