Spokane Tribe of Indians v. Washington State

Opinion by Judge SCHROEDER.

This is a suit by the Spokane Tribe of Indians (“the Tribe”) against the State of Washington to compel the state to negotiate in good faith for terms of a gaming compact as required by the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (“IGRA”), 25 U.S.C. §§ 2701-21 (Supp.1994). The dispositive issue in this appeal and cross-appeal is whether the state is immune from this suit under the Eleventh Amendment despite the fact that Congress, acting pursuant to its plenary constitutional power to regulate Indian affairs, clearly intended to authorize such suits. There is an existing circuit conflict on this issue. The Eighth Circuit has held that states are not immune, Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe v. South Dakota, 3 F.3d 273 (8th Cir.1993), while the Eleventh Circuit has held that they are. Seminole Tribe of Florida v. Florida, 11 F.3d 1016 (11th Cir.1994). The district court in this case dismissed the action against the State, but permitted it to go forward against individual state officers under the doctrine of Ex Parte Young, 209 U.S. 123 , 28 S.Ct. 441 , 52 L.Ed. 714 (1908). We reverse, holding that the state is not immune from suit and that it is therefore unnecessary to…