Navajo Nation v. U.S. Department of the Interior, 9th Cir. No. 13-15710. On August 20, 2013, the Navajo Nation plaintiff-appellant filed its opening brief. Issues addressed in the appeal are: 1. Whether the Canyon de Chelly National Monument Act (47 Stat. 2448, 16 U.S.C. §§ 445-445b), which provides that “[n]othing herein shall be construed as in any way impairing the right, title and interest of the Navajo Tribe” in Canyon de Chelly and was passed only after repeated assurances to the Nation that the Nation’s treaty rights would be fully protected, abrogated the Nation’s treaty rights to Canyon de Chelly and allowed the National Park Service to take, keep, and dispose of archaeological resources from Canyon de Chelly without the Nation’s consent, such abrogation being a necessary predicate for the Government’s defense that NPS has lawful possession or control of them under NAGPRA. 2. Whether NPS’s decision to apply the NAGPRA cultural affiliation process to the archaeological resources and NPS’s refusal to return them to the Nation under the Archaeological Resources Protection Act constitute final agency action under the Administrative Procedure Act. 3. Whether APA final agency action is required for adjudication of claims alleging violations of the Constitution, the federal trust duty, and statutes other than the APA. Appellees answering brief is due 09/20/2013.
Posted on: Sun, 25 Aug 2013 02:00:20 +0000
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