Diminishment is the legal process by which the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...

can reduce the size of an

Indian reservation An American Indian reservation is an area of land land tenure, held and governed by a List of federally recognized tribes in the contiguous United States#Description, U.S. federal government-recognized Native American tribal nation, whose gov ...

History

In 1984, the

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...

held in '' Solem v. Bartlett'', 465 U.S. 463 (1984), that "only Congress may diminish the boundaries of an Indian reservation, and its intent to do so must be clear."''Nebraska v. Parker''
No. 14–1406
577 U.S. ____ (2016). This was noted in the Court's 2016 case '' Nebraska v. Parker'', 577 U.S. ___ (2016), in which the Court held that an 1882 Act passed by Congress did not diminish the Omaha Reservation. The ''Solem'' case established a "diminishment doctrine" that U.S. courts could use when evaluating whether diminishment had taken place.Solem V. Bartlett , ENRD , Department of Justice
/ref> In the 1994 case '' Hagen v. Utah'', 510 U.S. 399 (1994), the Supreme Court held that Congress's 1902 Act had diminished the Uintah Reservation.Hagen v. Utah, 510 U.S. 399 (1994).
/ref> The Court applied its doctrine established in the ''Solem'' case.

Notes

Diminishment commonly refers to the reduction in size of a reservation. A finding of diminishment generally suggests that a discrete, easily identifiable parcel of land has been removed from reservation status.

References

Legal terminology American Indian reservations Aboriginal title in the United States United States federal Indian policy {{law-stub

History

See also

Notes

References