Carcieri '65 challenges Narragansett sovereignty
Alessandra Suuberg
Issue date: 3/13/08 Section: Metro
This fall, lawyers for Gov. Donald Carcieri '65 and the town of Charlestown, R.I. will argue a case involving American Indian land claims at the U.S. Supreme Court. Carcieri and the town are challenging the right of the U.S. Department of Interior to transfer sovereignty of Ocean State land to the local Narragansett Indian Tribe after the tribe purchased it in 1991.
The case comes on the heels of a decision by the First Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston last year to allow the DOI to appropriate state land into trust for the Narragansett Tribe, according to a Feb. 25 press release from the Rhode Island Attorney General's office. Dissatisfied with the Court's decision, Carcieri and the town of Charlestown - in which the 31 acres in question are located - will take their case against the DOI to the next level in federal court.
In their Supreme Court brief, representatives of the 16 supporting states wrote that the First Circuit's decision was not justified. They wrote that the Court misinterpreted the Rhode Island Indian Claims Settlement Act and the Indian Reogranization Act of 1934, which "grants the Secretary of the Interior unfettered discretion to take land within any State into trust 'for Indians.' "
Carcieri and Charlestown officials argue that the Narragansetts were not recognized as a tribe when the IRA was passed in 1934, and therefore is not entitled to soveriengty over the land, according to the Feb. 25 Boston Globe article. Thomas said that the tribe never gave up its right to acquire sovereign land or to self govern when they became federally recognized in 1983.
"It always comes down to sovereignty," said Lincoln Chafee '75, former senator and visiting fellow at the Watson Institute for International Studies, regarding Rhode Island's objection to the ruling.
Chafee said taking the land out of state jurisdiction creates complications for Rhode Island. "For instance, if there is a crime committed on the tribal land, does the tribal police investigate it? Does the state police investigate it?" Chafee said. "There are some thorny issues associated with sovereignty. And that's just a piece of it."
The case comes on the heels of a decision by the First Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston last year to allow the DOI to appropriate state land into trust for the Narragansett Tribe, according to a Feb. 25 press release from the Rhode Island Attorney General's office. Dissatisfied with the Court's decision, Carcieri and the town of Charlestown - in which the 31 acres in question are located - will take their case against the DOI to the next level in federal court.
In their Supreme Court brief, representatives of the 16 supporting states wrote that the First Circuit's decision was not justified. They wrote that the Court misinterpreted the Rhode Island Indian Claims Settlement Act and the Indian Reogranization Act of 1934, which "grants the Secretary of the Interior unfettered discretion to take land within any State into trust 'for Indians.' "
Carcieri and Charlestown officials argue that the Narragansetts were not recognized as a tribe when the IRA was passed in 1934, and therefore is not entitled to soveriengty over the land, according to the Feb. 25 Boston Globe article. Thomas said that the tribe never gave up its right to acquire sovereign land or to self govern when they became federally recognized in 1983.
"It always comes down to sovereignty," said Lincoln Chafee '75, former senator and visiting fellow at the Watson Institute for International Studies, regarding Rhode Island's objection to the ruling.
Chafee said taking the land out of state jurisdiction creates complications for Rhode Island. "For instance, if there is a crime committed on the tribal land, does the tribal police investigate it? Does the state police investigate it?" Chafee said. "There are some thorny issues associated with sovereignty. And that's just a piece of it."