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Hopi Tribe v. United States

782 F.3d 662 (2015)

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Hopi Tribe v. United States

United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
782 F.3d 662 (2015)

Facts

President Arthur established a reservation for the Hopi Tribe (Hopi) (plaintiff) by executive order in 1882. The order stated that land would be set aside for the Hopi to settle on. Congress ratified the executive order by the Act of July 22, 1958 (Act of 1958), which stated that the lands identified in the order were held by the United States in trust for the Hopi. In the 2000s, the Hopi claimed that the public water systems serving the Hopi Reservation contained unsafe levels of arsenic. The Hopi believed that pursuant to the executive order and the Act of 1958, as well as certain other federal statutes, the United States had a fiduciary duty to ensure adequate water quality on the reservation. Consequently, the Hopi sued the United States in the Court of Federal Claims, seeking damages to cover the cost of improving the water systems to provide safe water. The court found that the Hopi had failed to prove that the United States had assumed a duty to provide safe water. It therefore dismissed the suit. The Hopi appealed to the Federal Circuit.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Hughes, J.)

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Casebooks

Indian Law