Shoshone Indian Tribe of the Wind River Reservation v. United States

364 F.3d 1339, 2004 WL 736687
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
DecidedApril 7, 2004
DocketNos. 03-5036, 03-5037
StatusPublished
Cited by54 cases

This text of 364 F.3d 1339 (Shoshone Indian Tribe of the Wind River Reservation v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Shoshone Indian Tribe of the Wind River Reservation v. United States, 364 F.3d 1339, 2004 WL 736687 (Fed. Cir. 2004).

Opinions

Opinion for the court filed by Circuit Judge GAJARSA. Opinion dissenting-in-part filed by Circuit Judge RADER.

GAJARSA, Circuit Judge.

The United States government appeals from the decision by the Court of Federal Claims permitting the Shoshone and Arapaho Indian Tribes of the Wind River Reservation (the “Tribes”) to bring allegedly untimely claims relating to the Government’s management of sand and gravel resources on the reservation. The Sho[1342]*1342shone Indian Tribe of the Wind River Reservation v. United States, No. 458a-79L, 459a-79L (Fed.Cl. Oct. 10, 2002) (order providing for final judgment on the issues of the statute of limitations and applicable'interest) (the “Shoshone Final Judgment Order ”); see also The Shoshone Indian Tribe of the Wind River Reservation v. United States, 51 Fed.Cl. 60 (2001). In addition, the Tribes submit a cross-appeal, arguing that the Court of Federal Claims erred in denying the Tribes interest on money that the Government should have, but did not, collect from the sale and leasing of sand and gravel deposits. Shoshone Final Judgment Order, at 1; see also The Shoshone Indian Tribe of the Wind River Reservation v. United States, No. 458a-79L, 459a-79L (Fed. Cl. June 21, 2002) (order denying interest to Tribes) (the “Shoshone Interest Order ”).

Because the Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, Public Law No. 108-7, permits the Tribes to bring their trust management claims after they receive an accounting — regardless of when such claims accrued — this court affirms the Court of Federal Claims’ decision on direct appeal. We limit, however, the claims that may be brought to those relating to (1) the Government’s mismanagement of tribal trust funds after their collection and (2) losses to the trust resulting from the Government’s failure to timely collect amounts due and owing to the Tribes under its sand and gravel contracts.

With respect to the Tribes’ cross-appeal, we reverse the Court of Federal Claims’ denial of interest and hold that the Tribes are entitled to interest on monies that the Government was contractually obligated to collect, but did not collect or delayed in collecting, on behalf of the Tribes.

We thus affirm-in-part, reverse-in-part, and remand the case for further proceedings.

I. BACKGROUND

A. The Wind River Reservation

The Eastern Shoshone Tribe (the “Shoshone”) and the Northern Arapaho Tribe (the “Arapaho”) share an undivided interest in the Wind River Indian Reservation (the ‘Wind River Reservation” or the “reservation”) in Wyoming. Shoshone Indian Tribe, 51 Fed.Cl. at 61. The Shoshone originally occupied approximately 44,672,-000 acres across Wyoming, Colorado, Idaho, and Utah. In 1868, the Shoshone signed a treaty with the United States (the “Treaty of 1868”) and agreed to relinquish their aboriginal lands and relocate onto a reservation established for their benefit. In this treaty, the Government agreed that the reservation would be:

set apart for the absolute and undisturbed use and occupation of the Shoshonee Indians herein named, ... and henceforth they will and do hereby relinquish all title, claims, or rights in and to any portion of the territory of the United States, except such as is embraced within the limits aforesaid.

Treaty between the United States and the Eastern Band of Shoshonees and the Bannack Tribe of Indians, July 3, 1868, art. II, 15 Stat. 673 (emphasis added). By signing the Treaty of 1868, the Shoshone relinquished to the Government title to their aboriginal lands and reserved a right of occupancy and use to the Wind River Reservation. Shoshone Tribe of Indians v. United States, 299 U.S. 476, 496, 57 S.Ct. 244, 81 L.Ed. 360 (1937); cf. United States v. Creek Nation, 295 U.S. 103, 109, 55 S.Ct. 681, 79 L.Ed. 1331 (1935) (discussing the right of occupancy as compared to a fee simple).

In 1878, the United States military escorted the Arapaho onto the Wind River Reservation, where the Arapaho were settled by the Government on the Wind River Reservation despite protests by the Sho[1343]*1343shone. Shoshone, 299 U.S. at 494, 57 S.Ct. 244. Against their respective wishes, the Shoshone and Arapaho Tribes were made owners in common of the Wind River Reservation, with undivided rights to the land and its accompanying mineral resources, by Congressional act. Act of Mar. 3, 1927, §§ 1, 3, 44 Stat. 1349,1350; Shoshone, 299 U.S. at 494, 57 S.Ct. 244. Both Tribes continue to occupy the Wind River Reservation, which consists primarily of the reservation lands created by the Treaty of 1868, minus certain lands sold to the United States in 1872 and 1896.

In addition to establishing co-ownership of the Wind River Reservation, the Act of March 3,1927 also permitted the Shoshone to bring claims against the Government in the Court of Claims arising from the settlement of the Arapaho. Until the passage of the Indian Claims" Commission Act in 1946 (the “ICC Act”), tribes could not litigate claims against the United States without specific Congressional permission. Act of Mar. 3, 1927, §§ 1, 3, 44 Stat. 1349, 1350; Shoshone, 299 U.S. at 494, 57 S.Ct. 244; see also Navajo Tribe of Indians v. State of New Mexico, 809 F.2d 1455, 1460 (10th Cir.1987) (discussing the history of the ICC Act). After receiving access to the Court of Claims, the Shoshone filed suit and were eventually awarded damages for the taking of the Shoshone’s right of occupancy under the Treaty of 1868. Shoshone, 299 U.S. at 497-98, 57 S.Ct. 244.

On October 10, 1979, the Tribes brought suit in the United States Court of Claims, alleging that the Government breached fiduciary and statutory duties owed to the Tribes from August 14, 1946 onward by mismanaging the reservation’s natural resources and the income derived from such resources. The date of August 14, 1946 chosen by the Tribes coincides with the passage of the ICC Act. The ICC Act provided a five-year window of time during which tribes could submit to the Indian Claims Commission all of their claims against the Government that accrued before August 13, 1946. Courts have therefore held that claims “accruing before August 13, 1946” that were not filed with the Commission by August 13, 1951 cannot be submitted to any court, administrative agency, or the Congress. 60 Stat. 1052 (formerly 25 U.S.C. § 70k); Navajo Tribe, 809 F.2d at 1461; Catawba Indian Tribe of S.C. v. United States, 24 Cl.Ct. 24, 29 (1991).

The Court of Federal Claims severed the Tribes’ present action into four segments: (1) claims relating to mineral rights, including sand and gravel resources; (2) claims relating to royalties associated with oil and gas deposits; (3) all other claims relating to oil and gas extraction; and (4) claims relating to trust fund mismanagement. Shoshone Indian Tribe, 51 Fed.Cl. at 62.

B. Sand and Gravel Litigation

The current appeal stems from the first segment of litigation and involves the alleged mismanagement of sand and gravel resources by the Government.

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Bluebook (online)
364 F.3d 1339, 2004 WL 736687, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/shoshone-indian-tribe-of-the-wind-river-reservation-v-united-states-cafc-2004.