516
Souter, J., dissenting
1908, ch. 199, § 2, 35 Stat. 312, was "unquestionably . . . given to him for the protection of Indians against their own im-providence and the designs of those who would obtain their property for inadequate compensation." 246 U. S., at 119. The Secretary's approval power was understood to be a significant component of the Government's general trust responsibility. See Clinton, Isolated in Their Own Country: A Defense of Federal Protection of Indian Autonomy and Self-Government, 33 Stan. L. Rev. 979, 1002-1003 (1981); Chambers & Price, Regulating Sovereignty: Secretarial Discretion and the Leasing of Indian Lands, 26 Stan. L. Rev. 1061, 1061-1068 (1974).
Congress's decision in IMLA to give the Secretary an approval authority is well understood in terms of this background, for in the enactment of IMLA, Congress devised a scheme of divided responsibility reminiscent of the old allotment legislation. While it changed the prior law by transferring negotiating authority from the Government to the tribes, it hedged that augmentation of tribal authority in leaving the Secretary with certain powers of oversight, including the authority to approve or reject leases once the tribes negotiated them. 25 U. S. C. §§ 396a-g. The Secretary's signature was the final step in a scheme of "uniform leasing procedures designed to protect the Indians," Montana v. Blackfeet Tribe, 471 U. S. 759, 764 (1985), and imposed out of a concern that existing laws were not "adequate to give the Indians the greatest return from their property," S. Rep. No. 985, 75th Cong., 1st Sess., 2 (1937); H. R. Rep. No. 1872, 75th Cong., 3d Sess., 2 (1938). The "basic purpose" of the Secretary's powers under IMLA is thus to "maximize tribal revenues from reservation lands." Kerr-McGee Corp. v. Navajo Tribe, 471 U. S. 195, 200 (1985); see Blackfeet Tribe, supra, at 767, n. 5. Consistent with this aim, the Secretary's own IMLA regulations (now in effect) provide that administrative actions, including lease approvals, are to be taken "[i]n the best interest of the Indian mineral owner."
Page: Index Previous 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 NextLast modified: October 4, 2007