100
Opinion of the Court
the person or property of another, a result that can hardly be reconciled with the first sentence's unqualified grant of jurisdiction. There is no need to resort to the canon of statutory construction that ambiguities should be resolved in favor of Indians, since the Kansas Act quite unambiguously confers jurisdiction on the State. Pp. 102-110. 933 F. 2d 818, affirmed.
Rehnquist, C. J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which White, Blackmun, Stevens, O'Connor, Kennedy, and Souter, JJ., joined, and in all but Part II-B of which Scalia and Thomas, JJ., joined.
Pamela S. Thompson argued the cause and filed a brief for petitioner.
Robert T. Stephan, Attorney General of Kansas, argued the cause for respondents. With him on the brief were John W. Campbell, Deputy Attorney General, and Timothy G. Madden, Special Assistant Attorney General.
William K. Kelley argued the cause for the United States as amicus curiae urging affirmance. With him on the brief were Solicitor General Starr, Acting Assistant Attorney General O'Meara, Edwin S. Kneedler, and Edward J. Shawaker.*
Chief Justice Rehnquist delivered the opinion of the Court.†
The question presented in this case is whether the Kansas Act, 18 U. S. C. § 3243, confers jurisdiction on the State of Kansas to prosecute petitioner, a Kickapoo Indian, for the state-law offense of aggravated battery committed against another Indian on an Indian reservation. We hold that it does.
*Briefs of amici curiae urging reversal were filed for the Devils Lake Sioux Tribe of the Fort Totten Indian Reservation et al. by Bertram E. Hirsch; and for the Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska et al. by Melody L. McCoy. †Justice Scalia and Justice Thomas join all but Part II-B of this
opinion.
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