United States of America, the Walker River Paiute Tribe of Nevada and Robert Benton v. Southern Pacific Transportation Company, United States of America v. Southern Pacific Transportation Company

543 F.2d 676 UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff, The Walker River Paiute Tribe of Nevada and Robert Benton et al., Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. SOUTHERN PACIFIC TRANSPORTATION COMPANY et al., Defendants-Appellees. UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. SOUTHERN PACIFIC TRANSPORTATION COMPANY et al., Defendants-Appellees. Nos. 74-3333, 75-1080. United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. Sept. 10, 1976. Yvonne T. Knight and Daniel H. Israel (both argued), of Native American Rights Fund, Boulder, Colo., for appellants in 74-3333, for appellees in 75-1080. John Zimmerman, Atty. (argued), of U. S. Dept. of Justice, Washington, D. C., for appellant in 75-1080. Donald Oakley Roy (argued), of Kentfield, Cal., for appellees in 74-3333. Before GOODWIN and WALLACE, Circuit Judges, and WILLIAMS, * District Judge. WALLACE, Circuit Judge: 1 This case arises out of a confrontation between the "manifest destiny" of the westward movement of American civilization and the rights of the native American Indians to their lands. It raises important issues of Indian law and requires the interpretation of a century of Indian and public land policy. 2 The Southern Pacific Transportation…