| Carcieri v. Salazar | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Argued November 3, 2008 Decided February 24, 2009 | |
| Full case name | Donald L. Carcieri, Governor of Rhode Island v. Ken L. Salazar, Secretary of the Interior, et al. |
| Docket no. | 07-526 |
| Citations | 555 U.S. 379 (more) 129 S. Ct. 1058; 172 L. Ed. 2d 791 |
| Case history | |
| Prior | Carcieri v. Norton, 290 F. Supp. 2d 167 (D.R.I. 2003); Carcieri v. Norton, 423 F.3d 45 (1st Cir. 2005); Carcieri v. Kempthorne, 497 F.3d 15 (1st Cir. 2007) |
| Holding | |
| The term "now under Federal jurisdiction" referred only to tribes that were federally recognized when the Indian Reorganization Act became law and the federal government could not take land into trust from tribes that were recognized after 1934. | |
| Court membership | |
| |
| Case opinions | |
| Majority | Thomas, joined by Roberts, Scalia, Kennedy, Breyer, Alito |
| Concurrence | Breyer |
| Concur/dissent | Souter, joined by Ginsburg |
| Dissent | Stevens |
| Laws applied | |
| 25 U.S.C. §§ 465, 479 | |
Carcieri v. Salazar, 555 U.S. 379 (2009), was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that the federal government could not take land into trust that was acquired by the Narragansett Tribe in the late 20th century, as it was not federally recognized until 1983. While well documented in historic records and surviving as a community, the tribe was largely dispossessed of its lands while under guardianship by the state of Rhode Island before suing in the 20th century.
The Court ruled that the phrase of tribes "now under Federal jurisdiction" in the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 referred only to those tribes that were federally recognized when the act was passed.[1] It ruled that the federal government could not take land into trust for the Narragansett or other tribes that were federally recognized and acquired land after 1934.[2]