United States v. Navajo Nation, 537 U.S. 488, 15 (2003)

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502

UNITED STATES v. NAVAJO NATION

Opinion of the Court

determinations, the Court of Appeals remanded for further proceedings, including a determination of damages. Id., at 1333.

Judge Schall concurred in part and dissented in part. Id., at 1333-1341. It was not enough, he maintained, for the Tribe to show a violation of a general fiduciary relationship stemming from federal involvement in a particular area of Indian affairs. Rather, a Tribe "must show the breach of a specific fiduciary obligation that falls within the contours of the statutes and regulations that create the general fiduciary relationship at issue." Id., at 1341. In his view, "the only government action in this case that implicated a specific fiduciary responsibility" was the Secretary's 1987 approval of the Lease amendments. Id., at 1339. The Secretary had been deficient, Judge Schall concluded, in approving the amendments without first conducting an independent economic analysis of the amended agreement. Id., at 1339-1341.

The Court of Appeals denied rehearing. We granted certiorari, 535 U. S. 1111 (2002), and now reverse.

II

A

"It is axiomatic that the United States may not be sued without its consent and that the existence of consent is a prerequisite for jurisdiction." Mitchell II, 463 U. S., at 212. The Tribe asserts federal subject-matter jurisdiction under 28 U. S. C. § 1505, known as the Indian Tucker Act. That Act provides:

"The United States Court of Federal Claims shall have jurisdiction of any claim against the United States accruing after August 13, 1946, in favor of any tribe . . . whenever such claim is one arising under the Constitution, laws or treaties of the United States, or Executive orders of the President, or is one which otherwise would

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