Yellen v. Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation

Twelve Alaska Native corporations (ANCs) were established in the 1971 Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act as for-profit corporations to operate businesses and services, often in the areas of oil and gas industry, to generate revenue that provides benefits to the Alaska Natives in the territories that they serve. This arrangement is unique to Alaska compared to native American tribes in the lower 48 states, where they operate their own tribal governments in recognized Indian reservations within federal law. Later, the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act of 1975 (ISDA) assured that both native American tribal governments and ANCs were given the self-autonomy to operate as governments for their respective peoples. The three suits were consolidated at the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. The district court ruled in favor of the Treasury Department, in that the ANCs could be considered tribal governments and eligible to receive CARES Act funds. The tribes appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, which reversed the District Court's ruling. The Circuit Court ruled that as no ANC is federally recognized, compared to the tribal governments, they fail to qualify for the CARES Act funding. ==Supreme Court==

The Treasury Department under Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, with the backing of the Trump administration, petitioned to the Supreme Court, as the D.C. District Court had created a circuit split with a prior case, Cook Inlet Native Assn. v. Bowen (1987) from the Ninth Circuit on the classification of ANCs. Several of the ANCs also filed a similar petition. The Supreme Court granted certiorari to both petitions in January 2021, consolidating both under Yellen. The new administration under Joe Biden continued to back the position that ANCs were recognized tribal governments prior to the oral argument. ==References==