United States v. Sioux Nation of Indians
| United States v. Sioux Nation of Indians | |
|---|---|
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| Argued March 24, 1980 Decided June 30, 1980 |
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| Full case name | United States v. Sioux Nation of Indians, et al. |
| Citations | 448 U.S. 371 (more)
100 S. Ct. 2716; 65 L. Ed. 2d 844; 1980 U.S. LEXIS 147
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| Prior history | Sioux Nation of Indians, et al. v. United States, 601 F.2d 1157 (Ct. Cl. 1979). |
| Holding | |
| Held that: 1) The enactment by Congress of a law allowing the Sioux Nation to pursue a claim against the United States that had been previously adjudicated did not violate the doctrine of separation of powers, and 2) the taking of property that was set aside for the use of the tribe required just compensation, including interest. | |
| Court membership | |
| Case opinions | |
| Majority | Blackmun, joined by Burger, Brennan, Stewart, Marshall, Powell, Stevens; White (parts III, V only) |
| Concurrence | White |
| Dissent | Rehnquist |
| Laws applied | |
| U.S. Const. amend. V; 15 Stat. 635 | |
United States v. Sioux Nation of Indians, 448 U.S. 371 (1980), was a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court held that: 1) the enactment by Congress of a law allowing the Sioux Nation to pursue a claim against the United States that had been previously adjudicated did not violate the doctrine of separation of powers; and 2) the taking of property that was set aside for the use of the tribe required just compensation, including interest.
The Fort Laramie Treaty of April 29, 1868, pledged that the Great Sioux Reservation, including the Black Hills, would be "set apart for the absolute and undisturbed use and occupation of the Indians." By the terms of the treaty, cession of any part of the reservation required a new treaty executed and signed by at least three fourths of all the adult male Indians occupying the land. The Sioux's right to hunt in some unceded territories were protected by the Fort Laramie Treaty as well. The Fort Laramie Treaty ended the Powder River War of 1866–1867, a series of military engagements in which the Sioux tribes, led by chief Red Cloud, fought to protect the integrity of earlier-recognized treaty lands from the incursion of white settlers.
The 1868 treaty brought peace for a few years, but in 1874 an exploratory expedition under General George A. Custer entered the Black Hills to investigate rumors of gold. "Custer's florid descriptions of the mineral and timber resources of the Black Hills, and the land's suitability for grazing and cultivation... received wide circulation, and had the effect of creating an intense popular demand for the 'opening' of the Hills for settlement." Initially the U.S. military tried to turn away trespassing miners and settlers. Eventually however President Grant, the Secretary of the Interior, and the Secretary of War, "decided that the military should make no further resistance to the occupation of the Black Hills by miners." These orders were to be enforced "quietly," and the President's decision was to remain "confidential."
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