Cite as: 528 U. S. 495 (2000)
Stevens, J., dissenting
but has encompassed as well the protection of cultural values; for example, the desecration of Native American graves and other sacred sites led to the passage of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, 25 U. S. C. § 3001 et seq.
Critically, neither the extent of Congress' sweeping power nor the character of the trust relationship with indigenous peoples has depended on the ancient racial origins of the people, the allotment of tribal lands,5 the coherence or existence of tribal self-government,6 or the varying definitions of "Indian" Congress has chosen to adopt.7 Rather, when it comes to the exercise of Congress' plenary power in Indian affairs, this Court has taken account of the "numerous occasions" on which "legislation that singles out Indians for particular and special treatment" has been upheld, and has concluded that as "long as the special treatment can be tied rationally to the fulfillment of Congress' unique obligation
5 See, e. g., United States v. Celestine, 215 U. S. 278, 286-287 (1909).
6 See United States v. John, 437 U. S. 634, 653 (1978) ("Neither the fact that the Choctaws in Mississippi are merely a remnant of a larger group of Indians, long ago removed from Mississippi, nor the fact that federal supervision over them has not been continuous, destroys the federal power to deal with them"); Delaware Tribal Business Comm. v. Weeks, 430 U. S. 73, 82, n. 14, 84-85 (1977) (whether or not federal statute providing financial benefits to descendants of Delaware Tribe included nontribal Indian beneficiaries, Congress' choice need only be " 'tied rationally to the fulfillment of Congress' unique obligation toward the Indians' " (quoting Morton v. Mancari, 417 U. S., at 555)).
7 See generally F. Cohen, Handbook of Federal Indian Law 19-20 (1982). Compare 25 U. S. C. § 479 ("The term 'Indian' as used in this Act shall include all persons of Indian descent who are members of any recognized Indian tribe now under Federal jurisdiction, and all persons who are descendants of such members who were, on June 1, 1934, residing within the present boundaries of any Indian reservation, and shall further include all other persons of one-half or more Indian blood. For the purposes of this Act, Eskimos and other aboriginal peoples of Alaska shall be considered Indians") with § 1603(c)(3) (Indian is any person "considered by the Secretary of the Interior to be an Indian for any purpose").
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