Lone Wolf v. Hitchcock
187 U.S. 553, 1903 U.S. LEXIS 1673, 23 S. Ct. 216 (1903)
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Rule of Law:
Congress possesses plenary power over Native American affairs, including the authority to unilaterally abrogate treaty provisions with Native American tribes. The exercise of this power is considered a political question and is not subject to judicial review.
Facts:
- In 1867, the United States entered into the Medicine Lodge Treaty with the Kiowa, Comanche, and Apache tribes, establishing a reservation for them.
- Article 12 of the treaty stipulated that no cession of the reservation lands held in common would be valid unless executed and signed by at least three-fourths of all the adult male Indians occupying the land.
- In 1892, U.S. commissioners negotiated an agreement with members of the tribes for the cession of surplus lands.
- The tribes alleged that this 1892 agreement was not signed by the requisite three-fourths of adult males and that the signatures obtained were procured through fraudulent misrepresentations.
- In 1900, Congress passed an act that unilaterally enacted the terms of the 1892 agreement, allotting some lands to individual Indians and opening the remaining surplus land for non-Indian settlement, contrary to the consent provision of the 1867 treaty.
Procedural Posture:
- Lone Wolf, representing the Kiowa, Comanche, and Apache tribes, filed suit in the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia (a trial court) to enjoin the Secretary of the Interior from implementing the 1900 Act of Congress.
- The defendant, Secretary Hitchcock, filed a demurrer to the bill, which is a motion to dismiss for failure to state a valid legal claim.
- The trial court sustained the demurrer and dismissed the plaintiff's case.
- The plaintiffs appealed to the Court of Appeals of the District of Columbia, which affirmed the trial court's decision.
- The plaintiffs then appealed to the Supreme Court of the United States.
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Issue:
Does an act of Congress that disposes of tribal lands in a manner that conflicts with the terms of a prior treaty with a Native American tribe violate the tribe's property rights under that treaty and the Fifth Amendment?
Opinions:
Majority - Justice White
No. The act of Congress is a valid exercise of its plenary authority over tribal relations and property. The power to abrogate the provisions of an Indian treaty has always existed in Congress, and its exercise is a political question not subject to judicial control. The Court reasoned that Native American tribes are 'wards of the nation' and in a state of dependency on the United States government. This guardian-ward relationship grants Congress paramount power over tribal property, which it may exercise for what it deems to be the tribes' best interests. The Court held that like treaties with foreign nations, Indian treaties can be superseded by subsequent federal legislation. Any claims of fraud in obtaining signatures or lack of required consent are matters for the legislative branch to consider, and the judiciary must presume that Congress acted in good faith.
Concurring - Justice Harlan
Justice Harlan concurred in the result without a written opinion.
Analysis:
This decision established the doctrine of Congress's 'plenary power' over Native American affairs, solidifying the legal principle that Congress can unilaterally abrogate treaties with tribes. By classifying such congressional actions as non-justiciable 'political questions,' the Court effectively removed judicial oversight from federal Indian policy regarding land and sovereignty. This ruling significantly weakened the legal standing of Indian treaties, treating them as subject to the changing policy whims of Congress rather than as binding legal agreements, and has had a profound and lasting impact on federal Indian law and tribal property rights.
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