A document commemorating a 1636 conveyance of land from Narragansett chief Canonicus to Roger Williams
The United States was the first jurisdiction to acknowledge the common law doctrine of aboriginal title (also known as "original Indian title" or "Indian right of occupancy"). Native American tribes and nations establish aboriginal title by actual, continuous, and exclusive use and occupancy for a "long time." Individuals may also establish aboriginal title, if their ancestors held title as individuals. Unlike other jurisdictions, the content of aboriginal title is not limited to historical or traditional land uses. Aboriginal title may not be alienated, except to the federal government or with the approval of Congress. Aboriginal title is distinct from the lands Native Americans own in fee simple and occupy under federal trust.
The power of Congress to extinguish aboriginal title—by "purchase or conquest," or with a clear statement—is plenary and exclusive. Such extinguishment is not compensable under the Fifth Amendment, although various statutes provide for compensation. Unextinguished aboriginal title provides a federal common law cause of action for ejectment or trespass, for which there is federal subject-matter jurisdiction. Many potentially meritorious tribal lawsuits have been settled by Congressional legislation providing for the extinguishment of aboriginal title as well as monetary compensation or the approval of gaming and gambling enterprises.
Large-scale compensatory litigation first arose in the 1940s, and possessory litigation in the 1970s. Federal sovereign immunity bars possessory claims against the federal government, although compensatory claims are possible by statute. The Eleventh Amendment bars both possessory and compensatory claims against states, unless the federal government intervenes. The US Supreme Court rejected nearly all legal and equitable affirmative defenses in 1985. However, the Second Circuit—where most remaining possessory claims are[when?] pending—has held that laches bars all claims that are "disruptive."
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TheUnitedStates was the first jurisdiction to acknowledge the common law doctrine of aboriginaltitle (also known as "original Indian title" or "Indian...
indigenous title, native title (in Australia), original Indian title (intheUnitedStates), and customary title (in New Zealand). Aboriginaltitle jurisprudence...
Aboriginaltitlein California refers to theaboriginaltitle land rights of the indigenous peoples of California. The state is unique in that no Native...
Aboriginal land titlein New Mexico is unique among aboriginaltitleintheUnitedStates. Congressional legislation was passed to define such title after...
decisions on the status of aboriginaltitleintheUnitedStates, building on the opinions of aboriginaltitleinthe Marshall Court. The Taney Court heard Fellows...
Aboriginaltitle statutes inthe Thirteen Colonies were one of the principal subjects of legislation by the colonial assemblies inthe Thirteen Colonies...
Welfare Act Ranchería Rancherie, Canada AboriginaltitleintheUnitedStates Former Indian reservations in Oklahoma Indian country jurisdiction Off-reservation...
Aboriginaltitlein New York refers to treaties, purchases, laws and litigation associated with land titles of aboriginal peoples of New York, in particular...
ethnology maps is the 15-volume Handbook of North American Indians. AboriginaltitleintheUnitedStates Tribal sovereignty intheUnitedStates Johnson, Kristin...
condition of occupation. In 1921, the federal government of theUnitedStates set aside approximately 200,000 acres (810 km2) inthe Territory of Hawaii as...
tribes and the British Army following its victory inthe French and Indian War in 1763. After the region was assigned to theUnitedStatesinthe 1783 Treaty...
TheUnitedStates Court of Federal Claims (in case citations, Fed. Cl. or C.F.C.) is a UnitedStates federal court that hears monetary claims against the...
status, to be held by theUnitedStates for their benefit. The first Hardwick decision (Tillie Hardwick, et al. v. UnitedStates of America, et al. Case...
court held that the justness of the extinguishment of aboriginaltitle is nonjusticiable, including inthe case of fraud. Because the extinguishment occurred...
The Donation Land Claim Act of 1850, sometimes known as the Donation Land Act, was a statute enacted by theUnitedStates Congress in late 1850, intended...
England. The Royal Proclamation continues to be of legal importance to First Nations in Canada, being the first legal recognition of aboriginaltitle, rights...
forms the eastern border of the Purchase. The land was ceded after prolonged negotiations with the Chickasaw Indians in which theUnitedStates was represented...
Changes inthe Land: Indians, Colonists and the Ecology of New England is a 1983 nonfiction book by historian William Cronon. In this work, Cronon demonstrated...
issued 1 August 1953 by theUnitedStates Congress announced the official beginning of the federal Indian termination policy. The tribes that were listed...
The Court of Claims was a federal court that heard claims against theUnitedStates government. It was established in 1855, renamed in 1948 to the United...
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