Source: http://supreme.nolo.com/us/537/488/index.html
Timestamp: 2019-04-20 08:23:46+00:00

Document:
The Indian Mineral Leasing Act of 1938 (IMLA) provides that "[u]nallotted lands within any Indian reservation," or otherwise under federal jurisdiction, "may, with the approval of the Secretary [of the Interior (Secretary)] ... , be leased for mining purposes, by authority of the tribal council or other authorized spokesmen for such Indians." 25 U. S. C. § 396a. The 1M LA aims to provide Indian tribes with a profitable source of revenue and to foster tribal self-determination by giving Indians a greater say in the use and disposition of the resources on their lands.
then-customary rate for coal leases on federal and Indian lands. Pursuant to 25 U. S. C. § 396a, Secretary Hodel approved the amended Lease in December 1987.
In 1993, the Tribe brought this action for damages against the United States, alleging, inter alia, that the Secretary's approval of the Lease amendments constituted a breach of trust. Although granting summary judgment for the United States, the Court of Federal Claims found that the Secretary had flagrantly dishonored the Government's general fiduciary duties to the Tribe by acting in Peabody's best interests rather than those of the Tribe. The court nevertheless concluded that the Tribe had entirely failed to link that breach of duty to any statutory or regulatory obligation which could be fairly interpreted as mandating compensation for the Government's actions. The Federal Circuit reversed. Relying on 25 U. S. C. § 399 and regulations promulgated thereunder, the appeals court determined that the measure of control the Secretary exercised over the leasing of Indian lands for mineral development sufficed to warrant a money judgment against the United States. Agreeing with the Federal Claims Court that the Secretary's actions regarding Peabody's administrative appeal violated the Government's fiduciary obligations to the Tribe, the Court of Appeals remanded for further proceedings, including a determination of damages.
Held: United States v. Mitchell, 445 U. S. 535 (Mitchell I), and United States v. Mitchell, 463 U. S. 206 (Mitchell II), control this case. The controversy here falls within Mitchell Fs domain, and the Tribe's claim for compensation from the Government fails, for it does not derive from any liability-imposing provision of the IMLA or its implementing regulations. Pp. 502-514.
(a) To state a litigable claim, a tribal plaintiff must invoke a rightscreating source of substantive law that "can fairly be interpreted as mandating compensation by the Federal Government for the damages sustained." Mitchell II, 463 U. S., at 218. Although the Indian Tucker Act, 28 U. S. C. § 1505, confers jurisdiction upon the Court of Federal Claims in cases where this requirement is met, the Act is not itself a source of substantive rights. E. g., Mitchell II, 463 U. S., at 216. Pp. 502-503.

References: § 396
 § 396
 § 399
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 § 1505