FILED United States Court of Appeals Tenth Circuit 

### July 24, 2018 Elisabeth A. Shumaker Clerk of Court PUBLISH
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
TENTH CIRCUIT

NAVAJO NATION; NORTHERN EDGE NAVAJO CASINO, Pla intiffs - Appellants, v. No. 16-2205 The Honorable BRADFORD J. DALLEY, District Judge, Eleventh Judicial District, New Mexico, in his official capacity; HAROLD MCNEAL; MICHELLE MCNEAL, Defendants - Appellees,

______________ NEW MEXICO TRIAL LAWYERS ASSOCIATION; PUEBLO OF SANTA ANA, Amici Curiae.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of New Mexico (D.C. No. 1:15-CV-00799-MV-KK)

Patrick T. Mason, Mason & Isaacson, P.A., Gallup, New Mexico, for PlaintiffsAppellants. Nicholas M. Sydow, Office of the New Mexico Attorney General, S anta Fe, New Mexico, for Defendant-Appellee Bradford J. Dalley.Daniel M. Rosenfelt, Rios Law Firm, Albuquerque, New Mexico (Li nda J. Rios, Rios Law Firm, Albuquerque, New Mexico, with him on the brief), for Defendants-Appellees Harold McNeal and Michelle McNeal. Michael B. Browde, Albuquerque, New Mexico (David J. Stout, Alb uquerque, New Mexico, with him on the brief), for Amicus Curiae New Mexic o Trial Lawyers Association, in support of Defendants-Appellees. Richard W. Hughes, Rothstein, Donatelli, Hughes, Dahlstrom, Sch oenburg & Bienvenu, LLP, Santa Fe, New Mexico (Donna M. Connolly, Rothste in, Donatelli, Hughes, Dahlstrom, Schoenburg & Bienvenu, LLP, SantaFe, New Mexico, with him on the brief), for Amicus Curiae Pueblo of San ta Ana, in support of Plaintiffs-Appellants.

Before HOLMES , PHILLIPS , andMORITZ , Circuit Judges.

HOLMES , Circuit Judge.

The Appellants, the Navajo Nation and its wholly-owned governme nt enterprise the Northern Edge Navajo Casino (together, the “Trib e” or “Nation”), entered into a state-tribal gaming compact with New Mexico unde r the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (“IGRA”), 25 U.S.C. §§ 2701–2721. The Tr ibe agreed not only to waive its sovereign immunity for personal-injury lawsuits brought by visitors to its on-reservation gaming facilities, but also to p ermit state courts to take jurisdiction over such claims. Harold and Michelle McNeal (the “McNeals”) are plaintiffs in just such a state-court action against the Tr ibe. Mr. McNeal allegedly slipped on a wet floor in the Northern Edge Navajo Ca sino. This slipand-fall incident constituted the basis for the McNeals’ tort c laims against the

2Nation for negligence, res ipsa loquitur, and loss of consortium. Judge Bradford Dalley is a New Mexico state judge who presides over the ongoin g state-court proceedings. We refer to the McNeals and Judge Dalley collecti vely as the Appellees. The Tribe moved to dismiss the McNeals’ complaint, arguing thatthe state court lacked jurisdiction because neither IGRA nor Navajo law p ermits the shifting of jurisdiction to a state court over such personal-in jury claims. The state court rejected that motion. In response, the Tribe sought decl aratory relief in federal court on the basis of the same arguments. The districtcourt granted summary judgment for the McNeals and Judge Dalley, holding thatIGRA permitted tribes and states to agree to shift jurisdiction to the state courts and that Navajo law did not prohibit such an allocation of jurisdiction. The Tribe timely appealed. Prior to oral argument, we ordered the parties to submit supplemental briefs as to whether the district court had jurisdiction. Along with the jurisdictional issue, the parties also dispute ( 1) whether IGRA permits an Indian tribe to allocate jurisdiction over a to rt claim arising on Indian land to a state court, and (2) assuming that IGRA does a llow for such an allocation, whether the Navajo Nation Council (“NNC”) was empow ered to shift jurisdiction to the state court under Navajo Law. After first concluding that we have jurisdiction to hear this appeal, we determine that IGRA, under its plain terms, does not authorize an allocation of
3jurisdiction over tort claims of the kind at issue here. Accor dingly, we reverse the judgment of the district court and remand with instructions to grant the declaratory relief sought by the Nation.
I
A In 1987, the Supreme Court decided California v. Cabazon Band of Mission
Indians , in which it held that states could not regulate gaming activi ties on Indian land without Congressional authorization. 480 U.S. 202, 207 (1 987) (rejecting California’s attempted regulation of bingo and some card games) , superseded by

statute , Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, 25 U.S.C. §§ 2701–2721, as recognized in Michigan v. Bay Mills Indian Cmty. , --- U.S. ----, 134 S. Ct. 2024 (2014); see New Mexico v. Dep’t of Interior (“ N.M./DOI”), 854 F.3d 1207, 1211 (10th Cir. 2017) (“In 1987, the Supreme Court [in Cabazon ] held that states lack regulatory authority over gaming activities on Indian land except where Co ngress has expressly provided for such authority.”); Kevin K. Washburn, Recurring Problems in Indian Gaming , 1 W YO

. L. R EV . 427, 428 (2001) (“The [ Cabazon ] Court held that although Congress may have given to the State o f California criminal jurisdiction within Indian reservations, Congress had not given the state the lesser power of civil regulatory jurisdiction on reservatio ns.”). In response to that “bombshell” ruling, Franklin Ducheneaux, The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act: Background and Legislative History , 42 A RIZ

. S T

. L.J. 499, 154 (2010), Congress enacted IGRA in 1988 to create a frame work for states and Indian tribes to cooperate in regulating on-reservation tri bal gaming, see Pueblo of Pojoaque v. New Mexico , 863 F.3d 1226, 1232 (10th Cir. 2017) (“In response to the Supreme Court’s holding in [ Cabazon ], that states lack regulatory authority over Indian gaming on tribal lands absent congression al action, Congress enacted IGRA, 25 U.S.C. §§ 2701–2721, to provide a rol e for states in regulating Indian gaming activities on tribal lands.”); see also Bay Mills , 134 S. Ct. at 2034 (“Everything—literally everything—in IGRA affords t ools (for either state or federal officials) to regulate gaming on Indian lands, and nowhere else.”);
N.M./DOI, 854 F.3d at 1212 (noting that IGRA “gives states a role in th e regulation of Indian gaming”); C OHEN ’ S H ANDBOOK OF F EDERAL I NDIAN L AW § 12.01, at 876 (Nell Jessup Newton ed., 2012) [hereinafter, “C OHEN ’ S H ANDBOOK ”] (“IGRA accommodated the interests of tribes in pursuing gaming but also set forth a federal regulatory regime, and gave a powe rful role to states by providing for significant state involvement in the decision to permit casinostyle gaming.”). IGRA enables states and tribes to negotiate c ompacts addressing a range of topics relating to tribal gaming. See 25 U.S.C. § 2710(d). Under IGRA, tribes that seek to conduct gaming activities are i ncentivized to negotiate gaming compacts with states because, absent such c ompacts, the most “lucrative” form of gaming—Class III gaming—is forbidden. N.M./DOI, 854 F.3d at 1212 (“The present case concerns Class III gaming, whic h includes the
5most lucrative forms of gaming.”); see § 2710(d)(1); Bay Mills , 134 S. Ct. at 2035 (“[A] tribe cannot conduct class III gaming on its lands withou t a compact . . . .”); Seminole Tribe of Fla. v. Florida , 517 U.S. 44, 47 (1996) (“The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act provides that an Indian tribe may conduct certai n gaming activities only in conformance with a valid compact between the tribe and the State in which the gaming activities are located.”). “Class II I gaming . . . includes casino games, slot machines, and horse racing.” Bay Mills , 134 S. Ct. at 2028; see Washburn, supra , at 429 (“IGRA provides that tribes may engage in Class III casino-style gaming only if they first negotiate ‘compacts’ with states.”). 1

1 Notably, Congress also sought to encourage states to come to th e gaming-compact bargaining table by statutorily obliging them inIGRA to negotiate in good faith and abrogating their sovereign immunityif they did not do so. § 2710(d)(3)(A), (7)(A); see N.M./DOI, 854 F.3d at 1211 (noting that “IGRA provides that when a tribe believes a state has failed to negot iate in good faith, the tribe may sue in federal court”). However, the Supreme Court defanged this enforcement procedure when it held in Seminole Tribe that “Congress lacked the authority to make states subject to suit by Indian tribes in fe deral court.” N.M./DOI, 854 F.3d at 1211; see Seminole Tribe , 517 U.S. at 72 (“[W]e reconfirm that the background principle of state sovereign immunity embod ied in the Eleventh Amendment is not so ephemeral as to dissipate when the subject of the suit is an area, like the regulation of Indian commerce, that i s under the exclusive control of the Federal Government.”); see also Ducheneaux, supra , at 177 (“[E]ight years after the enactment of IGRA, the Supreme Court, in the case of Seminole Tribe v. Florida . . . held that Congress did not have power to subject states to suits under the Commerce clause . . . . This decisio n upset the delicate balance Congress had adopted in the Tribal-State Compact provis ion and, as feared by Congress, put the tribes at the mercy of states in co mpact negotiations.” (footnotes omitted)); Rebecca Tsosie, Negotiating Economic Survival: The (continued...) 6Importantly, IGRA expressly prescribes the matters that are permissible subjects of gaming-compact negotiations between tribes and stat es. § 2710(d)(3)(C). In the tribal-state compact that the Tribe an d New Mexico entered into, the Tribe agrees not only to waive its sovereign immunity as to personal-injury claims brought by visitors to its casinos but a lso to permit such claims to be brought in state court. See Aplt.’s App. at 26 (State-Tribal Compact, dated Nov. 6, 2003). 2 More specifically, the compact permits such state-court

1 (...continued) Consent Principle and Tribal-State Compacts Under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act , 29 A RIZ

. S T

. L.J. 25, 71 (1997) (noting that, as a result of Seminole Tribe , many states have “refus[ed] to negotiate further tribal-state compacts” which has left the tribes with “limited remedies”).

2 The relevant portions of the compact read: SECTION 8. Protection of Visitors. A. Policy Concerning Protection of Visitors. The safety and protection of visitors to a Gaming Facility is a priority o f the Nation, and it is the purpose of this Section to assure that an y such persons who suffer bodily injury or property damage proximately caused by the conduct of the Gaming Enterprise have an effective remedy for obtaining fair and just compensation. To that end, in this Section, and subject to its terms, the Nation agrees to carry insurance that covers such injury or loss, agrees to a limited waiver of its immunity from suit, and agrees to proceed either in binding arbitration proceedings or in a court of competent jurisdiction, at the visitor’s election, with respect to claims for bodily injury or property damage proximately caused by the conduct of the Gaming Enterprise. For purposes of this Section, any such clai m may be brought in state district court, including claims arisin g on (continued...) 7litigation, “unless it is finally determined by a state or fede ral court that IGRA does not permit the shifting of jurisdiction over visitors’ per sonal injury suits to
state court.” Id

. B The present dispute has its genesis in a slip-and-fall case tha t the McNeals

2 (...continued) tribal land, unless it is finally determined by a state or fede ral court that IGRA does not permit the shifting of jurisdiction ov er visitors’ personal injury suits to state court.

. . . . D. Specific Waiver of Immunity and Choice of Law. The Nation, by entering into this Compact and agreeing to the provisions of this Section, waives its defense of sovereign immunity in connection with any claims for compensatory damages for bodily injury or property damage up to the amount of fifty million dollars ($50,000,000) per occurrence asserted as provided in this Section. This is a limited waiver and does no t waive the Nation’s immunity from suit for any other purpose. The Nation shall ensure that a policy of insurance that it acqu ires to fulfill the requirements of this Section shall include a provision under which the insurer agrees not to assert the defe nse of sovereign immunity on behalf of the insured, up to the limit s of liability set forth in this Paragraph. The Nation agrees th at in any claim brought under the provisions of this Section, New Mexico law shall govern the substantive rights of the claimant, and shall be applied, as applicable, by the forum in which the claim is heard, except that the tribal court may but shall not be required to apply New Mexico law to a claim brought by a member of the Nation. Aplt.’s App. at 26–27.

8brought in New Mexico state court. Mr. McNeal allegedly fell o n a wet bathroom floor in the Navajo Northern Edge Casino. He and his wife suedthe Nation, which owns and operates the casino, claiming negligent maintena nce, res ipsa loquitur, and loss of consortium. In a motion to dismiss, the Tribe argued that the state court lacked subject-matter jurisdiction for two reasons. First, it contended that this was so because IGRA does not authorize states and tri bes to enter into compacts that shift jurisdiction over tort claims stemming fromevents on Indian country to state court— viz. , IGRA does not contemplate that the shifting of jurisdiction over such claims is a permissible subject of compa ct negotiations. Second, it argued that NNC was not authorized to shift jurisdic tion over tort claims against the Nation, like those of the McNeals, to state court. The state court denied the Tribe’s motion to dismiss on the bas is that the New Mexico Supreme Court, in Doe v. Santa Clara Pueblo , had already decided the issue. 154 P.3d 644, 646 (N.M. 2007) (“We now . . . hold[] that state courts have jurisdiction over personal injury actions filed against [the tribes] arising from negligent acts alleged against casinos owned and operated by the [tribes] and occurring on the [tribes’] lands.”). Subsequently, Judge D alley took over the

state court case. The Tribe then brought this suit for a declaratory judgment in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico. The Tribe sough t a declaratory judgment “that [the] Indian Gaming Regulatory Act does not perm it the shifting
9of jurisdiction from tribal courts to state courts over persona l injury lawsuits brought against tribes or tribal gaming enterprises, and that the New Mexico state courts do not have jurisdiction over lawsuits such as the McNeal Lawsuit .” Aplt.’s App. at 11–12. (Am. Compl., dated Sept. 21, 2015). The Tribe moved for summary judgment, and the district court de nied relief. The court first addressed whether the Nation inherentl y had the authority to permit state court jurisdiction over claims arising in Indian country, and held that it did. It then concluded that NNC was authorized under N avajo law to shift jurisdiction over tort claims against the Nation, like those of the McNeals, to state court. Lastly, the court addressed the IGRA question, holding that IGRA authorized such shifting of jurisdiction as to personal-injury tort claims either under 25 U.S.C. § 2710(d)(3)(C)(i) and (ii), when read together ; or under the catch-all provision, § 2710(d)(3)(C)(vii). Concluding thereafter that “there [were] no legal issues remaining to be resolved,” the district court d ismissed the case.
Id. at 163 (Mem. Op. & Order, dated Aug. 3, 2016). The Tribe time ly appealed from the district court’s judgment.
II We first address our jurisdiction. Because federal courts have limited subject-matter jurisdiction, “we ‘may only hear cases when empo wered to do so by the Constitution or by act of Congress.’” Gad v. Kan. State Univ. , 787 F.3d 1032, 1035 (10th Cir. 2015) (quoting Radil v. Sanborn W. Camps, Inc. , 384 F.3d
101220, 1225 (10th Cir. 2004)). “[W]e always have an independentobligation—no matter the stage of litigation—to consider whether a case creat es a live case or controversy and belongs in federal court.” Id. ; accord Arbaugh v. Y&H Corp. , 546 U.S. 500, 514 (2006). We review de novo whether subject-ma tter jurisdiction is proper. See, e.g. , 1mage Software, Inc. v. Reynolds & Reynolds Co. , 459 F.3d 1044, 1048 (10th Cir. 2006); Austl. Gold, Inc. v. Hatfield , 436 F.3d 1228, 1234 (10th Cir. 2006). Consistent with our independent obligation, we ordered the part ies to submit briefing regarding, inter alia , whether, under 28 U.S.C. § 1331, the district court had federal jurisdiction over this action when the Tribe was raising what (at first blush) appeared to be federal defenses to pure state-law claims. Since this briefing, that jurisdictional issue has been resolved by a pane l of our court in Ute Indian Tribe v. Lawrence , 875 F.3d 539 (10th Cir. 2017), which ruled that federal courts do have jurisdiction in circumstances like those present ed here. Specifically, in Lawrence , a non-Indian brought a breach-of-contract claim against the Ute Indian tribe in Utah state court. Seeking to h alt the state proceeding, the Tribe filed suit in federal district court, “as serting . . . that the state court lacked subject-matter jurisdiction to hear the case .” Id . at 540. The district court, in turn, determined that it did not have jurisd iction to consider the Tribe’s challenge to the state court’s jurisdiction. Id . The Tribe appealed, and we reversed the district court’s determination, holding that th e Ute Tribe’s
11“claim—that federal law precludes state-court jurisdiction overa claim against Indians arising on the reservation—presents a federal question that sustains federal jurisdiction.” Id

. In reaching that conclusion, the panel first analyzed the “long history of federal law regarding Indian affairs,” id . at 541, and observed both that “federal law regulates a tribe’s right to exercise jurisdiction over non -Indians,” id . at 542, and “that state adjudicative authority over Indians for on-rese rvation conduct is greatly limited by federal law,” id . From those principles, we determined that “federal courts generally have jurisdiction to enjoin the exerc ise of state regulatory authority (which includes judicial action) contrary to federal law,” id

. at 543, and reasoned that the tribe’s suit arose under federal law because it was “seeking injunctive and declaratory relief against state regula tion (the state-court proceeding) that it claims is preempted by federal law,” id . at 547.
Lawrence ’s analysis is directly applicable here: the Nation here seeks declaratory relief under federal law against state regulation, viz. , the state-court proceeding, claiming that federal law preempts it. As such, we properly exercise jurisdiction over this appeal under § 1331. 3
III Proceeding to the merits, this appeal presents two issues, one of federal law

3 Because we conclude that we may exercise jurisdiction under § 1 331, we need not reach the parties’ remaining jurisdictional argumen ts. 12and one of Navajo law. First, the Nation asserts that the district court erred in concluding that IGRA authorizes an Indian tribe to allocate jur isdiction over a tort claim arising on Indian land to a state court. Second, even as suming that IGRA does allow a tribe to allocate jurisdiction of such claims to s tate courts, the Nation submits that the NNC was not empowered to shift jurisdiction to the state court as a matter of Navajo law. Because we decide the first issue in the Nation’s favor, we need not reach the question of Navajo law.
A It is axiomatic that absent clear congressional authorization, state courts lack jurisdiction to hear cases against Native Americans arisin g from conduct in Indian country. See, e.g. , Williams v. Lee , 358 U.S. 217, 223 (1959) (“There can be no doubt that to allow the exercise of state jurisdiction he re would undermine the authority of the tribal courts over Reservation affairs andhence would infringe on the right of the Indians to govern themselves. It is immaterial that respondent [i.e., plaintiff] is not an Indian . . . . If this power [of Indian governments over their territory] is to be taken away from them , it is for Congress to do it.”); Iowa Mut. Ins. Co. v. LaPlante , 480 U.S. 9, 15 (1987) (“If state-court jurisdiction over Indians or activities on Indian lands would i nterfere with tribal sovereignty and self-government, the state courts are generallydivested of jurisdiction as a matter of federal law.”); accordC OHEN ’ S H ANDBOOK , supra , § 7.03[1][a][ii], at 608. It is also a well-settled principle th at “Congress possesses
13plenary power over Indian affairs, including the power to modif y or eliminate tribal rights.” South Dakota v. Yankton Sioux Tribe , 522 U.S. 329, 343 (1998); accord Santa Clara Pueblo v. Martinez , 436 U.S. 49, 58 (1978); United States v.
Shavanaux , 647 F.3d 993, 997 (10th Cir. 2011). Consequently, congressional approval is necessary—i.e., it is athreshold requirement that must be met—before states and tribes can arriv e at an agreement altering the scope of a state court’s jurisdiction over matters that occur on Indian land. See Kennerly v. Dist. Court of Ninth Judicial Dist. of Mont. , 400 U.S. 423, 427 (1971) (per curiam) (holding that the “unilateral action of the Tribal Council was insufficient to vest” the state courts with jurisdiction ov er a civil suit against an Indian defendant stemming from a transaction occurring on tr ibal land because Congress did not expressly authorize such tribal-council consen t as a means for states to take jurisdiction); Fisher v. Dist. Court of Sixteenth Judicial Dist. of Mont., in & for Rosebud Cty. , 424 U.S. 382, 388 (1976) (per curiam) (holding that Montana courts could not exercise jurisdiction over adoption pr oceedings involving Indians on Indian land because “[n]o federal statute sanction[ed] this interference with tribal self-government”); C OHEN ’ S H ANDBOOK , supra , § 7.07[4], at 673 (“Because of federal supremacy over Indian affairs, trib es and states may not make agreements altering the scope of their jurisdiction inIndian country absent congressional consent.”); cf. Bay Mills , 134 S. Ct. at 2032 (noting that “[u]nless Congress has authorized [the present] suit, [Supreme Court] precedents
14demand that it be dismissed”). Congress has “authorized” the tribes and states to make such jurisdictionaltering agreements “in only a few specific circumstances”; the area of tribal-state gaming compacts represents one such circumstance. C OHEN ’ S H ANDBOOK , supra , § 7.07[4], at 673 & n.92; see Bay Mills , 134 S. Ct. at 2032 (acknowledging that IGRA “partially abrogate[d] tribal sovereign immunity”). All of that background leads us to the question presented: whether IGRA authorizes tribes to enter into gaming compacts with states tha t allocate jurisdiction to state courts with respect to state-law tort cla ims like the McNeals’. For the reasons that follow, we conclude it does not. 4 As noted, “IGRA authorizes states and Indian nations to enter i nto compacts associated with the operation of certain forms of trib al gaming known

4 This background should provide a context for understanding why we need not reach the question of Navajo law noted above: because Congress, through IGRA, has not authorized tribes to enter into compacts with states allocating jurisdiction to state courts over tort claims arisin g on Indian land like those prosecuted by the McNeals, whether the NNC’s actions unde r Navajo law would have permitted such a jurisdictional transfer is immateri al. In other words, because we conclude that Congress has not authorized the shifti ng of jurisdiction over the tort claims at bar by way of IGRA, our analysis is at an end; we need not decide more because “the negotiated terms of the Compact cannotexceed what is authorized by the IGRA.” Pueblo of Santa Ana v. Nash , 972 F. Supp. 2d 1254, 1266 (D.N.M. 2013); see C OHEN ’ S H ANDBOOK , supra , § 6.04[3][d][iii], at 569 (noting that “IGRA establishes exclusive federal jurisdiction over civil actions involving Indian gaming and gaming contract disputes, thereby s upplanting any civil jurisdiction over private lawsuits that states might [oth erwise] have acquired over such matters” by other congressional action (emphasis adde d)). 15as Class III gaming.” C OHEN ’ S H ANDBOOK , supra , § 6.04[3][d][iii], at 569. Specifically, subparagraph (A) of § 2710(d)(3) of IGRA provides that Any Indian tribe having jurisdiction over the Indian lands upon which a class III gaming activity is being conducte d, or is to be conducted, shall request the State in which such lands are loca ted to enter into negotiations for the purpose of entering into a Tribal-State compact governing the conduct of gaming activities

. 25 U.S.C.A. § 2710(d)(3)(A) (emphases added). Then subparagraph (C) of this same section provides: Any Tribal-State compact negotiated under subparagraph (A) may include provisions relating to– (i) the application of the criminal and civil laws and regulati ons of the Indian tribe or the State that are directly related to, and necessary for , the licensing and regulation of such activity ; (ii) the allocation of criminal and civil jurisdiction between the State and the Indian tribe necessary for the enforcement of such laws and regulations; (iii) the assessment by the State of such activities in such amounts as are necessary to defray the costs of regulating such activity; (iv) taxation by the Indian tribe of such activity in amounts comparable to amounts assessed by the State for comparable activities; (v) remedies for breach of contract; (vi) standards for the operation of such activity and maintenan ce of the gaming facility, including licensing; and (vii) any other subjects that are directly related to the operation of gaming activities.

16Id. § 2710(d)(3)(C)(i)–(vii) (emphases added). The district court held that a compact could be used to shift j urisdiction to state courts for tort claims stemming from conduct in an on-res ervation gaming facility based on either clauses (i) and (ii), when read togeth er; or clause (vii).
See Aplt.’s App. at 191–97. No party suggests any other basis unde r IGRA for shifting jurisdiction over tort claims. Reviewing the districtcourt’s statutory interpretation de novo, see United States v. Porter , 745 F.3d 1035, 1040 (10th Cir. 2014); United States v. Willis , 476 F.3d 1121, 1124 (10th Cir. 2007), we address each theory in turn.
B
1 The Nation first contends that the district court erred in conc luding that IGRA authorizes an Indian tribe to shift jurisdiction to state courts over tort claims stemming from conduct on Indian casino property based onclauses (i) and (ii) of subparagraph (C) of § 2710(d)(3). The Nation asserts that IGRA was not intended to allow for the shifting of jurisdiction from tribal courts to state courts for private tort lawsuits such as the one at bar, but permits the shifting of jurisdiction for only those activities that are “‘necessary forthe enforcement’ of laws and regulations that are ‘directly related to and necessary for’ the licensing and regulation of class III gaming activities.” Aplt.’s Openin g Br. at 15 (quoting § 2710(d)(3)(C)).
17The McNeals acknowledge that the language “gaming activity” in IGRA “refers to gambling, something that typically takes place in a casino,” and more specifically Class III gaming, but stress that “[c]asinos house not only games of chance, but they are also entertainment venues where visitors c ome not only to gamble but also to eat and drink, and where like [Mr. McNeal], they may use the restroom.” McNeal Aplees.’ Br. at 20. Therefore, the McNeals reason that it is “unrealistic” to interpret IGRA’s authorization for compacting regarding the application of state civil laws relating to the regulation of C lass III gaming—i.e., to “such activity,” § 2710(d)(3)(C)(i)—to be restricted to laws regarding gambling activities, McNeal Aplees.’ Br. at 20 (noting that the regulation of Class III gaming is not restricted to “slot odds, maximum bets and th e thickness of felt at the blackjack tables” but rather relates generally to “activ ities that go on in a casino”). Judge Dalley takes a similar position: specifically, he argues that the agreement in the tribal-state compact to “regulate” with respec t to injuries like those that the McNeals allegedly suffered, by applying “New Mex ico tort law, enforceable in state court[,] is within the proper scope of a g aming compact under the IGRA.” J. Dalley’s Br. at 23; see id. (“Class III gaming activities do not take place in a vacuum. Visitors who go to the casino to gamble wil l necessarily use the casino’s bathroom.”). The Nation counters that personal-injury claims sounding in tort do not involve civil laws “directly related to, and necessary for,” th e regulation of Class
18III gaming activities, § 2710(d)(3)(C)(i), and therefore IGRA d oes not authorize compacting with respect to the application of such laws under the circumstances here. We agree with the Nation. At bottom, the parties’ dispute relates to the scope of the term “class III gaming activity.” In Bay Mills , the Supreme Court construed “class III gaming activity” to mean “just what it sounds like—the stuff involved in playing class III games,” and in doing so, expressly interpreted § 2710(d)(3)(C)( i). 134 S. Ct. at 2032 (emphasis added). The Court continued: “[Sections 2710(d) (3)(C)(i) and 2710(d)(9), which authorize tribes to enter into management con tracts for Class III gaming] make perfect sense if ‘class III gaming activity’ i s what goes on in a casino—[that is,] each roll of the dice and spin of the wheel .” Id. (emphasis added). The Court further concluded that this use of the term was consistent throughout the statute, holding that “the gaming activity is th e gambling in the poker hall, not the proceedings of the off-site administrative authority,” and that the statute’s enforcement power over “gaming activity” was a po wer “to shut down crooked blackjack tables, not the tribal regulatory body m eant to oversee them.” Id. at 2033 (emphasizing, “[t]he ‘gaming activit[y]’ is (once again ) the gambling” (alteration in original)). The Court’s analysis in Bay Mills leads us to the clear conclusion that Class III gaming activity relates only to activities actually involve d in the playing of the game, and not activities occurring in proximity to, but not ine xtricably
19intertwined with, the betting of chips, the folding of a hand, or suchlike. See Harris v. Lake of Torches Resort & Casino , 862 N.W. 2d 903, 2015 WL 1014778, at *5 (Wis. Ct. App. Mar. 10, 2015) (per curiam) (unpublished) (“Applying th[e Bay Mills ] definition, Harris—who was injured while working as a cook ata restaurant located in a casino—was not injured in connection wi th a class III gaming activity.”); see also California v. Iipay Nation of Santa Ysabel , No. 314CV02724AJBNLS, 2016 WL 10650810, at *11 (S.D. Cal. Dec. 12, 2016) (unpublished) (“[T]he gaming activity is not the software-gener ated algorithms or the passive observation of the proxy monitors. Rather, it is t he patrons’ act of selecting the denomination to be wagered, the number of games t o be played, and the number of cards to play per game.”). And, even assuming th at tort law is a form of “regulation” of “the operation of gaming activities,” a s the district court correctly observed, see Aplt.’s App. at 192, actions arising in tort in circumstances similar to this one are not “directly related to, and necessary for, the licensing and regulation of such activity,” § 2710(d)(3)(C) (i), because they do not stem from the actual playing of the casino game. 5 Put another way, if

5 We are not obliged to read the term “necessary” as meaning “absolutely necessary” or “indispensable.” See Fish v. Kobach , 840 F.3d 710, 734–35 (10th Cir. 2016); accord United States v. Comstock , 560 U.S. 126, 134 (2010); In re Mile Hi Metal Sys., Inc. , 899 F.2d 887, 893 (10th Cir. 1990). Nevertheless, the use of the word “necessary” in clause (i) evi nces the narrowing of the sphere of acceptable laws and regulations, especially wh en compared with clause (vii), which omits the “necessary for” condition and spe aks only in terms (continued...) 20individuals are not participating in Class III gaming activitie s on Indian land—as Bay Mills understands them—when they are allegedly harmed by a tortfeaso r, we are hard-pressed to see how tort claims arising from their acti vities could be “directly related to, and necessary for, the licensing and regu lation” of Class III gaming activities. This conclusion is ineluctable when the plain statutory text is viewed through the prism of Bay Mills

. See United States v. Nichols , 184 F.3d 1169, 1171 (10th Cir. 1999) (“[W]here a statute is clear on its face, we give its words literal effect.”); cf . Antonin Scalia & Bryan A. Garner, R EADING L AW : T HE I NTERPRETATION OF L EGAL T EXTS 3 (2012) (“In an age when democratically prescribed texts (such as statutes, ordinances, and regulations ) are the rule, the judge’s principal function is to give those texts their fair me aning.”). Accordingly, IGRA, in clause (i), does not authorize compacting regarding the application of state tort law under the circumstances here. 6

5 (...continued) of “subjects that are directly relatedto the operation of gaming activities.” § 2710(d)(3)(C)(vii) (emphasis added).

6 The Appellees present various arguments seeking to distinguish Bay Mills ; none are availing. Their first two arguments essentially con tend that the Bay Mills Court did not directly assess what terms may be included in a compact, see McNeal Aplees.’ Br. at 20–21; J. Dalley’s Br. at 23 n.9, but i nstead addressed a different issue. See Bay Mills , 134 S. Ct. at 2028 (“The question in this case is whether tribal sovereign immunity bars Michigan’s suit against the Bay Mills Indian Community for opening a casino outside Indian lands. We hold that (continued...) 216 (...continued) immunity protects Bay Mills from this legal action.”). This ar gument, however, does not move the ball for them because we are bound to follow both the holding and the reasoning , even if dicta, of the Supreme Court. See Surefoot LC v. Sure Foot Corp. , 531 F.3d 1236, 1243 (10th Cir. 2008) (“Moreover, even if the Court’s rejection of the reasonable apprehension test could be plausibl y characterized as dicta , our job as a federal appellate court is to follow the Supreme Court’s directions, not pick and choose among them as if ordering from a menu.”); Gaylor v. United States , 74 F.3d 214, 217 (10th Cir. 1996) (“While these statements ar e dicta, this court considers itself bound by Supreme Court dictaalmost as firmly as by the Court’s outright holdings, particularly when the dicta i s recent and not enfeebled by later statements.”). And, as discussed, the Supre me Court’s explicit interpretation of clause (i) inexorably leads to our present co nclusion. The Appellees also present a third argument. Specifically, the y observe that this case involves the interpretation of provisions that e nhance tribal sovereign immunity, i.e., permit the Nation to use its jurisdic tion as a bargaining chip, whereas the provisions at issue in Bay Mills abrogated tribal sovereignty; consequently, they reason that we should read the provisions he re more broadly than the Bay Mills Court did because of the differing effects the constructions have on Indian sovereignty interests. See McNeal Aplees.’ Br. at 21–22; J. Dalley’s Br. at 26–27 (“Here, the state courts’ interpretation of the IGRA as permitting jurisdiction promotes, and does not diminish, tribal selfdetermination.”). This argument, at base, suggests that Congre ss must have intended the courts to construe IGRA in a broader sense in circ umstances when the effect of the construction will be to enhance tribal sovere ignty. The Appellees cite limited authority in support of their argument, but the authority they do cite indicates that they are relying on the well-establ ished Indian canon of statutory interpretation—that is, the canon that provides that “statutes passed for the benefit of dependent Indian tribes . . . are to be liberall y construed, doubtful expressions being resolved in favor of the Indians.” Bryan v. Itasca Cty., Minn. , 426 U.S. 373, 392 (1976) (quoting Alaska Pac. Fisheries Co. v. U.S. , 248 U.S. 78, 89 (1918)); accord N.L.R.B. v. Pueblo of San Juan , 276 F.3d 1186, 1191 (10th Cir. 2002). The Tribe relies on this canon too, but contends t hat it militates in favor of a conclusion that IGRA does not authorize the allocati on of jurisdiction to state courts. As noted in footnote 11, infra , we eschew reliance on this canon because it typically plays a significant role only when the sta tute is ambiguous, and we have concluded that the IGRA provisions at issue are notambiguous. See (continued...) 22We acknowledge that, in thoughtful decisions, the New Mexico Supreme Court in Doe and the district court here came to contrary conclusions. In particular, the New Mexico Supreme Court concluded that “[t]ortsuits are . . . related to gaming activity in helping ensure that gaming patron s are not exposed to unwarranted dangers, something that inures to the benefit of the Tribes.” 154 P.3d at 655. In support of its position, the Doe court relied on the rationale that Congress “could rationally conclude that tribes ought not to be foreclosed from negotiating such provisions perceived to be in their own intere st, and as ‘directly related to, and necessary for, the licensing and regulation’ of gaming.” Id . The

6 (...continued) Montana v. Blackfeet Tribe of Indians , 471 U.S. 759, 766 (1985) (noting that “statutes are to be construed liberally in favor of the Indians , with ambiguous provisions interpreted to their benefit” (emphasis added)); E.E.O.C. v. Cherokee Nation (“E.E.O.C/Cherokee”) , 871 F.2d 937, 939 (10th Cir. 1989) (collecting cases indicating that canon of construction applies if there is ambiguity in the statute). For this same reason, we find Appellees’ argument pr edicated on this canon to be unpersuasive. Furthermore, we underscore that we h ave “no roving license, even in ordinary cases of statutory interpretation, to disregard clear language simply on the view that . . . Congress ‘must have inte nded’ something broader.” Bay Mills , 134 S. Ct. at 2034 (quoting pleadings); accord Wis. Cent. Ltd. v. United States , --- S. Ct. ----, No. 17-530, 2018 WL 3058014, at *5 (June 21, 2018) (“It is not our function ‘to rewrite a constitutional ly valid statutory text under the banner of speculation about what Congress might have’ intended.” (quoting Henson v. Santander Consumer USA Inc. , --- U.S. ----, 137 S. Ct. 1718, 1725 (2017))); cf. Scalia & Garner, supra , at 56 (“[T]he purpose must be derived from the text [of the applicable statute], not from extrinsic s ources such as . . . an assumption about the legal drafter’s desires.”). In sum, for the foregoing reasons, we find the Appellees’ attempts to distinguish Bay Mills unavailing. 23district court also arrived at a similar conclusion: “Because t ort claims alleged against Indian gaming facilities are ‘directly related to’ the regulation of tortious conduct arising out of Indian gaming, jurisdictional issues ari sing from such tort claims may be the subject of negotiation for a tribal-state compact.” Aplt.’s App.
at 193. While we are comfortable assuming that tort, and more specifica lly personal-injury lawsuits, constitute a type of regulation, we a re unable to discern how applying this form of regulation to a slip-and-fall event, like Mr. McNeal’s, is “directly related to, and necessary for the licensing and re gulation,” § 2710(d)(3)(C)(i), of Class III gaming activity, as Bay Mills conceives of it. For example, whether a casino employee is negligent in cleaning up spilled water on the floor which results in a patron falling has nothing to do w ith the actual regulation or licensing of Class III gaming, viz ., “each roll of the dice and spin of the wheel.” Bay Mills , 134 S. Ct. at 2032. Put differently, just as the licensing o r regulation of gaming activity only directly relates to things a kin to “gambling in the poker hall” and not to “the proceedings of the off-site adm inistrative authority,” id . at 2033, it also does not relate to claims arising out of occ urrences that happen in proximity to—but not as a result of—the hypothet ical card being dealt or chip being bet. Therefore, when viewed through the pr ism of Bay Mills , we respectfully conclude that the reading of IGRA that we adopthere is the correct one, and that the district court and the New Mexico Sup reme Court are
24mistaken. In discerning whether IGRA authorizes tribes to allocate jurisd iction regarding tort claims like the McNeals’ to state courts, we als o look to the text of clause (ii) of subparagraph (C). See King v. St. Vincent’s Hosp. , 502 U.S. 215, 221 (1991) (noting “the cardinal rule that a statute is to be r ead as a whole”);
accord Massachusetts v. Morash , 490 U.S. 107, 115 (1989). Clause (ii) is entirely congruent with, and strongly reinforces, our view of the limitations of IGRA’s authorization of jurisdictional allocations. Notably, this is the only clause in subparagraph (C) that explicitly authorizes tribes to allocate jurisdiction to the states. Specifically, recall that, by its terms, it pro vides for “the allocation of criminal and civil jurisdiction between the State and the In dian tribe necessary for the enforcement of such laws and regulations.” See § 2710(d)(3)(C)(ii). It is clear to us that this provision applies only to the “laws and r egulations” referenced in clause (i). The pronoun “such” in clause (ii) re fers unambiguously back to the “laws and regulations” in the immediately preceding provision, clause (i). And those laws and regulations are ones that are “directl y related to, and necessary for, the licensing and regulation of such activity.” § 2710(d)(3)(C)(i). And, as we have established supra , the “activity” in clause (i)’s phrase “such activity” is “what goes on in a casino—[that is,] each roll of the dice and spin of
the wheel .” Bay Mills , 134 S. Ct. at 2032 (emphasis added). It necessarily follows that the allocation of civil jurisdictio n referenced in
25clause (ii) pertains solely to the allocation that is “necessary for the enforcement of the laws and regulations,” § 2710(d)(3)(C)(ii), that are “di rectly related to, and necessary for, the licensing and regulation of” the playing of Class III games, § 2710(d)(3)(C)(i)—and not for the enforcement of laws and regu lations pertaining to such tangential matters as the safety of walking surfaces in Class III casino restrooms. Put another way, because tort law in the cir cumstances here does not directly relate to the licensing and regulation of gambling itself, clause (ii)—which depends upon clause (i) to define the scope of its a llocation of civil jurisdiction—does not authorize tribes to agree in gaming compa cts to shift (i.e., allocate) jurisdiction to state courts over tort claims like th ose here. 7

7 We pause to highlight that our holding only pertains to the circumstances presented here. More specifically, we do not int end by this holding to categorically negate the possibility that certain classes oftort or personalinjury claims stemming from conduct on Indian land might concei vably satisfy the statutory conditions for tribal allocation of jurisdiction to the states under our plain reading of clauses (i) and (ii) of IGRA. Consider, for e xample, a casino patron at a roulette table: during the course of the game, an e rrant ball flies and hits the patron in the eye, causing damage to the patron. Or, in a different situation, a patron is playing on a dysfunctional slot machine that electrocutes the patron, again resulting in some harm. In both of those instanc es, it is at least arguable that the patron’s injuries resulted directly from gami ng activity, within the meaning of Bay Mills , i.e., “what goes on in a casino—each roll of the dice and spin of a wheel.” 134 S. Ct. at 2032. Assuming arguendo this is so, the harmed plaintiffs could argue—at least colorably—that the tort laws they plan to invoke in their claims are “civil laws and regulations . . . di rectly related to, and necessary for, the licensing and regulation, of” the gaming act ivities that caused them harm, and that the allocation of jurisdiction was “necessa ry for the enforcement” of those tort laws. § 2710(d)(3)(C)(i), (ii). Inshort, the hypothetical plaintiffs could argue (at least colorably) that the tribe running the (continued...) 262 Appellees present two principal counterarguments, but neither i s persuasive. First, they contend that IGRA’s legislative history supports the conclusion that the statute was created with the intent of perm itting tribes to allocate their jurisdiction when they deemed it in their favor to do so. See McNeal Aplees.’ Br. at 9–13; J. Dalley’s Br. at 19–23. However , we need not consider legislative history where, as here, we find the statut ory language unambiguous. 8 See Mohamad v. Palestinian Auth. , 566 U.S. 449, 458 (2012) (“[R]eliance on legislative history is unnecessary in light of the statute’s unambiguous language.” (quoting Milavetz, Gallop & Milavetz, P.A. v. United

7 (...continued) casino at issue would have been authorized under IGRA’s plain t erms to allocate jurisdiction to the state over their tort claims. We need not and do not express any opinion on whether such hypothetical plaintiffs—or similarl y situated ones—could succeed on such an argument because the circumstance s of those plaintiffs are not before us. The McNeals’ circumstances are. And what is clear in a slip-and-fall case, like this one, is that a plaintiff’s h arm cannot plausibly be said to have resulted from gaming activity, within the meaning of Bay Mills —that is, from the playing of dice, the pulling of a slot machine, orother participation in Class III gambling. And such a plaintiff, like the McNeals, ca nnot argue that the tribe would have been authorized under IGRA’s plain terms to sh ift jurisdiction over his or her tort claims to the state courts.

8 In this regard, we find common ground with Justice Minzner’s dissent in Doe , in which he reasoned that “[h]ad Congress intended for such [ tort] claims to be included, . . . IGRA would have been more explicit , and we would not need to parse legislative history for indicia of legislativ e intent.” 154 P.3d at 658 (Minzner, J. dissenting). Based on our reading of IGRA’s p lain text, we reject the Doe majority’s reliance on legislative history. 27States , 559 U.S. 229, 236 n.3 (2010))); accord United States v. Woods , 571 U.S. 31, 46 n.5 (2013) (“Whether or not legislative history is ever relevant, it need not be consulted when, as here, the statutory text is unambiguous.” ); United States v.
Hunt , 456 F.3d 1255, 1268 (10th Cir. 2006) (“We recognize that it i s not necessary to resort to legislative history when statutory langu age is unambiguous.”). Moreover, had Congress wanted to permit tribes to allocate jurisdiction in such cases, it could have crafted language to e ffectuate this purpose, but it did not do so. See Pueblo of Santa Ana v. Nash , 972 F. Supp. 2d 1254, 1265 (D.N.M. 2013) (declining to look for guidance in IGRA’s legislative history and “opt[ing] instead to rely on the clear statutory structure of IGRA,” and noting in this regard that Congress could have “worded subparag raph (ii) in a way that obviously or necessarily included a shifting of jurisdicti on over such claims [i.e., tort claims involving serving alcohol to intoxicated per sons],” but it did not do so); cf. Bay Mills , 134 S. Ct. at 2033–34 (“[T]his Court does not revise legislation . . . just because the text as written creates an apparent anomaly as to some subject it does not address. Truth be told, such anomalie s often arise from statutes, if for no other reason than that Congress typically l egislates by parts—addressing one thing without examining all others that mi ght merit comparable treatment.”). Appellee’s second argument is one that we considered and reject ed in our independent assessment of the meaning of clause (i)—that is, th e argument that
28tort law is “directly related to, and necessary for, the licens ing and regulation of” gaming activity, within the meaning of clause (i). § 2710(d)(3 )(C)(i). Accordingly, we conclude that Appellees’ two arguments come up short.

*** In sum, we conclude that clauses (i) and (ii), by their plain m eaning, do not authorize tribes to allocate during the compacting process juri sdiction to state courts for tort claims such as the McNeals’ arising on Indian l and. We therefore turn to the second question of whether clause (vii)’s catch-all provision permits tribal-state compacts to serve as vehicles for shifting civil j urisdiction over such tort claims.
C
1 The Nation next challenges the district court’s alternative hol ding that even if the first two clauses of § 2710(d)(3)(C) do not permit the a llocating of jurisdiction during the compacting process, the Nation could ha ve allocated jurisdiction over the McNeals’ tort claims pursuant to clause ( vii), the catch-all provision. Aplt.’s App. at 193 (district court reasoning that “[b]ecause tort liability resulting from ‘the operation of gaming activities’ i s ‘directly related to’ the same [i.e., operation], the catchall provision . . . also p rovides authority for Tribes and states to negotiate the allocation of jurisdiction o f such tort claims”). As noted above, clause (vii) provides that a compact may includ e “any other
29subjects that are directly related to the operation of gaming a ctivities.” § 2710(d)(3)(C)(vii). We ultimately conclude that the districtcourt’s reading of clause (vii) is mistaken and thus sustain the Nation’s challeng e. Given that we must “presume that [Congress] says in a statute w hat it means and means in the statute what it says there,” Conn. Nat. Bank v. Germain , 503 U.S. 249, 253–54 (1992) (collecting cases); accord Mountain States Tel. & Tel. Co. v. Pueblo of Santa Ana , 472 U.S. 237, 249 (1985), it is significant that the subject of jurisdictional allocation is only mentioned in c lause (ii). As the Nation puts it, “there is no language in that section [i.e., cl ause (vii)] that pertains to the allocation of jurisdiction between the tribe and the sta te.” Aplt.’s Reply Br. at 12 (emphasis omitted). This omission provides a signifi cant clue that Congress did not contemplate that this provision would cover th e topic of the allocation of jurisdiction over civil lawsuits between states and tribes. Although the Appellees argue that the legislative history points to a di fferent result, this omission militates in favor of a conclusion that our “judicial inquiry into the applicability of [clause (vii)] begins and ends with what [clau se (ii)] does say and with what [clause (vii)] does not.” Germain , 503 U.S. at 254; United States v. Ron Pair Enters., Inc. , 489 U.S. 235, 241 (1989) (“The task of resolving the dispute over the meaning of § 506(b) begins where all such inqu iries must begin: with the language of the statute itself. In this case it is al so where the inquiry should end, for where, as here, the statute’s language is plain , ‘the sole function
30of the courts is to enforce it according to its terms.’” (citat ion omitted) (quoting
Caminetti v. United States , 242 U.S. 470, 485 (1917))). Here, clause (ii) speaks directly and specifically to tribal-state compacting regarding the allocation of jurisdiction, whereas clause (vii) does not explicitly raise th e topic of jurisdictional allocation. This constitutes a significant clue that Congress did not intend for this provision to relate to tribal-state compacting regarding the allocation of jurisdiction. To be sure, clause (vii) functions as a catch-all provision, an d, consequently, Congress expressed its scope in broad terms, to e ncompass “any other subjects that are directly related to the operation of gaming a ctivities,” § 2710(d)(3)(C)(vii). But the key word here is “other.” 9 Typically, statutory

9 In reaching the opposite conclusion than the one we ultimately do regarding the import of clause (vii)—i.e., that the clause perm its the allocation of jurisdiction—the district court, quite significantly, omitted the term “other” from its analysis: “This Section allows the Tribes and states to neg otiate regarding ‘any . . . subjects that are directly related to the operation of gaming activities.’” Aplt.’s App. at 193 (quoting 25 U.S.C. § 2710(d)(3)(C)(vii)). The court then concluded that “the catchall provision . . . provides authorityfor Tribes and states to negotiate the allocation of jurisdiction of such tort claims .” Id . As we will explicate infra , adding the term “other” back into clause (vii) completely alt ers its meaning and undermines the district court’s determination. In brief, the term “other” indicates that the catchall provision covers subjects that have not already been addressed by the other clauses of subparagraph (C). And, because the subject of jurisdictional allocation is undisputedly consideredin clause (ii), a plain reading of clause (vii) in light of the rest of subparagr aph (C), supports the conclusion that clause (vii) does not discuss jurisdictional co nsiderations. See United States v. Bishop , 412 U.S. 346, 356 (1973) (“We continue to recognize that context is important in the quest for the word’s meaning.” ); accord United (continued...) 31language is given its “ordinary, everyday” meaning, unless the context suggests otherwise. Toomer v. City Cab , 443 F.3d 1191, 1194 (10th Cir. 2006) (“We must construe the words of the statute in their ordinary, everyday s ense.”); accord
Chickasaw Nation v. United States , 208 F.3d 871, 876 (10th Cir. 2000); see Scalia & Garner, supra , at 69 (“Words are to be understood in their ordinary, everyday meanings—unless the context indicates that they bear a technica l sense.” (emphasis omitted)). And applying the ordinary and everyday me aning of the word “other” in clause (vii), it becomes patent that Congress d id not intend for that clause to address the “subjects” covered in the preceding clauses of subsection (C)—including the jurisdictional-allocation subject of clause (ii). See
W EBSTER ’ S T HIRD N EW I NTERNATIONAL D ICTIONARY 1598 (1961) [hereinafter
“W EBSTER ’ S ”] (defining “other” to mean, inter alia , “being the ones distinct from the one or those first mentioned” and “not the same: Different” ); T HE A MERICAN H ERITAGE D ICTIONARY 880 (2d ed. 1982) [hereinafter “A MERICAN H ERITAGE ”] (defining “other” to mean, inter alia , “[d]ifferent from that or those implied or specified”); see also T HE N EW O XFORD A MERICAN D ICTIONARY 1205 (2d ed. 2005) [hereinafter “N EW O XFORD ”] (noting that the word “other” is “used to refer to a person or thing that is different from one already mention ed or known about” and further defining it, inter alia , to mean “those remaining in a group; those not

9 (...continued) States v. Husted , 545 F.3d 1240, 1243–44 (10th Cir. 2008). 32already mentioned”); cf. Wis. Cent. Ltd. v. United States , --- U.S.. ----, 138 S. Ct. 2067, 2071(2018) (“As usual, our job is to interpret the words consistent with their ‘ordinary meaning . . . at the time Congress enacted the statute.’” (quoting
Perrin v. United States , 444 U.S. 37, 42 (1979)) (then citing contemporary dictionaries to determine meaning of the disputed statutory term)). Nor could one persuasively argue that the term “other” in claus e (vii) authorizes the allocation of jurisdiction with respect to subje cts other than those covered by the jurisdictional-allocation language of clause (ii ). In our view, a well-established canon of statutory construction—the negative-i mplication canon (i.e., the canon expressio unius est exclusio alterius ) would fatally undercut such an argument. That canon provides that the “expressi[on] [of] o ne item of [an] associated group or series excludes another left unmentioned.” N.L.R.B. v. SW Gen., Inc. , --- U.S. ----, 137 S. Ct. 929, 940 (2017) (quoting Chevron U.S.A. Inc. v. Echazabal , 536 U.S. 73, 80 (2002)). In other words,“[t]he notion is one of negative implication: the enumeration of certain things in a st atute suggests that the legislature had no intent of including things not listed orembraced.” SenecaCayuga Tribe of Okla. v. Nat’l Indian Gaming Comm’n , 327 F.3d 1019, 1034 & n.24 (10th Cir. 2003) (quoting William N. Eskridge, et al., C ASES AND M ATERIALS ON L EGISLATION : S TATUTES AND THE C REATION OF P UBLIC P OLICY 947 (3d ed. 2001))) see also Scalia & Gardner, supra , at 107 (discussing the operation of the “negative-implication canon”).
33Here, clause (ii) is the only clause in subsection (C) that exp ressly addresses the allocation of jurisdiction between states and tri bes. And, as our reasoning in Part III.B.1, supra , demonstrates, it does so in specific terms—albeit by cross-reference—to clause (i). That is, by its use of the l anguage “such laws and regulations,” clause (ii) expressly refers back to the “law s and regulations” of clause (i)—which are “directly related to, and necessary for, the licensing and regulation of” the playing of Class III games, § 2710(d)(3)(C)( i). And it contemplates tribal-state compacting regarding the allocation o f criminal and civil jurisdiction “necessary for the enforcement” of the laws and re gulations specified in clause (i). § 2710(d)(3)(C)(ii). Thus, the allocation of j urisdiction referenced in clause (ii) pertains solely to the allocation that is “neces sary for the enforcement of the laws and regulations,” id. , that are “directly related to, and necessary for, the licensing and regulation of” the playing of Class III games, § 2710(d)(3)(C)(i)—that is, “what goes on in a casino—[that is, ] each roll of the dice and spin of the wheel ,” Bay Mills , 134 S. Ct. at 2032 (emphasis added). Therefore, clause (ii)’s specific textual expression (by cross- reference) of matters covered by its jurisdictional allocation reasonably ind icates that Congress did not envision that any distinct subjects—such as tort claims arising from a casino’s failure to safely maintain floors in its restrooms—wou ld provide the grounds for a jurisdictional allocation. See Halverson v. Slater , 129 F.3d 180, 186 & n.8 (D.C. Cir. 1997) (applying the negative-implication c anon to hold that
34a statute that specifically “delineates the class of permissibl e delegatees as officers, employees and members of the Coast Guard” was “intend ed to exclude delegation to non-Coast Guard officials” under another, general delegation statute, even though the former statute “did not expressly prohibit delegation of” the “powers and duties [at issue] to a non-Coast Guard official ” and did not explicitly use the term “only” in listing the class of delegate es); see also United
States v. Giordano , 416 U.S. 505, 514 (1974) (tacitly applying the logic of the negative-implication canon in concluding that, though the statu te at issue did not use “[e]qually precise language forbidding delegation” as those which delegated duties only to certain officials, its language “fairly read, was intended to limit the power to authorize wiretap applications to the Attorney General himself and to any Assistant Attorney General he might designate,” and anotherstatute that generally authorized the Attorney General to delegate his or he r duties to agency employees did not permit further delegation of the power to authorize wiretap applications); Scalia & Garner, supra , at 107 (“The doctrine properly applies only when the unius (or technically, unum , the thing specified) can reasonably be thought to be an expression of all that shares in the grant or prohibition involved.”); id. at 108 (noting that “[t]he more specific the enumeration, the greater the force of the canon”); id. at 111 (discussing Giordano in the context of noting that “the negative-implication canon is so intuitive tha t courts often apply it correctly without calling it by name”). Thus, we do not bel ieve that the term
35“other” in clause (vii) authorizes the allocation of jurisdicti on with respect to subjects other than those covered by the jurisdictional-allocation language of clause (ii). Cf. Scalia & Garner, supra , at 167 (“Context is a primary determinant of meaning. A legal instrument typically contains many interre lated parts that make up the whole. The entirety of the document thus provides context for each of its parts.”). Lastly, our conclusion is independently and distinctly bolstere d by our “preference for avoiding surplusage constructions.” King v. Burwell , --- U.S. ----, 135 S. Ct. 2480, 2483 (2015) (quoting Lamie v. United States Trustee , 540 U.S. 526, 536 (2004)); Duncan v. Walker , 533 U.S. 167, 174 (2001) (declining to “adopt respondent’s construction of the statute” because it wou ld render a word in the statute “insignificant, if not wholly superfluous”). More specifically, “[t]he canon against surplusage indicates that we generally must give effect to all statutory provisions, so that no part will be inoperative or superfluous—each phrase must have distinct meaning.” Chevron Mining Inc. v. United States , 863 F.3d 1261, 1283 n.15 (10th Cir. 2017); see Scalia & Garner, supra , at 174 (“If possible, every word and every provision is to be given effect . . . . None should be ignored. None should needlessly be given an interpretation that causes it to duplicate another provision or to have no consequence.” (emphas is omitted)). Yet, if we were to adopt an expansive reading of clause (vii), in which jurisdiction may be allocated for “ any . . . subjects that are directly related to the
36operation of gaming activities,” § 2710(d)(3)(C)(vii) 10—including tort claims arising from a casino’s failure to safely maintain floors in it s restrooms—it would render clause (ii)’s jurisdictional-allocation language mere surplusage. Put more finely, such a reading would wholly swallow clause (ii )’s specific and narrow allowance for jurisdictional allocations that are “n ecessary for the enforcement of the laws and regulations,” § 2710(d)(3)(C)(ii), that are “directly related to, and necessary for, the licensing and regulation of” the playing of Class III games, § 2710(d)(3)(C)(i). That is because such laws and r egulations directly pertaining to, and necessary for, the licensing and regulation of Class III games, and the matters necessary for their enforcement, patently const itute one of the subjects that is “directly related to the operation of gaming a ctivities.” § 2710(d)(3)(C)(vii). In this regard, we have no doubt that (g iven its common, everyday meaning) the term “operation” in this context sweeps broadly. See
W EBSTER ’ S , supra , at 1581 (defining “operation” to mean, inter alia , “method or manner of functioning”); A MERICAN H ERITAGE , supra , at 871 (defining “operation” to mean, inter alia , “[a] process or series of acts performed to effect a certain purpose or result”); see also N EW O XFORD , supra , at 1193 (defining “operation” to mean, inter alia , “an activity in which” a “business or

10 This is in effect the reading of clause (vii) that the districtcourt adopted here. As mentioned in note 9, supra , the court’s reading failed to give effect to, and in fact misguidedly elided, the critical term “o ther” in clause (vii). 37organization; a company” “is involved”); cf. Chemehuevi Indian Tribe v. Brown , No. EDCV161347JFWMRWX, 2017 WL 2971864, at *6 (C.D. Cal. Mar. 3 0, 2017) (unpublished) (noting that “if Congress intended the perm issible topics set forth in . . . [clause] (vii) to be more narrowly construed, itwould not have utilized the broad language it did”). And, therefore, even with the limiting language “directly,” clause (vii) would have the effect of subs uming, and rendering of no effect, the language and substance of clause (i i)— viz. , if clause (vii) were construed in the expansive manner noted, to include the subject of jurisdictional allocation, it would have this effect. Put another way, if clause (vii)’s language were read to allow for compacts to allocate jurisdiction with respect to any subjects directly related to the operation of Class III games, the more specific and limited jurisdictiona lallocation language of clause (ii) would be (in substance) dupl icative, nugatory, and of no effect—i.e., surplusage. Consequently, we conclude that the statutoryconstruction canon that counsels courts to avoid interpretation s that render statutory terms surplusage is an independent and distinct groun d for rejecting the expansive reading of clause (vii) discussed herein. See Halverson , 129 F.3d at 185 (rejecting argument that a specific delegation statute does not “provide any delegation authority beyond what [the agency head] already poss esses under [a general delegation statute], and thus, at most, merely confirms his . . . authority [under that general delegation statute]” because “[t]his readin g plainly violates
38the familiar doctrine that the Congress cannot be presumed to d o a futile thing”).
2 The Appellees present three counterarguments; none lands with any force. First, Appellees, again citing to the statute’s legislative his tory, contend that the catch-all section (i.e., clause (vii)) should be read broadly, consistent with their understanding of Congress’s intent. See McNeal Aplees.’ Br. at 9–13; J. Dalley’s Br. at 16–23. This argument can gain no traction here, however , in light of our conclusion that the statute is unambiguous. Because it is so, we have no need (much less an inclination) to “resort” to the statute’s legislative history. Public
Lands Council v. Babbitt , 167 F.3d 1287, 1306 (10th Cir. 1999) (“Courts should not resort to legislative history in order to ascertain Congres s’s intent when the plain language of the statute is unambiguous.”); see Edwards v. Valdez , 789 F.2d 1477, 1481 (10th Cir. 1986) (“When the meaning of the statute i s clear, it is both unnecessary and improper to resort to legislative history to di vine congressional intent.”). Second, the McNeals rely on the Ninth Circuit’s opinion in In re Indian Gaming Related Cases , 331 F.3d 1094 (9th Cir. 2003), for the proposition that clause (vii) must be read broadly to provide state residents pr otection from injury while they are at the casinos. See McNeal Aplees.’ Br. at 15–16. This argument is unconvincing. First of all, it goes without saying that the Ninth Circuit’s construction of IGRA is not binding on us. Furthermore, the Ni nth Circuit’s
39pertinent holding in that case— viz. , that labor issues were “directly related to the operation of gaming activities” under clause (vii), In re Indian Gaming , 331 F.3d at 1115–16—does not speak to the essential question before us: whether Congress intended clause (vii)’s broad and general language to authorize tribes and states to compact regarding the allocation of jurisdiction over tort clai ms like the McNeals’. Lastly, insofar as In re Indian Gaming informs our resolution of that question, it actually undercuts the McNeals’ position. The lat ter two points would benefit from a little more discussion. Specifically, in analyzing and ultimately distinguishing In re Indian Gaming , we accept, without definitively opining on the matter, the pr oposition that labor issues fall within the broad scope of clause (vii)’s “operation of gaming activities,” even when the term “gaming activities” is viewed through the prism of Bay Mills , to mean the actual playing of Class III games. See Bay Mills , 134 S. Ct. at 2032 (emphasis added) (defining “gaming activity” as “wh at goes on in a casino—[that is,] each roll of the dice and spin of the wheel”) ; Bryan H. Wildenthal, Federal Labor Law, Indian Sovereignty, and the Canons of
Construction , 86 O R

. L. R EV . 413, 429–30 (2007) (Noting that many state-tribal compacts “address[ed] the issue of labor relations” pursuant to IGRA and that “it was anticipated by language in IGRA in which Congress—while notexpressly referring to labor issues—broadly authorized states and tribes to include compact provisions on ‘any . . . subjects that are directly related to the operation of gaming
40activities’”); id . at 430 n.47 (“There may well be grounds to question the use o f IGRA to impose labor relations requirements on Indian tribes, though it seems to be a well-established practice.”). But that proposition does n ot directly offer any insight into the specific question we must decide, regarding wh ether the subject of jurisdictional allocation over claims (notably, tort slip-and-f all claims) is included within the scope of clause (vii). More specifically, nothing i n In re Indian Gaming suggests that clause (vii) permits the allocation of jurisdict ion at all; indeed, the McNeals seem to recognize this by failing to make any such argument. Cf . C OHEN ’ S H ANDBOOK , supra , § 12.05[3], at 894 (describing the case as dealing with “revenue-sharing” and “labor relations” disputes, and not discussing any jurisdictional concerns). Furthermore, to the extent that the inclusion of labor-relatio ns issues within the ambit of clause (vii) offers clues regarding the resolutionof the question before us, they do not avail the McNeals. Specifically, assumi ng that laborrelations issues “directly relate[] to the operation of gaming activities,” § 2710(d)(3)(C)(vii), it does not strike us as remarkable that such issues would fall squarely within the scope of clause (vii) because labor-re lations issues are not expressly addressed in any of the preceding clauses of subparag raph (C) and, therefore, would be “other” in relation to the subjects address ed in those preceding clauses. In other words, labor-relations issues woul d naturally fall within clause (vii)’s catch-all category of “any other subject,” id. (emphasis
41added), because that subject is not mentioned in the preceding clauses of subparagraph (C). In contrast, this logic undercuts the notionthat the subject of jurisdictional allocation falls within the scope of clause (vii ) because this subject
is expressly addressed in the preceding clauses—specifically, in clause (ii). Therefore, to the extent that In re Indian Gaming informs our resolution of the question we must answer here, it actually belies the McNeals’ argument. Third, and lastly, Judge Dalley contends that the reading of § 2710(d)(3)(C) that we now endorse “would invalidate many provisions in this and other gaming compacts that have been negotiated by tribes and states.” J. D alley’s Br. at 27. For example, he asserts that key provisions of the tribal-state compact before us—involving “the physical safety of patrons and employees,” “w ages on construction projects,” and “criminal jurisdiction” over offens es committed by non-Indians on Indian land—will all be “invalidate[d]” because they do not “directly relate[] to” “gaming activities,” as this statutory l anguage is understood through the lens of Bay Mills

. See id. We find Judge Dalley’s argument unpersuasive, however. First of all, Judge Dalley’s brief fails to offer us much by th e way of reasoning to explain the basis for his parade of horribles, rel ying instead on conclusory statements. See id . (“None of these provisions is likely sufficiently ‘directly related to’ ‘gaming activities’ under the Navajo Nati on and Pueblo of Santa Ana’s interpretations of the IGRA to survive scrutiny.”). Second, at least
42in the absence of such reasoning, we are hard-pressed to see ho w the reading of the statutory language “directly related to . . . gaming activi ties,” § 2510(d)(3)(C)(vii); see also § 2510(d)(3)(C)(i) (“directly related to . . . such [gaming] activity), that we endorse here could have the widespr ead destructive effect that Judge Dalley predicts. This language is construed in the context of our limited procedural holding that relates solely to whether IGRA authorizes tribes

to allocate jurisdiction over tort claims like the McNeals’ to state courts. This holding does not address what substantive matters are proper subjects of compacting under IGRA, such as the physical safety of casino st aff and visitors, and the proper wage rates on casino projects, much less invalid ate compact provisions pertaining to such substantive subjects. As noted, the question before us is a procedural one involving the statutory authorization un der IGRA to shift jurisdiction over tort claims like those of the McNeals. Furth ermore, even assuming arguendo that the Tribe has allocated to New Mexico in the instant compact criminaljurisdiction over offenses committed by non-Indians on tribal land, the propriety of this procedural subject is not before us , and we have no obligation nor inclination to opine on the implications of our decision for the vitality of this compact provision. In all events, our main concern here ultimately must be the fai thful and true interpretation of IGRA’s plain terms, not the ostensible collat eral effects of our interpretation on existing compact provisions; generally, this is true at least so
43long as our interpretation would not yield absurd results, and it patently would not do so, nor does Judge Dalley argue to this effect. See, e.g. , Sebelius v. Cloer , 569 U.S. 369, 381 (2013) (“We reiterate that ‘when [a] statute’ s language is plain, the sole function of the courts—at least where the disposition required by the text is not absurd—is to enforce it according to its terms.’” (quoti ng Hartford Underwriters Ins. Co. v. Union Planters Bank, N.A. , 530 U.S. 1, 6, (2000))). Thus, we reject Judge Dalley’s argument as well.

*** In sum, we hold that clause (vii) of IGRA does not authorize tr ibes to allocate to states jurisdiction over tort claims like the McNea ls’, based on our interpretation of the clause’s plain language, in the context o f the other clauses of subparagraph (C) of § 2710(d)(3).
IV In light of the above, we conclude that IGRA, under its plain t erms, does not authorize tribes to allocate to states jurisdiction over to rt claims like those brought by the McNeals here. 11 Stated differently, the Appellees have failed to

11 One argument that we do not rely upon in coming to this conclus ion is the Nation’s argument that we should resolve any ambiguity i n IGRA in its favor based on the Indian canon of statutory interpretation. See Aplt.’s Opening Br. at 10. As we discussed in note 6, supra , this canon provides that “doubtful expressions” in statutes should be “resolved in favor of the In dians,” Bryan , 426 U.S. at 392 (quoting Alaska Pac. Fisheries Co. , 248 U.S. at 89), but it is typically only operative when the statute is ambiguous, see, e.g. , E.E.O.C./Cherokee , 871 (continued...) 44clear a threshold hurdle: they have not established that IGRA authorizes the allocation of jurisdiction to state courts for these tort claim s. As such, we
REVERSE the district court’s judgment and REMAND with instructions to grant the Nation’s request for declaratory relief.

11 (...continued) F.2d at 939. As we have underscored, we do not find the IGRA p rovisions at issue here to be ambiguous; therefore, we eschew reliance on th is canon. 45