Source: https://openjurist.org/649/f2d/1286
Timestamp: 2018-03-24 10:28:33
Document Index: 535367016

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 170', '§ 61', '§ 61', '§ 11', '§ 666', '§ 530', '§ 82', '§ 82', '§ 82', '§ 593', '§ 80', '§ 461', '§ 2', '§ 2', '§ 70', '§ 70', '§ 8', '§ 117']

649 F2d 1286 United States v. Truckee-Carson Irrigation District State of Nevada a | OpenJurist
649 F. 2d 1286 - United States v. Truckee-Carson Irrigation District State of Nevada a
649 F2d 1286 United States v. Truckee-Carson Irrigation District State of Nevada a
Between 1920 and 1938, the level of the Lake dropped some 40 feet; its surface area was reduced by about 20,000 acres. By the early 1940's the strain of cut-throat trout indigenous to the Lake was extinct. The cui-ui just survived. Beginning in 1941 efforts began to restore the fishery with a dam and fishway. In the later 1940's Nevada began stocking the Lake. The success of this effort led to the enactment in 1956 of the Washoe Project Act. Section 4 of that Act declared that "restoration of the Pyramid Lake trout fishery to its full potential value is deemed to be of national interest and importance". Several Lahontan cut-throat trout hatcheries now augment the Lake's fishery. A small, experimental cui-ui hatchery is operating on the Reservation. In 1976 the Marble Bluff Dam and Fishway were completed, enabling the fish to bypass the delta in transit to their spawning grounds. Releases from Stampede Reservoir, completed in 1970, have helped provide flows needed for the fishway. See Pyramid Lake Tribe v. Morton, 354 F.Supp. 252 (D.D.C.1973).
We apply the "clearly erroneous" standard to the district court's findings of fact. However, in several instances, conclusions listed by the district court as "findings of fact" include legal conclusions. This is true of the district court's findings concerning the nature of the government's conflict (quoted at 1295-1296 supra). We are not bound by the legal conclusions or the mixed findings of law and fact. See Bogardus v. Commissioner, 302 U.S. 34, 58 S.Ct. 61, 82 L.Ed. 32 (1937); United States v. One Twin Engine Beech Airplane, 533 F.2d 1106 (9th Cir. 1976); Official Creditors Comm'n v. Ely, 337 F.2d 461, 467 (9th Cir. 1964), cert. denied, 380 U.S. 978, 85 S.Ct. 1342, 14 L.Ed.2d 272 (1965); Weible v. United States, 244 F.2d 158 (9th Cir. 1957); FTC v. Texaco, Inc., 555 F.2d 862, 876 n. 29 (D.C.Cir.1977), cert. denied, 431 U.S. 974, 97 S.Ct. 2940, 53 L.Ed.2d 1072 (1977); Cordovan Assoc. v. Dayton Rubber Co., 290 F.2d 858, 861 (6th Cir. 1961). Accordingly, we have independently reviewed the evidence to assess these findings.DISCUSSION
The Reclamation Act in itself conferred no water rights. It provided means for acquiring water rights, but only under state law. It is now settled that except when inconsistent with "clear congressional directives" respecting a reclamation project, section 8 of the Reclamation Act requires the Secretary to comply with state law in acquiring water rights. California v. United States, 438 U.S. 645, 665-66, 671 n. 24, 98 S.Ct. 2985, 2996, 2999 n. 24, 57 L.Ed.2d 1018 (1978).4
Nor does the Reclamation Act confer authority to acquire additional water for a reclamation project by extinguishing federal water rights reserved for other purposes. "(T)he Secretary of the Interior could not take any action in appropriating the waters of the state streams 'which could not be undertaken by an individual or corporation if it were in the position of the Government as regards the ownership of its lands.' " California v. United States, supra, 438 U.S. at 665, 98 S.Ct. at 2996 (quoting from HR Rep.No. 794, 57th Cong., 1st Sess. 7-8 (1902)). Federal reserved rights cannot be acquired or extinguished under state water laws. FPC v. Oregon, 349 U.S. 435, 444, 75 S.Ct. 832, 838, 99 L.Ed. 1215 (1955); United States v. Cappaert, 508 F.2d 313, 320 (9th Cir. 1974), aff'd, 426 U.S. 128, 96 S.Ct. 2062, 48 L.Ed.2d 523 (1976); and see Minnesota v. United States, 305 U.S. 382, 386-87, 59 S.Ct. 292, 294, 83 L.Ed. 235 (1939). Accordingly, federally reserved water rights, such as those appurtenant to the Pyramid Lake reservation, could not be acquired under the Reclamation Act.
This consideration applies a fortiori when Indian water rights are involved. An intent to extinguish Indian property rights is "not to be lightly imputed to Congress." Menominee Tribe v. United States, 391 U.S. 404, 413, 88 S.Ct. 1705, 1711, 20 L.Ed.2d 697 (1968). Such a drastic result requires "a clear expression of congressional intent." United States v. Winnebago Tribe, 542 F.2d 1002, 1005 (8th Cir. 1976). Executive order reservations such as the Pyramid Lake reservation merit "the same protection as the Indian title to reservations created by treaty or statute." United States v. Southern Pacific Transportation Co., 543 F.2d 676, 686 (9th Cir. 1976). Ambiguities in statutes are resolved in favor of the Indians. United States v. Santa Fe Pacific R.R., 314 U.S 339, 354, 62 S.Ct. 248, 255, 86 L.Ed. 260 (1941). Thus, a general statute, such as the Reclamation Act, is not interpreted to authorize the extinguishment of Indian property, absent a clear showing of congressional intent. Leavenworth, Lawrence, & Galveston R.R. v. United States, 92 U.S. 733, 742, 23 L.Ed. 634 (1876); McCandless v. United States, 25 F.2d 71 (3d Cir. 1928); Confederated Tribes v. Alexander, 440 F.Supp. 553 (D.Or.1977).5
Accordingly, we reject the defendants' suggestion that the Reclamation Act of 1902 conferred on the Secretary authority to extinguish the Pyramid Lake Tribe's water rights. Much less can we agree that the Act conferred authority to proceed to extinguish these rights in the "backhanded" manner suggested by the defendants. Menominee Tribe v. United States, supra, 391 U.S. at 412, 88 S.Ct. at 1710-1711. Even where the Secretary has acquired existing water rights under state law, he has typically provided some notice to the affected owner. E. g., Dugan v. Rank, 372 U.S. 609, 83 S.Ct. 999, 10 L.Ed.2d 15 (1963); United States v. Gerlach Live Stock Co., 339 U.S. 725, 70 S.Ct. 955, 94 L.Ed. 1231 (1950). We must assume that if Congress had intended to confer authority to extinguish Indian property rights, it would have provided for a more straightforward procedure. See Waters and Water Rights, supra, at 162 n.20.
The district court relied on Henkel v. U. S., supra, 237 U.S. 43, 35 S.Ct. 536, 59 L.Ed. 831, for its interpretation of the authority conferred by the 1902 Reclamation Act. Henkel held that the broad authority conferred by section 7 of the Reclamation Act was intended to permit acquisition by purchase of Indian lands. The action sanctioned in Henkel was of an entirely different character than the action involved here. In Henkel the Indians involved received cash compensation, and were permitted to select other allotments in lieu of those taken. In short, Henkel involved a purchase, specifically authorized by section 7 of the Reclamation Act. Here, in contrast, the Secretary has never declared an intention to purchase, extinguish, or acquire the Tribe's water rights. No compensation was paid or even offered. Indeed, the government takes the position that acquisition was never intended. Henkel's broad dicta can have little independent force in this setting.
Defendant City of Reno suggests alternatively that section 26 had a broader purpose than reclamation: it was intended to compel members of the Tribe to become farmers, by extinguishing the Tribe's fishery. We do not doubt that such a step might have been consistent with the mood of the times. See, e. g., Rosebud Sioux Tribe v. Kneip, 430 U.S. 584, 97 S.Ct. 1361, 51 L.Ed.2d 660 (1977). Nor do we doubt that Congress had the power to take such a step. See Lone Wolf v. Hitchcock, 187 U.S. 553, 23 S.Ct. 216, 47 L.Ed. 299 (1903). However, we have not been directed to any legislative history of the 1904 Act showing an intent to extinguish the fishery, and we find no such indication in the text of the Act.9 We must therefore reject the City's suggestion.
Section 10 of the Reclamation Act of 1902 authorized the Secretary "to perform any and all acts as may be necessary and proper for the purpose of carrying the provisions of this act into full force and effect." It is reasonable to conclude that an action to quantify reserved water rights was within the authority conferred by section 10 of the Reclamation Act of 1902. This authority, with the government's guardianship interest in Indian trust land, necessarily implied some authority to represent Reservation interests in litigation. See Heckman v. United States, 224 U.S. 413, 437-39, 32 S.Ct. 424, 431-432, 56 L.Ed. 820 (1912) (suit to cancel conveyance of restricted Indian land); United States v. Rickert, 188 U.S. 432, 23 S.Ct. 478, 47 L.Ed. 532 (1903) (action to enjoin unauthorized taxation of Indian property); Cramer v. United States, 261 U.S. 219, 43 S.Ct. 342, 67 L.Ed. 622 (1923); United States v. Ahtanum Irrigation District, 236 F.2d 321 (9th Cir. 1956), cert. denied, 352 U.S. 988, 77 S.Ct. 386, 1 L.Ed.2d 367 (1957) (suit to establish Indian water right).
Authority to represent the Reservation in litigation does not give the government completely unrestricted control over the litigation. The government acts as a trustee, which implies obligations which may supplement the obligations of an advocate. See, e. g., Restatement (Second) of Trusts §§ 170 & Comments p, q, r (1959). It is therefore appropriate for courts to be concerned with the adequacy of the government's representation of its Indian wards, and to grant tribes leave to intervene where proper. See, e. g., New Mexico v. Aamodt, 537 F.2d 1102, 1106 (10th Cir. 1976), cert. denied, 429 U.S. 1121, 97 S.Ct. 1157, 51 L.Ed.2d 572 (1977); Manygoats v. Kleppe, 558 F.2d 556 (10th Cir. 1977).
The Tribe asserts that different evidence would be required to establish a fishery water right than to establish an irrigation water right. See United States v. The Haytian Republic, 154 U.S. 118, 125, 14 S.Ct. 992, 994, 38 L.Ed. 930 (1894); Bankers Trust Co. v. Pacific Employers Insurance Co., 282 F.2d 106 (9th Cir. 1960), cert. denied, 368 U.S. 822, 82 S.Ct. 41, 7 L.Ed.2d 27 (1961); Restatement of Judgments, supra § 61. We find this analysis unpersuasive. The basis for either kind of reserved right would be the same: the executive actions by which the Reservation was established, and the intent that motivated those actions. See United States v. Walker River Irrigation District, 104 F.2d 334 (9th Cir. 1939). The priority date depended on the same evidence. The water rights are appurtenant to the same reservation, and relate to the same source of water. Though a determination of quantity would depend on different evidence, this by itself is insufficient to distinguish this cause of action from the Orr Ditch cause of action. The "same evidence" test is but one of many tests used to distinguish one cause of action from another. See 1B Moore's Federal Practice P 0.410(1), at 1157-58 (2d ed. 1980); Restatement (Second) of Judgments § 61 (Tent. Draft No. 1, 1973). We find it undeterminative in this case.
Generally, preclusion extends no further than to the parties of the prior litigation. Hansberry v. Lee, 311 U.S. 32, 40, 61 S.Ct. 115, 117, 85 L.Ed. 22 (1940). This rule stems from our society's concern for individual rights as expressed in the due process clauses of the fifth and fourteenth amendments. See Blonder-Tongue Laboratories, Inc. v. University of Illinois Foundation, 402 U.S. 313, 329, 91 S.Ct. 1434, 1443, 28 L.Ed.2d 788 (1971) (dictum); Postal Telegraph Cable Co. v. City of Newport, 247, U.S. 464, 476, 38 S.Ct. 566, 570-571, 62 L.Ed. 1215 (1918); 1B Moore's Federal Practice, supra, P 0.411(1), at 1252; F. James & G. Hazard, Civil Procedure § 11.22 (2d ed. 1977). Thus, "judicial action enforcing (the prior judgment) against the person or property of the absent party is not that due process which the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments require." Hansberry v. Lee, supra, 311 U.S. at 41, 61 S.Ct. at 118. Although these authorities deal with personal judgments their reasoning on procedural due process applies to quiet title judgments. See O'Boyle v. Bevil, 259 F.2d 506, 513 (5th Cir. 1958), cert. denied, 359 U.S. 913, 79 S.Ct. 590, 3 L.Ed.2d 576 (1959) (citing Hansberry v. Lee, supra).
This general rule is subject to an exception for persons in privity with parties. See 1B Moore's Federal Practice, supra, P 0.411(1). Privity "denotes a legal conclusion rather than a judgmental process." Southwest Airlines Co. v. Texas International Airlines, Inc., 546 F.2d 84, 95 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 434 U.S. 832, 98 S.Ct. 117, 54 L.Ed.2d 93 (1977). It simply represents a conclusion that a person is so closely connected to a party that with respect to the issues in litigation the person's interests are essentially the same as those litigated interests of the party. Jefferson School of Social Science v. Subversive Activities Control Board, 331 F.2d 76, 83 (D.C. Cir. 1963). A finding of privity, then, reflects a belief that the relation between the party and non-party is so close that the judgment may fairly bind the non-party. F. James & G. Hazard, supra, at 576. If the relationship is not sufficiently close, privity is lacking and preclusion in that case would necessarily deny due process to the non-party.
To have a sufficient property interest the Tribe need not show that it may keep the water rights against all the world. The Supreme Court "has fully and finally rejected the wooden distinction between 'rights' and 'privileges' that once seemed to govern the applicability of procedural due process rights." Id. at 571, 92 S.Ct. at 2706; see Graham v. Richardson, 403 U.S. 365, 374, 91 S.Ct. 1848, 1853, 29 L.Ed.2d 534 (1971). Indeed this court has held that Native Alaskans seeking land allotments from the Secretary of the Interior are entitled to a due process hearing before their applications are denied. Pence v. Kleppe, 529 F.2d 135 (9th Cir. 1976). The Pence Court reversed the district court's holding that the plaintiffs had no property interest in allotment lands which the Secretary could award in his discretion. Id. at 140-41. The courts have applied such logic in a variety of contexts. See, e. g., Goldberg v. Kelly, 397 U.S. 254, 90 S.Ct. 1011, 25 L.Ed.2d 287 (1970) (statutory entitlement to welfare benefits); Fuentes v. Shevin, 407 U.S. 67, 92 S.Ct. 1983, 32 L.Ed.2d 556 (1972) (interest in secured property). By these standards Indian water rights merit due process protection. The property interest asserted here is at least as great as the interest at stake in Pence.
A different result is not mandated just because this Tribe derives its water rights from executive order. In general, the government may retake executive order lands without compensation. Sioux Tribe of Indians v. United States, 316 U.S. 317, 325-30, 62 S.Ct. 1095, 1098-1101, 86 L.Ed. 1501 (1942).15 But that rule does not mean that executive order lands or appurtenant rights may be taken without procedural due process. As this Court has recently stated: "As long as an executive order creating a reservation remains in effect, the Indian title to the reservation lands deserves the same protection as the Indian title to reservations created by treaty or statute." United States v. Southern Pacific Transportation Co., supra, 543 F.2d at 686. Thus, the question of a compensable interest in executive order lands is irrelevant, just as the question of a compensable interest in discretionary allotments was not an issue in the Pence case.
But one would paint with too broad a brush if one concluded that cases such as Lone Wolf generally restrained the courts' scrutiny of the government's dealings with Indians. Plenary congressional power over Indians does not mean that congressional power over Indians is not subject to express limitations upon congressional power, such as the Bill of Rights. F. Cohen, supra, at 91 (citing Stephens v. Cherokee Nation, 174 U.S. 445, 19 S.Ct. 722, 43 L.Ed. 1041 (1879)). In cases where the government does not exercise good faith, judicial due process review protects the Indians. See United States v. Creek Nation, 295 U.S. 103, 110, 55 S.Ct. 681, 684, 79 L.Ed. 1331 (1935); Three Tribes of Fort Berthold Reservation v. United States, 390 F.2d 686 (Ct.Cl.1968). The Supreme Court has recently reaffirmed that Lone Wolf's scope is limited to instances of good faith management. See United States v. Sioux Nation of Indians, 448 U.S. 371, 406 - 417, 100 S.Ct. 2716, 2736-2741, 65 L.Ed.2d 844, 871-76 (1980). Thus, the insulation accorded actions by the government-trustee does not apply to instances of governmental self-dealing because "(s)poliation is not management." Shoshone Tribe v. United States, 299 U.S. 476, 498, 57 S.Ct. 244, 252, 81 L.Ed. 360 (1937). When the government sheds its "trustee" role for one of "taker" the due process clause protects Indians' rights16 by allowing compensation for the taking. Similar principles should control the procedural due process boundaries of the federal-Indian relation17 when the government as a trustee in good faith adequately represents the Indians they are bound by any ensuing judgment, but when administrative officials violate their trust, due process should prevent preclusion of the Indians to the extent it would protect similarly represented non-Indians.
The Tribe's rights in this case, thus, have familiar dimensions. In general, representation by the United States will bind an Indian tribe and the individual Indians. See Heckman v. United States, supra, 224 U.S. at 445-46, 32 S.Ct. at 434-435; United States v. Emmons, 351 F.2d 603, 604 (9th Cir. 1965); Oklahoma v. United States, 155 F.2d 496, 498 (10th Cir. 1946); Creek Indians National Council v. Sinclair Prairie Oil Co., 142 F.2d 842, 845 (10th Cir.), cert. denied 323 U.S. 78, 65 S.Ct. 269, 89 L.Ed. 624 (1944); Pueblo of Picuris v. Abeyta, 50 F.2d 12, 13 (10th Cir. 1931); Vinson v. Graham, 44 F.2d 772, 779 (10th Cir. 1930), cert. denied, 283 U.S. 819, 51 S.Ct. 344, 75 L.Ed. 1435 (1931); Winship v. Ricketts, 32 F.2d 476, 479 (8th Cir. 1929). When the government breaches its trust to the Tribes while openly advancing its own interest the Tribe is not necessarily bound:18
Nevertheless, we hold the policies served by res judicata preponderate. These policies apply with special force when titles to real property are involved. Minnesota Mining Co. v. National Mining Co., 70 U.S. (3 Wall.) 332, 334, 18 L.Ed. 42 (1866); United States v. Title Insurance & Trust Co., 265 U.S. 472, 486-87, 44 S.Ct. 621, 623, 68 L.Ed. 1110 (1924). In recent years both Congress and the Supreme Court have recognized that finality in water adjudications cannot be attained when reserved rights remain unsettled. See, e. g., 43 U.S.C. § 666 (McCarran Amendment); S.Rep. 755, 82d Cong. 1st Sess. (1951); United States v. New Mexico, 438 U.S. 696, 98 S.Ct. 3012, 57 L.Ed.2d 1052 (1978); Colorado River Water Conservation District v. United States, 424 U.S. 800, 810-11, 96 S.Ct. 1236, 1242-1243, 47 L.Ed.2d 483 (1976). And see Public Land Law Review Commission, One Third of the Nation's Lands 144 (1970); 6 Waters and Water Rights, supra, § 530 at 516. There is no question that the Orr Ditch defendants and many others have relied heavily on the finality of the decree. The government's representation of the Tribe's interests in Orr Ditch was analogous to that of a faithless fiduciary who was nevertheless authorized to represent its beneficiary. We hold that the district court properly dismissed the action with respect to the Orr Ditch defendants and their successors in interest.
As a general matter, a judgment does not conclude parties who were not adversaries under the pleadings. Dobbins v. Barnes, 204 F.2d 546 (9th Cir. 1953); Restatement of Judgments, supra, § 82; Restatement (Second) of Judgments, supra, § 82; 1B Moore's Federal Practice, supra, P 0.411(2); Vestal, Preclusion/Res Judicata Variables: Parties, 50 Iowa L.Rev. 27, 29 (1964). This is because "the rules of res judicata are based upon an adversary system of procedure which exists for the purpose of giving an opportunity to persons to litigate claims against each other." Restatement of Judgments, supra, § 82, Comment a. Where there is no adversity under the pleadings, co-parties may be bound only as to issues actually or necessarily litigated. Town of Flagstaff v. Walsh, 9 F.2d 590 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, 273 U.S. 695, 47 S.Ct. 92, 71 L.Ed. 844 (1926). See also, Restatement (Second) of Judgments, supra, Comment a; Developments in the Law Res Judicata, 65 Harv.L.Rev. 818, 860-61 (1952); Annot., 24 A.L.R.3d 318 (1969).
The Tribe and the Project were neither parties nor co-parties, however. They were non-parties who were represented simultaneously by the same government attorneys. In representative litigation we should be especially careful not to infer adversity between interests represented by a single litigant. The very idea of representative litigation is defeated if the representative asserts adverse claims simultaneously. Under most circumstances, such representation is by definition inadequate. See Hansberry v. Lee, supra, 311 U.S. 32, 61 S.Ct. 115, 85 L.Ed. 22; Manygoats v. Kleppe, supra, 558 F.2d at 558; Rincon Band of Mission Indians v. Escondido Mutual Water Co., 459 F.2d 1082, 1085 (9th Cir. 1972); Olson v. Miller, 263 F.2d 738, 740 (D.C.Cir.1959); Green v. Brophy, 110 F.2d 539, 542 (D.C.Cir.1940); In re Estate of Wiswall, 11 Ariz.App. 314, 464 P.2d 634, 641 (1970); Bogert on Trusts, § 593 (2d ed. 1960). But compare United States v. Nixon, 418 U.S. 683, 94 S.Ct. 3090, 41 L.Ed.2d 1039 (1974); United States v. ICC, 337 U.S. 426, 69 S.Ct. 1410, 93 L.Ed. 1451 (1949). Rules of res judicata have evolved safeguards to ensure the integrity of representative functions. Restatement (Second) of Judgments, supra, § 80(2), Comment a. We would undermine those safeguards were we lightly to assume that the government intentionally represented conflicting interests.
Both the government and the court were alert to the need to establish adversity among the co-defendants' claims.20 The government was aware of the usual equity practice to file cross bills to set up adversity between co-parties. See City of Owensboro v. Westinghouse, Church, Kerr & Co., 165 F. 385 (6th Cir. 1908); Rickey Land & Cattle Co. v. Wood, 152 F. 22 (9th Cir. 1907), aff'd, 218 U.S. 258, 31 S.Ct. 11, 54 L.Ed. 1032 (1910); Ames Realty Co. v. Big Indian Mining Co., 146 F. 166 (C.C.D.Mont.1906). The government proposed to eliminate this practice in Orr Ditch, since the government's complaint and orders of the court had made it clear to all parties that the defendants' claims would be binding inter se.
Ratification occurs where Congress adopts prior acts with "full knowledge of the relevant facts." United States v. Georgia-Pacific Co., 421 F.2d 92, 102-03 n.28 (9th Cir. 1970). See Shoshone Tribe v. United States, supra, 299 U.S. 476, 57 S.Ct. 244, 81 L.Ed. 360; United States v. Creek Nation, supra, 295 U.S. 103, 55 S.Ct. 681, 79 L.Ed. 1331. The legislative history of the Washoe Project Act shows Congress was aware: (1) that the fishery had deteriorated; and (2) the federal government's development of the Newlands Project was largely the cause of the deterioration. There is no indication that Congress knew that the Tribe might have a reserved water right for the fishery or that the right was extinguished in Orr Ditch. Further, nothing in the record or the legislative history suggests that by authorizing efforts to restore the fishery Congress intended to sanction federal actions that had contributed to the fishery's destruction. Accordingly, we hold Congress has not ratified the government's actions in the Orr Ditch proceedings.
The parties make a number of other arguments which were not accepted by the district court. We deem it unnecessary to discuss them in detail. We reject the Tribe's argument based on section 16 of the Indian Reorganization Act. We cannot agree that the government's handling of the Reservation's interests in the Orr Ditch case constituted a "disposition" of tribal assets within the meaning of that section. See discussion at 1300 supra. We also reject TCID's argument that the Tribe is bound by the Orr Ditch decree because in 1974 it sought to enforce that decree against the defendants. TCID's argument is based on the much-criticized former Equity Rule 37. See 3B Moore's Federal Practice, supra, P 24.16(1) at 591; Spiller v. St. Louis & San Francisco R.R., 14 F.2d 284 (8th Cir. 1926), rev'g North American Co. v. St. Louis & San Francisco R.R., 288 F. 612 (D.Mo.1922). No comparable provision was included in the revised Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Compare Spangler v. United States, 415 F.2d 1242 (9th Cir.1969). We see no inequity in permitting the Tribe to seek to enforce the Orr Ditch decree against the defendants while also seeking additional water rights in this proceeding. By intervening the Tribe did not assert the validity of the Orr Ditch decree against itself. Compare Davis v. Wakelee, 156 U.S. 680, 691, 15 S.Ct. 555, 559, 39 L.Ed. 578 (1895). Rather, it attempted to hold the defendants to rights confirmed in the Orr Ditch decree. This is not inconsistent with its claim for additional waters. See Embry v. Palmer, 107 U.S. 3, 2 S.Ct. 25, 27 L.Ed. 346 (1882).
We find no merit to defendant Nevada's suggestion that California v. United States, supra, announces a new principle of law that should not be given retroactive effect. See Ivanhoe Irr. Dist. v. McCracken, 357 U.S. 275, 291, 78 S.Ct. 1174, 1183, 2 L.Ed.2d 1313 (1958)
FPC v. Tuscarora Indian Nation, 362 U.S. 99, 80 S.Ct. 543, 4 L.Ed.2d 584 (1960), is not to the contrary. The land at issue there was held by Indians in fee and not by the government in trust. The broad condemnation authority conferred by the Federal Power Act, involved in Tuscarora, could be interpreted to apply to fee lands as well as any other non-trust lands. Here we are concerned with trust property, the title to which is held by the U.S. See United States v. Winnebago Tribe, supra, 542 F.2d at 1005; Getches, Rosenfelt, and Wilkinson, Federal Indian Law 201, 203 (1979)
E. g., under the irrigable acreage approach to quantifying reserved water rights, see Arizona v. California, 373 U.S. 546, 83 S.Ct. 1468, 10 L.Ed.2d 542 (1963), a reduction in irrigable reservation land would imply a reduction in the quantity of the reserved water right
In 1904 the allotment policy dominated federal-Indian affairs. See generally, F. Cohen, Handbook of Federal Indian Law 217, et seq. (1942). In 1934 the Indian Reorganization Act, 48 Stat. 984, 25 U.S.C. § 461 et seq., withdrew authority for further allotments. See Moe v. Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, 425 U.S. 463, 479, 96 S.Ct. 1634, 1644, 48 L.Ed.2d 96 (1976); Mattz v. Arnett, 412 U.S. 481, 496 n.18, 93 S.Ct. 2245, 2254, n.18, 37 L.Ed.2d 92 (1973)
The district court did not rest its holding directly on 25 U.S.C. §§ 2 and 9. However, the defendants urge that two cases interpreting those sections, United States v. Ahtanum Irr. Dist., 236 F.2d 321 (9th Cir. 1956), cert. denied, 352 U.S. 988, 77 S.Ct. 386, 1 L.Ed.2d 367 (1957) (Ahtanum I ), and 330 F.2d 897 (9th Cir. 1964), cert. denied, 381 U.S. 924, 85 S.Ct. 1558, 14 L.Ed.2d 683 (1965) (Ahtanum II ), provide alternative authority for the Secretary to extinguish Indian waters
Even if we agreed that the Ahtanum cases could be extended by analogy to this case, those cases have been modified by Organized Village of Kake v. Egan, 369 U.S. 60, 82 S.Ct. 562, 7 L.Ed.2d 573 (1962), which was decided after Ahtanum I and before Ahtanum II. Under Kake, agreements between the government and non-Indians to alienate Indian property can only be valid if they are needed "to implement specific laws" other than 25 U.S.C. §§ 2 and 9. To be valid, then, the Secretary's conduct in Orr Ditch must find its basic authority elsewhere.
Under the doctrine of res judicata (or "claim preclusion") a judgment on the merits in a prior action involving the same parties or their privies bars a second action based on the same cause of action. The bar applies not only to matters that were actually litigated but also to all claims that might have been litigated. In contrast, collateral estoppel (or "issue preclusion") precludes a second litigation only of issues that were actually litigated. Lawlor v. National Screen Serv. Corp., 349 U.S. 322, 326, 75 S.Ct. 865, 867-868, 99 L.Ed. 1122 (1955)
In 1946 Congress enacted the Indian Claims Commission Act, which currently provides that the Commission shall hear and determine "claims in law and equity arising under the Constitution, laws, treaties of the United States, and Executive orders of the President " 25 U.S.C.A. § 70a (West. Supp. 1979). This language provides jurisdiction in the Indian Claims Commission to hear claims based on executive order lands. See Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation v. United States, 390 F.2d 686 (Ct.Cl.1962). However, the Act confers jurisdiction only as to claims arising before August 13, 1946, and presented to the Commission by August 13, 1951. See 25 U.S.C. § 70k; Navajo Tribe v. United States, 601 F.2d 536 (Ct.Cl.1979), cert. denied, 444 U.S. 1072, 100 S.Ct. 1016, 62 L.Ed.2d 753 (1980)
It is true that the federal-Indian relation must be evaluated in light of a special historical and legal context. Congress has constitutional authority to 'regulate commerce with the Indian tribes.' U.S.Const. art. I, § 8, cl. 3. In addition, the United States historically used its treaty power to control Indian affairs. See F. Cohen, supra, at 89-91. Indians have long been dependent on the government, as a ward is dependent on a guardian. See Cherokee Nation v. Georgia, supra, 30 U.S. (5 Pet.) at 17, 8 L.Ed. 25; United States v. Kagama, 118 U.S. 375, 383-84, 6 S.Ct. 1109, 1113-1114, 30 L.Ed. 228 (1886). Thus, many actions may be insulated from strict judicial review. A preferential hiring of Indians in the BIA need only pass a rational basis test. Morton v. Mancari, 417 U.S. 535, 553-54, 94 S.Ct. 2474, 2484, 41 L.Ed.2d 290 (1974). But cases such as Mancari do not support a general rational basis test for governmental actions involving Indians. In Sioux Nation the Supreme Court found Mancari to be an inapt analogy for determining whether the government acted in a trustee's or a taker's capacity. Sioux Nation v. United States, supra, 448 U.S. at 413 n.28, 100 S.Ct. at 2739 n.28, 65 L.Ed.2d at 875 n.28. It is also inapt in answering our question.
Indeed the rule espoused here receives substantial support from recent Indian intervention cases. Where there was a "conflict of interest between the proprietary interests of the United States" and the Indians, one court allowed intervention because "(i)n such a situation, adequate representation of both interests by the same counsel is impossible." New Mexico v. Aamodt, supra, 537 F.2d at 1106-07. See also Cheyenne River Sioux Indians v. United States, 338 F.2d 906 (8th Cir. 1964), cert. denied, 382 U.S. 815, 86 S.Ct. 34, 15 L.Ed.2d 62 (1965) (no right of Indians to intervene where government represented them in good faith). Cf. Rincon Band of Mission Indians v. Escondido Mut. Water Co., 459 F.2d 1082, 1084-85 (9th Cir. 1972) (Indians' request for representation by United States denied where government's counsel would be faced with a conflict of interest.)
TCID's right to water is based in part on its 1926 contract with the government. In that contract the government agreed to deliver water to TCID for distribution to Project water users. Individual water users represented by TCID in this litigation have their own contract rights. Some water users have contracts directly with the government, under which the government promises to deliver certain quantities of water. Other water users' rights are based on contracts with TCID which, at least in some cases, are approved by the government. See R. 1142-48. Though Project water users' rights originate from contracts, this does not mean that they have no ownership interest in them. See Ickes v. Fox, 300 U.S. 82, 57 S.Ct. 36, 81 L.Ed. 388 (1937); Trelease, Reclamation Water Rights, supra, 32 Rocky Mt.L.Rev. 477-81; 2 Waters and Water Rights, supra, § 117.3, at 176-77. Nevertheless, it is clear that the water users represented by TCID trace their rights to the contracts mentioned above