United States Eighth Circuit

District court's ruling on remand involving status of Indian lands held in trust is affirmed in part and vacated in part where: 1) the court correctly concluded that the agency trust lands, the outstanding allotments, and the IRA trust lands are part of the Yankton Sioux Reservation and are Indian country under 18 U.S.C. section 1151(a); 2) the court's alternative holding that the miscellaneous trust lands constitute a dependent Indian community and are Indian country under section 1151(b) is affirmed; 3) court's holding that the fee lands continuously held in Indian ownership are reservation under section 1151(a) is vacated and; 4) the court's denial of all other claims for relief is affirmed.

Appellate Information

• Decided 08/25/2009
• Published 08/25/2009

Judges

• MURPHY, Circuit Judge., Before MURPHY, MELLOY, and SHEPHERD, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Eighth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Tommy D. Tobin, Winner, SC, argued, for appellants Podhradsky, Allen, Mushitz, Drapeau and Southern Missouri Waste Management District., John P. Guhin, Asst. Atty. Gen., Pierre, SD, argued (Meghan N. Dilges, Asst. Atty. Gen., on the brief), for appellants Long and Rounds., Kenneth W. Cotton, Wipf & Cotton, Wagner, SD, on the brief, for Southern Missouri Waste Management District.


• For Appellees:
  
• Rebecca L. Kidder, Rapid City, SD, argued, for Appellee Yankton Sioux Tribe., Mark E. Salter, Asst. U.S. Atty., Sioux Falls, SD, argued (Jan Leslie Holmgren, Asst. U.S. Atty., on the brief), Katherine Wade Hazard, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, DC, for Intervenor Plaintiff-Appellee., Terry L. Pechota, Pechota Law Office, Rapid City, SD, argued (Eric John Antoine, Rosebud Sioux Tribe, Rosebud, SD, on the brief), for Amicus on behalf of appellees.