Alaska State Legislature
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Wendy Lindskoog (907) 465-4582
Jerry Ritter (907) 465-3804
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Juneau, AK 99801
Actuality Line: 1-800-478-6540
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U.S. Supreme Court Overturns Ninth Circuit Indian Country Ruling

Lawmakers Look to the Future

For Immediate Release: February 25, 1998 Contact: Ted Popley, Majority Chief Legal Counsel, at (907) 465-3439.

Juneau – The U.S. Supreme Court Wednesday reversed the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision which recognized the existence of Indian Country in Alaska.

According to the United States Supreme Court’s unanimous decision issued today, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals improperly applied a balancing test to determine whether a Native group constituted a dependent Indian community, thereby qualifying as "Indian Country."

"Although we settled this decision in court, we have not truly settled the issue facing Alaska until all residents feel they are part of a unified state," said House Speaker Gail Phillips. "The Legislature and the administration both recognize there are problems in rural Alaska needing serious attention. The House Community and Regional Affairs Committee will be taking the lead in examining some of the needs and concerns of rural Alaska. Through extensive hearings, the committee will outline the problems and search for ways rural Alaska can gain greater local control."

According to the Supreme Court, two critical inquiries must be made in a determination of Indian Country based on dependent Indian communities: 1.) whether land was set aside for Indians as such; and 2.) whether the federal government exercised continuing federal superintendence over the land. The Court found that neither part of the test has been met in Alaska.

Senate President Mike Miller said "The Supreme Court clearly established the intent of ANCSA regarding Indian Country in Alaska. We have a decision from our nation’s highest court. Now we are faced with the continuing task of building one Alaska that meets the concerns of all citizens, rural and urban."

House Majority Leader Brian Porter noted that the Supreme Court’s decision once again emphasizes the growing tendency for federal judges, largely sitting on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, to be completely out of touch with Alaska issues.

"This cements our position that the Ninth Circuit Court is too big and so out of touch with Alaska that the Court needs to be divided. By restructuring the Court, these kinds of decisions can be made more quickly and with less stress on everyone affected," said Porter.

Justice Clarence Thomas, writing for the Court, said that "The tribe’s land is not ‘Indian Country.’"

Thomas concluded that "The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANSCA) revoked ‘the various reserves set aside…for Native use’ by legislative or executive action, except for the Annette Island Reserve, inhabited by the Metlakatla Indians, and completely extinguished all aboriginal claims to Alaska lands…"

In establishing the native corporation system through ANCSA, Thomas writes, "In no clearer fashion could Congress have departed from its traditional practice of setting aside Indian lands."

Miller and Phillips said although it is clear there are problems in rural Alaska, Indian Country was not the answer. They said now is the time to focus on solutions that work for all Alaskans.

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