424
Blackmun, J., dissenting
congressional ambiguity or silence, in treaties, statutes, executive orders, and agreements, to the Indians' benefit.3
Although the majority purports to apply these canons in principle, see ante, at 410-411, it ignores them in practice, resolving every ambiguity in the statutory language, legislative history, and surrounding circumstances in favor of the State and imputing to Congress, where no clear evidence of congressional intent exists, an intent to diminish the Uintah Valley Reservation.
B
The special canons of construction are particularly relevant in the diminishment context because the allotment statutes are often ambiguous regarding their effect on tribal jurisdiction and reservation boundaries. During the 19th century, land was considered Indian country and thus subject to tribal jurisdiction "whenever the Indian title had not been extinguished." Bates v. Clark, 95 U. S. 204, 208 (1877). In passing the General Allotment Act of Feb. 8, 1887, 24 Stat. 388, and related statutes, Congress no doubt assumed that tribal jurisdiction would terminate with the sale of Indian lands and that the reservations eventually would be abol-3 The canon has been applied to treaties and statutes to preserve broad tribal water rights, see, e. g., Choctaw Nation v. Oklahoma, 397 U. S., at 631; Winters v. United States, 207 U. S. 564, 576 (1908), hunting and fishing rights, see, e. g., Washington v. Washington State Commercial Passenger Fishing Vessel Assn., 443 U. S. 658, 675 (1979); Antoine v. Washington, 420 U. S. 194, 199-200 (1975); Menominee Tribe v. United States, 391 U. S. 404, 406, n. 2, 413 (1968); Tulee v. Washington, 315 U. S. 681, 684-685 (1942); Alaska Pacific Fisheries v. United States, 248 U. S. 78, 89 (1918), and other land rights, see, e. g., County of Oneida v. Oneida Indian Nation of N. Y., 470 U. S., at 247-248; United States v. Santa Fe Pacific R. Co., 314 U. S. 339, 354 (1941); Minnesota v. Hitchcock, 185 U. S. 373, 396 (1902); and to protect tribes from state taxation authority, see, e. g., Bryan v. Itasca County, 426 U. S. 373, 392 (1976); McClanahan v. Arizona State Tax Comm'n, 411 U. S. 164, 174 (1973); Squire v. Capoeman, 351 U. S. 1, 6-7 (1956); Carpenter v. Shaw, 280 U. S. 363, 366-367 (1930); Choate v. Trapp, 224 U. S., at 675; The Kansas Indians, 5 Wall. 737, 760 (1867).
Page: Index Previous 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 NextLast modified: October 4, 2007