The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes v. James M. Namen, and City of Polson, a Montana Municipal Corporation, Intervenor

Defendant-appellee Ñamen owns property bordering upon Flathead Lake, within the boundaries of the Flathead Indian Reservation in Montana. Ñamen is the successor in interest to an Indian allottee who, pursuant to the Indian Allotment Act of 1904 ( 33 Stat. 302 ) and amendments thereto, obtained from the United States a patent in fee covering the lakeside property in question. In connection with his business, Ñamen has constructed piers, wharves, and other structures related to navigation, which extend over the bed and bank of Flathead Lake.

The City of Poison, Montana was permitted to intervene as a defendant. The city also owns lakeside property within the Reservation, from which public docks have been constructed for recreational use.

The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes brought suit in the District Court, seeking a declaratory judgment that Na-men’s waterfront structures were in trespass upon Indian property, and seeking injunctive relief prohibiting future trespasses and requiring demolition of existing structures. The bases for the requested relief were that, allegedly, (1) the Tribes, as beneficial owners of the lake bed, have the exclusive right to control…