(Slip Opinion) OCTOBER TERM, 2020 1 Syllabus NOTE: Where it is feasible, a syllabus (headnote) will be released, as is being done in connection with this case, at the time the opinion is issued. The syllabus constitutes no part of the opinion of the Court but has been prepared by the Reporter of Decisions for the convenience of the reader. See United States v. Detroit Timber & Lumber Co., 200 U. S. 321, 337. SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES Syllabus YELLEN, SECRETARY OF TREASURY v. CONFEDERATED TRIBES OF THE CHEHALIS RESERVATION ET AL. CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA CIRCUIT No. 20–543. Argued April 19, 2021—Decided June 25, 2021* Title V of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act allocates $8 billion to “Tribal governments” to compensate for un- budgeted expenditures made in response to COVID–19. 42 U. S. C. §801(a)(2)(B). The question in these cases is whether Alaska Native Corporations (ANCs) are eligible to receive any of that $8 billion. Un- der the CARES Act, a “Tribal government” is the “recognized govern- ing body of an Indian tribe” as defined in the Indian Self-Determina- tion and Education Assistance Act (ISDA). §§801(g)(5), (1). ISDA, in turn, defines an “Indian tribe” as “any Indian tribe, band, nation, or other organized group or community, including any Alaska Native vil- lage or regional or village corporation as defined in or established pur- suant to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act [(ANCSA),] which is recognized as eligible for the special programs and services provided by the United States to Indians because of their status as Indians.” 25 U. S. C. §5304(e). Consistent with the Department of the Interior’s longstanding view that ANCs are Indian tribes under ISDA, the Department of the Treas- ury determined that ANCs are eligible for relief under Title V of the CARES Act, even though ANCs are not “federally recognized tribes” (i.e., tribes with which the United States has entered into a govern- ment-to-government relationship). A number of federally recognized —————— *Together with No. 20–544, Alaska Native Village Corp. Association et al. v. Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation et al., also on certiorari to the same court. 2 YELLEN v. CONFEDERATED TRIBES OF CHEHALIS RESERVATION Syllabus tribes sued. The District Court entered summary judgment for the Treasury Department and the ANCs, but the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit reversed. Held: ANCs are “Indian tribe[s]” under ISDA and thus eligible for fund- ing under Title V of the CARES Act. Pp. 7–28. (a) The ANCs argue that they fall under the plain meaning of ISDA’s definition of “Indian tribe.” Respondents ask the Court to adopt a term-of-art construction that equates being “recognized as eligible for the special programs and services provided by the United States to In- dians because of their status as Indians” with being a “federally recog- nized tribe.” Pp. 7–25. (1) Under the plain meaning of ISDA, ANCs are Indian tribes. ANCs are …
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