[20210720]LSB10626_最高法院认为阿拉斯加土著公司是“印第安部落”有权获得关怀法案基金.pdf

CRS Legal Sidebar Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress Legal SidebarLegal Sidebari i Supreme Court Holds Alaska Native Corporations Are “Indian Tribes” Entitled to CARES Act Funds July 20, 2021 On June 25, 2021, in Yellen v. Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Indian Reservation (Chehalis), the Supreme Court rejected a challenge to the Department of the Treasurys (Treasury) decision to distribute to the Alaska Native Corporations (ANCs) approximately $450 million of the $8 billion in funds allocated to “Tribal governments” under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act). The challengers had argued that ANCs do not satisfy the CARES Acts definition of Indian tribe, which is drawn from the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (ISDEAA). The Supreme Courts decision reverses the judgment of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit interpreting the ISDEAA definition of Indian tribe as a term of art that, while expressly mentioning ANCs, excludes them by separately requiring federal recognition. The Supreme Court rejected that interpretation and held that the plain meaning of the ISDEAA definition of Indian tribe includes ANCs be