Elaine Christensen, Orville Brown, Doran Pete and Gladys Walker v. United States of America

The appellants filed this action seeking monetary and injunctive relief against the United States based on the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ failure to provide the appellants access to an Indian land allotment. The district court entered summary judgment for the United States on the ground that the appellants’ claims were barred by the applicable statute of limitations. Christensen v. United States, 583 F.Supp. 1539 (D.Nev.1984). We affirm.

FACTS AND PROCEEDINGS BELOW

The appellants are four American Indians who claim an undivided interest in an Indian allotment originally issued to Katie Martinez by trust patent in 1933. Since that time, the United States has held the property in trust. At the time of issuance, the allotment was surrounded by public and private fee land. Access to the Martinez allotment was attainable only through private land. Katie Martinez and her husband were granted a right-of-way across a parcel of private land, which right-of-way was revoked by the private land owners in 1951.

Since 1951, the appellants have made numerous requests to the Bureau of Indian Affairs to provide access to the allotment. The appellants were represented by counsel since 1972 but no…