Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/20pdf/20-543_3e04.pdf
Page Number: 34.0

Cite as:  594 U. S. ____ (2021) 

3 

GORSUCH, J., dissenting 

and Ouray Reservation 1 (Brief for Respondent Ute Tribe).  
Congress  also  accounted  for  ANC  shareholders,  and  all 
Alaskans, when it directed over $2 billion to the State.  In 
fact,  Alaska  received  more  money  per  capita  than  all  but 
two other States.  Id., at 3; Congressional Research Service, 
General State and Local Fiscal Assistance and COVID–19: 
Background and Available Data (Feb. 8, 2021).  The Alaska 
Native Villages received hundreds of millions of those dol-
lars because everyone agrees they qualify as tribal govern-
ments for purposes of the CARES Act.  See ibid.  This suit 
concerns only the ANCs’ claim of entitlement to additional 
funds  statutorily  reserved  for  “Tribal  governments.”    42 
U. S. C. §801(a)(2)(B).  If that counterintuitive proposition 
holds  true,  ANCs  will  receive  approximately  $450  million 
that would otherwise find its way to recognized tribal gov-
ernments  across  the  country,  including  Alaska’s  several 
hundred Native Villages.  See Letter from E. Prelogar, Act-
ing Solicitor General, to S. Harris, Clerk of Court (May 12, 
2021). 
  In  the  CARES  Act,  Congress  defined  a  “Tribal  govern-
ment”  as  the  “recognized  governing  body  of  an  Indian 
Tribe.” §801(g)(5).  In turn, Congress specified in §801(g)(1) 
that  the  term  “Indian  Tribe”  should  carry  here  the  same 
meaning that it bears in the Indian Self-Determination and 
Education Assistance Act of 1975 (ISDA).  The relevant por-
tion of that statute provides as follows: 

  “ ‘Indian  tribe’  [or  ‘Indian  Tribe’] means  any Indian 
tribe, band, nation, or other organized group or commu-
nity, including any Alaska Native village or regional or 
village corporation as defined in or established pursu-
ant  to  the  Alaska  Native  Claims  Settlement  Act  (85 
Stat.  688)  [43  U. S. C.  1601  et.  seq.],  which  is  recog-
nized as eligible for the special programs and services 
provided  by  the  United  States  to  Indians  because  of 
their status as Indians.”  25 U. S. C. §5304(e).