Brief Fact Summary. Congress took away the land of the Sioux, which had previously been given to them in perpetuity.
Synopsis of Rule of Law. The 1877 Act constituted a taking of tribal property, which had been set aside for the exclusive occupation of the Sioux by the Fort Laramie Treaty. That taking implied an obligation on the part of the government to provide just compensation to the Sioux Nation.
Issue. Is the Act a taking of the Black Hills for which just compensation was due?
Held. Yes.
The background of the Act reveals a situation when Congress did not purport to provide adequate consideration, nor was there any meaningful negotiation or arm’s-length bargaining, nor did Congress consider it was paying a fair price.
There is nothing to reflect a congressional decision that the value of the rations was the equivalent of the land, but instead was an attempt to coerce the Sioux into capitulation to congressional demands. The action of Congress at the time it acquired the land, not how much it ultimately cost the government to fulfill its obligation, is controlling. So even though a large amount of money was spent over the years in providing rations that was never anticipated by Congress at the time of the Act.
The 1877 Act affected a taking of tribal property, which had been set aside for the exclusive occupation of the Sioux by the Fort Laramie Treaty. That taking implied an obligation on the part of the government to make just compensation to the Sioux Nation.
But the owner is entitled to reasonable, certain and adequate provision for obtaining compensation before his occupancy is disturbed.
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