Nebraska v. US Dep't of Interior, No. 09-1657

Reversal of Indian Gaming Commission's Decision Vacated

In Nebraska v. US Dep't of Interior, No. 09-1657, an appeal from the district court's reversal of the National Indian Gaming Commission's decision concluding that the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska's five-acre parcel in Carter Lake, Iowa, was eligible for gaming under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act as land taken into trust as part of "the restoration of lands for an Indian tribe that is restored to Federal recognition" pursuant to 25 U.S.C. section 2719(b)(1)(B)(iii), the court vacated where 1) the district court erred in concluding the Department of Interior (DOI) had already made a "restored lands" determination; and 2) the record was inadequate to make a conclusive determination as to the Corrected Notice of Intent To Take Land In Trust's validity as an agreement and its legal effect.

As the court wrote:  "The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) and National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC) appeal from the district court's judgment reversing and vacating the NIGC's decision concluding that the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska's ("the Tribe") five-acre parcel in Carter Lake, Iowa, was eligible for gaming under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) as land taken into trust as part of "the restoration of lands for an Indian tribe that is restored to Federal recognition" pursuant to 25 U.S.C. § 2719(b)(1)(B)(iii) ("the restored lands exception")."

Related Resources

• Read the Eighth Circuit's Decision in Nebraska v. US Dep't of Interior, No. 09-1657