Cite as: 537 U. S. 488 (2003)
Souter, J., dissenting
25 CFR § 211.3 (2002); see also § 211.1 (stating that the over-arching purpose of IMLA regulations is to ensure that Indians' mineral resources "will be developed in a manner that maximizes their best economic interests").1 Thus, viewed in light of IMLA's legislative history and the general trust relationship between the United States and the Indians, see Mitchell II, 463 U. S., at 224-225, § 396a supports the existence of a fiduciary responsibility to review mineral leases for substance to safeguard the Indians' interest.2
I do not mean to suggest that devising a specific standard of responsibility is any simple matter, for we cannot ignore the tension between IMLA's two objectives. If we thought solely in terms of the aim to ensure that negotiated leases "maximize tribal revenues," Kerr-McGee, supra, at 200, we would ignore the object of IMLA to provide greater tribal responsibility, against which the Secretary's oversight is act-1 In addition, the Interior Department at all times relevant to this case had in place an internal policy providing that mineral leases would be approved only if "the terms and conditions of the lease are in the best interest of the Indian landowner." App. 2, 133-134.
2 The majority seeks to distinguish Mitchell II, saying that the timber management statutes at issue there gave the Secretary a "comprehensive managerial role" and stated explicitly that timber sales had to be made in consideration of " 'the needs and best interests of the Indian owner and his heirs.' " Ante, at 507-508. The comprehensiveness of the Secretary's role just described is what made Mitchell II an easy case. Mitchell II did not say, however, that fiduciary duties can only be found where the Government has "elaborate control." 463 U. S., at 225. Nor does Mitchell II's reference to the statute's explicit "best interests" language fore-close the use of standard interpretive tools like legislative history to determine whether a statute establishes a fiduciary duty.
The majority proceeds to discount IMLA's legislative history, suggesting that Congress's concern for Indian revenues was limited to the elimination of certain constraints peculiar to Indian mineral leases. Ante, at 511-512, n. 16. But the cited IMLA legislative reports do not indicate that Congress's aims were restricted to curing these specific deficiencies of prior law, and they do nothing to detract from the consistent recognition in our precedents that IMLA's leasing procedures were designed to protect Indian interests in mineral resources.
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