WASHINGTON DC –
Chairman Byron Dorgan (D-ND) announced Wednesday the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs conduct a hearing Thursday, May 21 at 2:15 PM to examine the Executive Branch’s authority to take lands into trust for Indian tribes in light of the recent Supreme Court decision in Carcieri v Salazar.
In that decision, the Supreme Court ruled that the Secretary of Interior was not authorized to acquire lands in trust status for an Indian tribe acknowledged by the federal government after 1934.
The committee will seek to determine the effect of the ruling on Indian tribes and what, if any, action by Congress might be required.
Details follow:
WHO: U.S. Senate Indian Affairs Committee, Senator Byron Dorgan, Chairman; Vice Chairman John Barrasso (R-WY); and other members of the committee.
WITNESSES: Edward P. Lazarus, Partner, Akin Gump Struass Hauer and Feld, LLP. Mr. Lazaurus is co-head of Akin Gump’s litigation practice, specializing in appellate and Supreme Court litigation; W. Ron Allen, Secretary, National Congress of American Indians; Lawrence Long, Chair, Conference of Western Attorneys General.
WHAT: Committee Hearing
WHEN: 2:15 PM, Thursday, May 21, 2009
WHERE: 628 Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C.
WHY: To examine the Executive Branch’s authority to take lands into trust for Indian tribes in light of the recent Supreme Court decision in Carcieri v Salazar.