Government goofed in last land grab

0 Comments | Indian Country Today (Lakota Times), January, 2003 | by Newcomb, Steven

Newcomb, Steven Indian Country Today (Lakota Times) 01-15-2003 The report that never was In 1974, the United States sued Mary and Carrie Dann for trespassing. The U.S. government accused the two Western Shoshone sisters of grazing cattle on U.S. public land without having obtained a federal permit.

The Dann's response was that they were grazing their cattle on Western Shoshone land as recognized in the 1863 Treaty of Ruby Valley. The dispute ultimately ended up before the U.S. Supreme Court in 1984. The Court handed down its decision in the case in 1985. As I was recently reading through the U.S. v. Dann decision, I noticed that the Supreme Court had said that the "chief purpose" of the Indian Claims Commission Act was "to dispose of the Indian claims...