A bill sponsored last month by U.S. Senator Byron Dorgan of North Dakota would spell relief for many tribes whose aspirations to put land into federal trust has been put in limbo by the U.S. Supreme Court's Carcieri v. Salazar decision in February. Dorgan calls it a "technical amendment" to the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934.

Dorgan's legislation would add wording to the act that spells out how the Department of the Interior puts land into federal trust. The decision was the result of a case involving a Rhode Island tribe, the Narragansett, that wanted to put 32 acres into trust and was opposed by the state government (Rhode Island's governor, Donald Carcieri, being the "Carcieri" in the case). The high court ruled that tribes recognized by the federal government after 1934 can't put land into trust. This potentially could affect dozens of tribes.

Dorgan, chairman of the Senate's Indian Affairs Committee, has predicted dire consequences for tribes if the decision isn't modified, and has been under considerable tribal pressure to do something to modify or clarify it. Tribes refer to this legislative remedy as the "Carcieri Fix."

"Inaction by Congress could significantly impact planned development projects on Indian trust lands, including the building of homes and community centers; result in a loss of jobs in an already-challenging economic environment; and create costly and unnecessary litigation," he commented.

He has also said that the existing situation creates two classes of Indian tribes, which he calls "unacceptable."

Some tribes and Indian law authorities worry that the decision could endanger land that has already been put into federal trust for tribes that were recognized after 1934. Others say that existing law protects land put into trust, even if that process was made illegal by this year's court decision. Dorgan's bill specifically addresses this issue. It would ratify all lands that have been put into trust since that year and clarify that the Secretary of the Interior has the power to do that in the future.

By GGB Staff

Staff writers for Global Gaming Business magazine. Las Vegas, Nevada.