Opinion ID: 2324743
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: the jurisdiction of the state of maine over the housing authority

Text: [¶ 6] The section 6206(1) exception to state court jurisdiction arose out of the comprehensive settlement of the land claims asserted by the Penobscot, Passamaquoddy, and Maliseet Indians against the State of Maine. In the early 1970's, these three tribes brought suit in an attempt to lay claim to two-thirds of Maine's land mass as their ancestral homeland. See Joint Tribal Council of the Passamaquoddy Tribe v. Morton, 528 F.2d 370 (1st Cir.1975). The tribes and the State negotiated a compromise with the assistance of the federal government which was memorialized by the Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act of 1980, 25 U.S.C. §§ 1721-1735 (1995) (Settlement Act), and the Maine Implementing Act, 30 M.R.S.A. §§ 6201-6214 (1996) (Implementing Act). As part of that compromise, the tribes allowed Maine to extend jurisdiction over the [three tribes] to a greater degree than most states exercise over other Indian tribes. Fellencer, 164 F.3d at 708 (citation omitted). [¶ 7] Maine, however, agreed to some restrictions on its jurisdiction; the agreement between the tribes and the State granted the tribes exclusive jurisdiction over internal tribal matters. 30 M.R.S.A. § 6206(1). The federal Settlement Act expressly permitted and condoned this arrangement. See 25 U.S.C. § 1721(b)(3) (1995) (ratifying the Implementing Act's definition of the relationship between the State and the tribes); 25 U.S.C. § 1725(b)(1) (1995) (applying Maine jurisdiction to the Passamaquoddy Tribe except as otherwise provided in the Implementing Act). Nowhere, however, did either the Settlement or Implementing Act explicitly define internal tribal matters in their statutory text. [¶ 8] Although the parties dispute the meaning of the phrase internal tribal matters, we need not determine this term's definition to decide this case. By its own terms, this provision in section 6206(1) restricts Maine's jurisdiction only in reference to the Passamaquoddy Tribe itself. The Implementing Act defines the tribe as the Passamaquoddy Indian Tribe as constituted on March 4, 1789, and all its predecessors and successors in interest . . . . 30 M.R.S.A. § 6203(7) (1996). [3] The Housing Authority is not a branch of Passamaquoddy tribal government. See Indian Township Passamaquoddy Reservation Hous. Auth. v. Governor of State, 495 A.2d 1189, 1190-1191 (Me.1985) (describing the origin and purpose of the housing authorities serving the two branches of the Passamaquoddy Tribe). The Housing Authority was organized pursuant to Maine state law. See 5 M.R.S.A. § 12004-I(33) (1989); 30-A M.R.S.A. § 4995 (1996); [4] 22 M.R.S.A. § 4733 (repealed 1993). While the Housing Authority is governed by a Board of Commissioners appointed by the Passamaquoddy Tribal Governor and confirmed by the Tribal Council, this arrangement is specifically authorized by state statute. See 30-A M.R.S.A. § 4995. The Housing Authority is neither a predecessor nor a successor to the Passamaquoddy Tribe of 1789. Because the Housing Authority is not the tribe, it cannot take advantage of protections designed for the tribe. [5] [¶ 9] The Housing Authority may not rely on section 6206(1). Without that shield from state jurisdiction, the Housing Authority must be treated like any other municipal corporation  subject to the jurisdiction of our courts. [6] The entry is: Judgment vacated. Remanded to the Superior Court for further proceedings consistent with the opinion herein.