Opinion ID: 494711
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Pre-statehood Legislation and Enabling Act

Text: 32 The State contends that upon admission to statehood, it acquired complete jurisdiction over members of the Five Civilized Tribes and their lands within the former Indian Territory. The State relies on a combination of federal legislation enacted prior to statehood and language in the Oklahoma Enabling Act. Oklahoma contends that the enabling act required it to disclaim a proprietary but not jurisdictional interest in Indian lands. It also contends that because the state courts succeeded the special United States court in the Indian Territory with respect to certain cases, the state thereby acquired complete jurisdiction over Indians and their lands. We are not persuaded. We begin our discussion by reviewing the history and context of the legislation relied upon by the State. 33 As discussed earlier, following the Civil War the United States forced the Creek Nation to cede the western portion of its lands. See Treaty of 1866, 14 Stat. 785. As to the lands retained, the United States guaranteed the Creek Nation quiet possession, set the lands apart forever as the home of the Creek Nation, recognized the tribe's governmental authority, and reaffirmed all prior consistent treaty obligations. See id., arts. 1, 3, 10, 12, 14 Stat. at 786, 788-90. In 1867 the Creeks adopted a constitution and began rebuilding their nation within their reduced territory. See generally Road to Disappearance at 177-213. In 1890, they exercised within a defined territory the powers of a sovereign people; having a tribal organization, their own system of laws, and a government with ... executive, legislative, and judicial [branches]. Turner v. United States, 248 U.S. 354, 355, 39 S.Ct. 109, 109, 63 L.Ed. 291 (1919). 34 During the 1880s and 1890s, the white population within the Indian Territory grew dramatically. See Harjo, 420 F.Supp. at 1121. As the number of whites in the territory increased, so did problems of lawlessness. The Indian courts of the Five Civilized Tribes only exercised jurisdiction over citizens of the tribe. Because the Indian courts did not have jurisdiction over noncitizen whites and the federal courts had only limited jurisdiction, serious problems developed in resolving criminal and civil disputes involving the Indians and these interlopers. See id. at 1121. Additionally, the white newcomers were frustrated by the communal tenure of the Indian lands, and pressured Congress to break up the tribal land base, attach freely alienable individual title to the land, and eventually create a new state. See id. 35 In 1889, Congress created a special federal court of limited jurisdiction in the Indian Territory, which at that time encompassed most of present-day Oklahoma. See Act of March 1, 1889, ch. 333, 25 Stat. 783. The following year, Congress carved the Territory of Oklahoma out of the western half of the Indian Territory. See Oklahoma Territory Organic Act, Sec. 1, 26 Stat. at 81. The lands in the east held by the Five Civilized Tribes remained Indian Territory, subject only to federal and tribal authority. See id. Sec. 29, 26 Stat. at 93. Because of continuing jurisdictional difficulties, Congress expanded the civil and criminal jurisdiction of the special United States court in the diminished Indian Territory. See id. Secs. 29, 30, 26 Stat. at 93-94. The act also provided that certain general laws of the State of Arkansas ... which are not locally inapplicable or in conflict with this act or with any law of Congress ... are hereby extended over and put in force in the Indian Territory. Id. Sec. 31, 26 Stat. at 94-95. The tribes, however, retained exclusive jurisdiction over all civil and criminal disputes involving only tribal members, and the incorporated laws of Arkansas did not apply to such cases. See id. Sec. 30, 26 Stat. at 94. 36 In 1893, reflecting federal policies to forcibly assimilate Indians into the non-Indian culture and to eventually create a new state in the Indian Territory, Congress created the Dawes Commission to negotiate with the Five Civilized Tribes to extinguish tribal land title and develop an allotment plan. See Harjo, 420 F.Supp. at 1122. Six years earlier, Congress had passed the General Allotment Act of 1887, ch. 119, 24 Stat. 388, but had expressly exempted the Five Civilized Tribes, id. Sec. 8, 24 Stat. at 391. Because of the treaty-based fee patents held by these tribes, Congress initially believed that tribal consent was a prerequisite to individual land allotment. See Woodward, 238 U.S. at 294, 304-05, 35 S.Ct. at 768, 770-71. 37 The Five Civilized Tribes, however, refused to negotiate with the Dawes Commission, and Congress--still unsure of the scope of its authority to forcibly dispose of tribal lands--began to force the issue by placing restrictions on the Indian governments and expanding federal jurisdiction within Indian Territory. Prior to 1897, the Indian courts had exclusive jurisdiction over disputes involving members of the same tribe. In 1897, Congress enacted legislation providing that the body of federal law in Indian Territory, which included the incorporated Arkansas laws, was to apply irrespective of race. See Appropriations Act of June 7, 1897, ch. 3, 30 Stat. 62, 83. In the same act, Congress broadened the jurisdiction of the federal courts, thus divesting the Creek tribal courts of their exclusive jurisdiction over cases involving only Creeks. The 1897 law also subjected Creek legislation to presidential veto, further restricting the authority of the Creek Nation to govern its territory and apply its laws. See id. at 84. A year later, the Curtis Act abolished the existing Creek court system and rendered then-existing tribal laws unenforceable in the federal courts. See Curtis Act, ch. 517, Secs. 26, 28, 30 Stat. 495, 504-05 (1898). This legislation, intended among other things to coerce the Creek Nation to agree to allotment and cession of tribal lands, federally preempted existing Creek laws, abolished the Creek courts, and made future Creek legislation subject to federal approval and oversight. 38 In 1901, the Creek Nation finally agreed to the allotment of tribal lands. See Original Creek Agreement, ch. 676, 31 Stat. 861 (1901); Supplemental Creek Agreement, ch. 1323, 32 Stat. 500 (1902). Although the vast majority of Creek Nation lands were allotted or sold, some lands remained in tribal ownership under the original treaty-based fee patents. In 1906, still envisioning the future dissolution of the tribal governments, Congress provided that upon such dissolution, title to the unallotted communal lands still held by the Five Civilized Tribes would pass to the United States in trust for the respective tribes. See Five Tribes Act of 1906, ch. 1876, Sec. 27, 34 Stat. 137, 148. In the same act, however, Congress expressly delayed any plans to terminate the tribes, and provided that the tribal governments are hereby continued in full force and effect. See id. Sec. 28, 34 Stat. at 148; see also Harjo, 420 F.Supp. at 1129 (Congress extended tribal governments over the strenuous objections of the Secretary of the Interior). The legislation also continued to place restrictions on Creek legislative authority by requiring presidential approval of tribal legislation. See Five Tribes Act of 1906, Sec. 28, 34 Stat. at 148. 39 Two months after enacting the Five Tribes Act, Congress passed an enabling act to permit the people of the Oklahoma and Indian territories to form a state. See Oklahoma Enabling Act, ch. 3335, 34 Stat. 267 (1906); Enabling Act Amendment, ch. 2911, 34 Stat. 1286 (1907). The enabling act provided that federal Article III courts would succeed the special United States court in the Indian territory with respect to all cases arising under the Constitution, laws, or treaties of the United States. See Enabling Act Amendment, Sec. 1, 34 Stat. at 1286-87 (amending Sec. 16 of Oklahoma Enabling Act). The state courts created upon statehood were to succeed the Indian territory courts with respect to the remaining nonfederal cases. See id. Secs. 2, 3, 34 Stat. at 1287 (amending Secs. 17 and 20 of Oklahoma Enabling Act). The enabling act also provided that the laws in force in the Territory of Oklahoma, as far as applicable, shall extend over and apply to said State. Oklahoma Enabling Act, Sec. 13, 34 Stat. at 275 (emphasis added). Finally, the enabling act preserved the authority of the federal government over Indians and their lands, and required the State to disclaim all right and title to such lands. See id. Secs. 1, 3, 34 Stat. at 267-68, 270. 40 Although the federal legislation described above seriously undermined the authority of the Creek Nation, we are not persuaded that Congress intended or acted to completely abolish Creek Nation jurisdiction over tribal lands, to divest the federal government of its authority, or to permit the assertion of jurisdiction by the State of Oklahoma. 41 In United States v. Ramsey, 271 U.S. 467, 46 S.Ct. 559, 70 L.Ed. 1039 (1926), the Supreme Court recognized that upon Oklahoma's admission to statehood in 1907, federal authority ended with regard to non-Indians. See id. at 469, 46 S.Ct. at 559. The Court also stated, however, that because of the unique relationship between the federal government and Indian tribes, federal authority continued with regard to Indians. See id. In the context of a case involving Creek allotted lands, the Supreme Court stated that [i]n passing the enabling act for the admission of the state of Oklahoma ... Congress was careful to preserve the authority of the government of the United States over the Indians, their lands and property, which it had prior to the passage of the act. Tiger, 221 U.S. at 309, 31 S.Ct. at 584; see Oklahoma Enabling Act, Sec. 1, 34 Stat. at 267. Even in the Creek Allotment Agreement, Congress expressly reaffirmed prior consistent treaty obligations with the Creek Nation. See 31 Stat. at 872 (provision no. 44). Those obligations included the promise that the lands owned by the Creek Nation would be protected from state laws. Nothing in the supplemental allotment agreement or in subsequent legislation is inconsistent with the preservation of federal and tribal jurisdiction over these lands. 42 The State argues that the wording of the disclaimer contained in section three of the enabling act differs from disclaimers required of other states and evinces congressional intent to permit the state to assert broad jurisdiction over Indian lands. The relevant portion of section three of the Enabling Act reads as follows: 43 That the people inhabiting said proposed State do agree and declare that they forever disclaim all right and title in or to any unappropriated public lands lying within the boundaries thereof, and to all lands lying within said limits owned or held by any Indian, tribe, or nation; and that until the title to any such public land shall have been extinguished by the United States, the same shall be and remain subject to the jurisdiction, disposal, and control of the United States. 44 Oklahoma Enabling Act, Sec. 3, 34 Stat. at 270. The State asserts that section three required a disclaimer only of a proprietary interest in Indian lands, and reserves federal jurisdiction only for public lands. The State points to enabling acts for other states that contain similar clauses, but which provide that said Indian lands shall remain under the absolute jurisdiction and control of the Congress of the United States. See, e.g., Act of Feb. 22, 1889, ch. 180, Sec. 4, 25 Stat. 676, 677 (enabling act for North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, and Washington). 45 We reject the State's interpretation of Oklahoma's enabling act because the State's construction completely ignores the effect of section one of the act, in which Congress explicitly preserved federal authority. Section one provides that 46 nothing contained in the said constitution shall be construed to limit or impair the rights of person or property pertaining to the Indians of said Territories (so long as such rights shall remain unextinguished) or to limit or affect the authority of the Government of the United States to make any law or regulation respecting such Indians, their lands, property, or other rights by treaties, agreement, law or otherwise, which it would have been competent to make if this Act had never been passed. 47 Oklahoma Enabling Act, Sec. 1, 34 Stat. at 267-68. Section one is a general reservation of federal and tribal jurisdiction over Indians, their lands, [and] property, except as extinguished by the tribes or the federal--not state--government. 48 Sections one and three of the act, read in pari materia, cannot be read as a clear expression of congressional intent to disclaim federal or tribal jurisdiction over unallotted Creek tribal lands, such as those at issue in the present suit. Significantly, the enabling acts that the State attempts to distinguish from the Oklahoma Enabling Act contain no provision that parallels section one. See, e.g., Act of Feb. 22, 1889, 25 Stat. 676. The language of the Oklahoma act, read in its historical context, suggests that Congress intended to preserve its jurisdiction and authority over Indians and their lands in the new State of Oklahoma until it accomplished the eventual goal of terminating the tribal governments, assimilating the Indians, and dissolving completely the tribally-owned land base--events that never occurred and goals that Congress later expressly repudiated. The State has failed to cite any acts of Congress that clearly reveal an intent to divest the federal and tribal governments of jurisdiction over Creek tribal lands and to confer such authority on the State of Oklahoma. 5 49 Our interpretation of Oklahoma's Enabling Act is consistent with the way in which Congress interpreted the act in 1953 when it addressed the matter of state jurisdiction over Indian country. In that year, Congress enacted Public Law 83-280 to permit states to assert limited civil and broad criminal jurisdiction in Indian country. See Act of Aug. 15, 1953, ch. 505, 67 Stat. 588 (Public Law 280) (codified as amended at 18 U.S.C. Sec. 1162, 25 U.S.C. Secs. 1321-26, 28 U.S.C. Sec. 1360 (1982 & Supp.1985)). Congress included a provision that operated to give consent of the United States to those States presently having organic laws expressly disclaiming jurisdiction to acquire jurisdiction subsequent to enactment by amending or repealing such disclaimer laws. See S.Rep. No. 699, 83d Cong., 1st Sess., reprinted in 1953 U.S.Code Cong. & Admin.News 2409, 2412; see also Public Law 280, Sec. 6, 67 Stat. at 590 (codified as amended at 25 U.S.C. Sec. 1324). The Committee Report listed Oklahoma among the states with such disclaimers, and stated that the [e]ffect of the disclaimer of jurisdiction over Indian land within the borders of these States--in the absence of consent being given for future action to assume jurisdiction--is to retain exclusive Federal jurisdiction until Indian title in such lands is extinguished. S.Rep. No. 699, 1953 U.S.Code Cong. & Admin.News at 2412; cf. McClanahan v. Arizona State Tax Comm'n, 411 U.S. 164, 175, 93 S.Ct. 1257, 1264, 36 L.Ed.2d 129 (1973) (Court noted that Congress had acted on the assumption that the states lacked jurisdiction over the Navajos on their reservation). Creek Nation title to the Mackey site has never been extinguished. 6 50 Finally, the State cites the Act of May 8, 1906, ch. 2348, 34 Stat. 182, which provided for the extension of state civil and criminal laws to Indian allottees at the expiration of the trust period restricting allotted lands. This act, however, was an amendment to the General Allotment Act, which by its terms did not apply to the Five Civilized Tribes. See General Allotment Act of 1887, Sec. 8, 24 Stat. at 391. The 1906 amendment, also by express language, did not apply to the Indians in the Indian Territory. 34 Stat. at 183. We reject as without merit the State's attempt to limit the non-applicability of the 1906 amendment to one single provision (reservation of exclusive federal jurisdiction). Neither the 1906 amendment nor its subject matter--individual trust allotments--are relevant to the allocation of federal, tribal, and state jurisdiction over Creek tribal lands. 51 In sum, for whatever reasons, possibly including doubts about its own authority to dispose of Creek treaty lands absent Creek consent, Congress chose not to abrogate the Creek treaties outright. Instead of repudiating the treaties, Congress sought the voluntary relinquishment of Creek tribal title in order to effect a program of individual allotment, disposal of surplus lands, and preparation for statehood. Failing to induce the Creeks by negotiation to give up their tribal lands, Congress sought to force concessions by federally preempting Creek jurisdiction. The Creeks finally agreed to allotment and disposal of tribal lands. Whatever the jurisdictional provisions or implications of federal legislation with regard to the allotted tracts and those distributed to non-Indians, the history and legislation reveal no act by Congress to divest itself or the tribe (except by preemption) of authority over the remaining tribal lands, or to abrogate the treaty promises of immunity from state law on those lands. There is simply no clear evidence that Congress intended to relinquish federal and tribal authority prior to extinguishing tribal title or dissolving the tribal government. In Cabazon, the Supreme Court noted that a grant to States of general civil regulatory power over Indian reservations would result in the destruction of tribal institutions and values. 107 S.Ct. at 1088. Although Congress at one time may have envisioned the termination of the Creek Nation and complete divestiture of its territorial sovereignty, the legislation enacted in 1906 reveals that Congress decided not to implement that goal, and instead explicitly perpetuated the Creek Nation and recognized its continuing legislative authority. See Harjo, 420 F.Supp. at 1121 n. 20 (Congress did not intend here to divest the [Creek] National Council's power to legislate). Congress subsequently repudiated its earlier policies of termination and enacted legislation designed to restore governmental powers to the Oklahoma tribes. See Oklahoma Indian Welfare Act, ch. 831, 49 Stat. 1967 (1936) (codified as amended at 25 U.S.C. Secs. 501-509 (1982)); Indian Reorganization Act, ch. 576, 48 Stat. 984 (1934) (codified as amended at 25 U.S.C. Secs. 461 et seq. (1982)); see also Seber, 318 U.S. at 718, 63 S.Ct. at 927. It is not for the courts to complete a task that Congress chose not to finish. 52 We conclude that the series of federal laws enacted prior to statehood and the Oklahoma Enabling Act do not divest the federal government of authority over Creek tribal lands, do not abolish the Creek Nation's legislative and regulatory authority over such lands, and do not evince a clear intent by Congress to permit the State to assert jurisdiction. 53