Yavapai-Prescott Indian Tribe v. Watt

707 F.2d 1072 YAVAPAI-PRESCOTT INDIAN TRIBE, Plaintiff/Counterdefendant/Appellee, v. James G. WATT, as Secretary of the Interior, et al., Defendants, and Marlin D. Kuykendall, an individual, Defendant/Counterclaimant/Appellant. No. 82-5405. United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. Argued and Submitted Jan. 12, 1983. Decided June 8, 1983. Philip E. Toci, Prescott, Ariz., for plaintiff/counterdefendant/appellee. Thomas J. Reilly, Snell & Wilmer, Phoenix, Ariz., for defendant/counterclaimant/appellant. Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Arizona. Before DUNIWAY, GOODWIN and SNEED, Circuit Judges. SNEED, Circuit Judge: 1 Federal law requires the approval of the Secretary of the Interior before certain Indian lands can be leased. This case raises the question whether an Indian Tribe has the authority to terminate a lease executed in accordance with this law without obtaining the Secretary's approval for the lease termination. The district court held that a tribe has that authority. We disagree and reverse the judgment of the district court and remand for further proceedings as are consistent with this opinion. I. FACTS 2 On September 11, 1969, the…