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Page Number: 9.0

6 

YELLEN v. CONFEDERATED TRIBES OF CHEHALIS 
RESERVATION 
Opinion of the Court 

memorandum on the status of ANCs under ISDA.  App. 44–
48.  In the Assistant Solicitor’s view, the express inclusion 
of  ANCs  within  the  definition  of  “Indian  tribe”  confirmed 
that ANCs are Indian tribes under ISDA, even though they
are  not  federally  recognized  tribes.    In  the  decades  since, 
the Interior Department has repeatedly reaffirmed that po-
sition.  See,  e.g.,  60  Fed.  Reg.  9250  (1995)  (ANCs  “ha[ve] 
been designated as ‘tribes’ for the purposes of some Federal 
laws,”  including  ISDA);  58  Fed.  Reg.  54364  (1993)  (ANCs
“are  not  governments,  but  they  have  been  designated  as 
‘tribes’  for  the  purposes  of ”  ISDA);  53  Fed.  Reg.  52833
(1988) (ISDA “specifically include[s]” ANCs). 

C 
In 2020, Congress incorporated ISDA’s “Indian tribe” def-
inition into the CARES Act.  42 U. S. C. §801(g)(1).  Title V 
of the Act allocates $150 billion to “States, Tribal govern-
ments, and units of local government” to compensate for un-
budgeted  expenditures  made  in  response  to  COVID–19. 
§801(a)(1).   Of  that  $150  billion, $8  billion is  reserved  for 
“Tribal  governments.”  §801(a)(2)(B).    A  “Tribal  govern-
ment” is the “recognized governing body of an Indian Tribe,” 
as ISDA defines the latter term.  §§801(g)(5), (1).

On April 23, 2020, the Treasury Department determined 
that ANCs are eligible for CARES Act relief, and set aside
more than $500 million for them (since reduced to approxi-
mately $450 million).  App. 53–54; Letter from E. Prelogar,
Acting Solicitor General, to S. Harris, Clerk of Court (May
12, 2021).  Soon after the Treasury Department’s announce-
ment, a number of federally recognized tribes (respondents)
sued, arguing that only federally recognized tribes are In-
dian  tribes  under  ISDA,  and  thus  under  the  CARES  Act. 
Some Tribes further argued that ANCs do not have a “rec-
ognized governing body” for purposes of the CARES Act and
are ineligible to receive its funding for that reason as well.

The suits were consolidated in the District Court for the