Emerald

I. BACKGROUND

A. Factual Background

Roleen Hargrove, a member of the Puyallup Tribe of Indi- ans, occupied a parcel of tribal land that was held in trust by the United States government. Under federal law, holders of Indian trust lands may mortgage their land, but they must first obtain BIA approval. See 25 U.S.C. § 483a(a). In 1994, Busi- ness Finance Corporation (“BFC”) agreed to loan Hargrove money if she executed a deed of trust in its favor.

On July 7, 1994, the BIA Puget Sound Agency issued a “Certificate of Approval” in connection with the Hargrove- BFC deed of trust. The Certificate of Approval provides that it “shall be attached to and recorded in the Official Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs with [the] Deed of Trust” and that it was granted in accordance with federal law and pursu- ant to the Secretary of the Interior’s authority. However, the Certificate of Approval was not recorded in the BIA Title Plant in Portland at that time (it was not recorded there until three years later, in 1997). “Title Plant” is a term used to iden- tify any one of the BIA’s Land Titles and Records Offices located throughout the country. Each such Office has respon- sibility…