In the Supreme Court of the United States, October term 1997: State of Alaska, petitioner, vs. Native Village of Venetie Tribal government, et al., respondents: on writ of certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
1997
Litigation
Cockle Law Brief Printing
[Omaha, Nebraska]
In 1943, the Secretary of the Interior set aside a 1.8 million acre reservation in Alaska (less than one-half of one percent of the State's land area) to protect the hunting grounds of the Natives of Venetie and Arctic Villages ("Venetie Reservation"). Unlike almost all other Native villages in Alaska, the Natives of Venetie and Arctic Villages elected under section 19(b) of the 1971 Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, 43 U.S.C. Sec. 1601, 1618(b) ("ANCSA") to acquire title to their existing reservation and thereby to forgo any other land or economic benefits under the Act. The question presented is: Whether the Ninth Circuit correctly held, based on the complete absence of language in ANCSA extinguishing Indian country in Alaska, that the Native Village of Venetie Tribal Government (which represents both Venetie and Arctic Village) occupies Indian country and retains its inherent authority to tax business activities occurring within its territory in order to provide essential government services in an area not served by any other local government.
http://hdl.handle.net/10974/74