Opinion ID: 3208713
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Nation

Text: The parties characterize their dispute as concerning whether Halftown had “standing” to initiate this lawsuit on behalf of the Nation. We note at the outset, however, that this issue is not a question of “standing” in the Article III sense, as there is no doubt that the Nation, which is the principal named plaintiff in this action, has standing to bring the claim asserted in the complaint. Rather, the dispute between the parties concerns whether Halftown is authorized by tribal law to initiate this lawsuit on behalf of the Nation. Though not a question of constitutional standing, that issue nonetheless implicates the subject matter jurisdiction of this Court. Several principles of law guide our analysis. First, and most significantly, federal courts lack authority to resolve internal disputes about tribal law. See Shenandoah v. U.S. Dep’t of Interior, 159 F.3d 708, 712 (2d Cir. 1998); Runs After v. United States, 766 F.2d 347, 352 (8th Cir. 1985). It is “a bedrock principle of federal Indian law that every tribe is capable of managing its own affairs and governing itself.” Cal. Valley Miwok Tribe v. United States, 515 F.3d 1262, 1263 (D.C. Cir. 2008) (internal quotation marks omitted). Second, the BIA has the authority to make recognition decisions regarding tribal leadership, but “only when the situation 12 [has] deteriorated to the point that recognition of some government was essential for Federal purposes.” Wadena, 30 IBIA 130, 145 (1996) (emphasis added). Thus, the BIA “has both the authority and responsibility to interpret tribal law when necessary to carry out the government‐to‐government relationship with the tribe.” United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians, 22 IBIA 75, 80 (1992). Internal dysfunction or paralysis within tribal governance standing alone, however, does not permit the BIA to decide who constitutes the legitimate leadership of a tribe. Cf. Goodface v. Grassrope, 708 F.2d 335, 338‐39 (8th Cir. 1983); Alturas Indian Rancheria, 54 IBIA 138, 143‐44 (2011). The foregoing principles compel the conclusion that we lack jurisdiction to resolve the question of whether this lawsuit was properly authorized as a matter of tribal law. But we do not need to address that question in order to establish the jurisdiction of the court. To conclude that the case may go forward only if those who filed it were authorized to do so under tribal law either would require the court to answer disputed questions of tribal law – the very thing that federal courts are forbidden to do – or else would prevent the tribe from suing at all, thus rendering the tribe helpless to defend its rights in court. The Village’s position would mean that whenever any faction within a tribe asserted a claim to 13 leadership under tribal law that is inconsistent with the claim of authority made by those who filed the lawsuit, the resulting internal division would raise a question of tribal law that the district court would need to resolve to hear the suit, but that the court lacked jurisdiction to answer. That result would be convenient for litigants engaged in disputes with the tribe, but disastrous for the tribe’s rights. We therefore hold that where the authority of the individual initiating litigation on behalf of a tribe has been called into dispute, the only question we must address is whether there is a sufficient basis in the record to conclude, without resolving disputes about tribal law, that the individual may bring a lawsuit on behalf of the tribe. As both parties acknowledge, deference to the Executive Branch is appropriate in addressing this question. The BIA has special expertise in dealing with Indian affairs, and we have previously indicated that the BIA’s decision to recognize a tribal government can determine a plaintiff’s claims. See, e.g., Shenandoah, 159 F.3d at 712‐13 (noting that the “BIA’s determination that [an individual] does not represent the Nation may well moot plaintiffs’ claims”); see also Timbisha Shoshone Tribe v. Salazar, 678 F.3d 935, 938‐39 (D.C. Cir. 2012) (dismissing lawsuit brought by one group on behalf of the tribe after the 14 Executive Branch recognized a different group as the tribe’s governing body). Furthermore, as the Supreme Court has acknowledged in the analogous context of foreign relations, recognition of foreign nations “is a topic on which [the United States] must speak with one voice,” and that voice must emanate from the Executive. Zivotofsky ex rel. Zivotofsky v. Kerry, 135 S. Ct. 2076, 2086 (2015) (internal quotation marks and alteration omitted). Based on those principles, we hold that a recognition decision from the BIA is sufficient for us to find that the recognized individual has the authority to initiate a lawsuit on behalf of a tribe. The Village does not dispute that an unambiguous decision from the BIA acknowledging Halftown as the federal representative, with the authority to initiate lawsuits, would be sufficient to establish his authority to bring the instant lawsuit on behalf of the Nation. The Village argues, however, that the February 2015 BIA decision – which recognized Halftown as the Nation’s federal representative “on an interim basis . . . for purposes of administering existing ISDA contracts,” J.A. 741, and did not address the authority of the federal representative with respect to the initiation of litigation – does not have the same effect. We conclude that it is does. 15 The BIA decision, though couched in limiting language, is the only evidence in the record before us of who is recognized by the Executive Branch as the Nation’s governing body. That decision recognizes the 2006 Council, with Halftown as the federal representative, as the government of the Nation. There is no evidence that the Executive Branch has recognized the Unity Council, or any other group, as the Nation’s governing body and, in fact, the 2015 BIA decision explicitly disclaims recognition of any other group. Moreover, there is nothing in the BIA’s reasoning in the 2015 decision that confines itself to the ISDA contracts at issue, or that suggests that the BIA would recognize different tribal leadership in connection with other functions relevant to the Nation’s dealings with the federal government, including its courts. In deciding to recognize Halftown as the federal representative, the BIA explained that changes to intra‐tribe dynamics “render it inappropriate for the BIA to take steps that could intrude in the Nation’s ongoing governmental dispute.” J.A. 745. But, because it was necessary for a federal purpose for the United States government to recognize a tribal government to administer ongoing contracts, the BIA recognized, on an interim basis, the last undisputed leadership of the Nation – the 2006 Council, with Halftown as federal representative – as the body 16 with whom it would deal. The reasoning that led the BIA to recognize the 2006 Council would apply with equal force to any situation in which there was a need to recognize one person or group as authorized to act on behalf of the tribe. The authority of the Nation to bring a lawsuit in federal court is one such situation.5 Any finding that the 2015 BIA decision is not sufficient to permit Halftown to initiate litigation on behalf of the Nation would have serious practical implications for the ability of a tribe to initiate or defend litigation in federal court. The BIA, of course, regularly recognizes a tribe’s undisputed leadership without limitations through its course of dealing with the tribe. When there is a conflict over tribal leadership, however, the BIA is precluded from issuing a recognition decision except where a federal purpose requires recognition. For that reason, such decisions will typically carry some kind of limiting language. See, e.g., Acting Governor Leslie Wandrie‐Harjo, 53 IBIA 121, 123 (2011) (discussing BIA decision recognizing an official “for purposes of the ISDA contract modifications 5 In a situation in which the BIA has no indication of which tribal leadership it might recognize, the Eighth Circuit has sent the question back to the BIA, “ordering the BIA to recognize one governing body.” Goodface, 708 F.2d at 339. Where, as here, however, the BIA has issued an interim decision and there is no reason to believe that the BIA would render a different recognition decision if confronted with the precise issue at hand, such remand is unnecessary. 17 and related drawdown requests”); Timbisha, 678 F.3d at 937 (citing BIA decision that recognized one faction “for the limited purpose of conducting government‐to‐government relations necessary for holding a special election”). To require tribes to cite a BIA decision recognizing a tribal government for all purposes, or for the specific purpose of initiating litigation in order to establish the authority of particular individuals to initiate litigation on behalf of the tribe could in many situations prevent tribes from vindicating their rights in federal court. Like the BIA, which must determine whom to recognize as a counterparty to administer ongoing contracts on behalf of the Nation, the courts must recognize someone to act on behalf of the Nation to institute, defend, or conduct litigation. Lacking jurisdiction to resolve the question of governmental authority under tribal law, and lacking the authority under federal law (not to mention the resources and expertise of the BIA) to question the decision of the Executive about whom the federal government should recognize as speaking for the Nation, the only practical and legal option is for the courts to consider the available evidence of the present position of the Executive and then defer to that position. 18 The Village contends that deference to the BIA’s decision is inappropriate because “[t]he scope of the powers of the federal representative is a question of Nation law” that we lack jurisdiction to consider. J.A. 741 n.1. It is thus possible that Halftown, even if he is accepted as the federal representative, lacks the authority to initiate this lawsuit as a matter of tribal law. We cannot conclude, however, that the possibility that Halftown’s actions run contrary to tribal law requires dismissal of this lawsuit. Such a conclusion would again lead to an untenable result: tribes could be thrown out of federal court by the mere suggestion that the individual or group of individuals initiating litigation on behalf of the tribe had overstepped their tribal authority. Moreover, as the BIA has previously suggested, the proper remedy for the misuse of tribal authority is recourse to tribal law or, where applicable, federal laws governing the conduct of the tribal officer. George, 49 IBIA at 165‐66. It is not for the courts either to decide whether Halftown has exceeded his authority under tribal law, or effectively to deny his authority by the very act of refusing to decide. The BIA’s decision in this case, though an interim decision issued for a specific purpose, is the only evidence in the record before us of who is recognized by the Executive Branch as the governing body of the Nation – the 2006 Council, 19 with Halftown as the federal representative. We hold that we are entitled to defer to the BIA’s recognition of an individual as authorized to act on behalf of the Nation, notwithstanding the limited issue that occasioned that recognition. We thus may, and do, conclude that Halftown may initiate litigation on behalf of the Nation in the instant matter, without resolving any questions of tribal law.