Crow Tribe of Indians v. Campbell Farming Corp.

Opinion by Judge CANBY.

The Crow Tribe of Indians brought an action against Campbell Farming Corporation, Robert Earl Holding and several companies controlled by Holding for violating section 2 of the Crow Allotment Act of 1920. The district court granted the defendants’ motion to dismiss on the grounds that the Tribe lacked standing to enforce the statute and that the Tribe’s claims were barred by the Montana statute of limitations. 828 F.Supp. 1468 . Finding that the Tribe has no right of action under the provision in question, we affirm.

BACKGROUND

The Crow Indian Reservation encompasses roughly 2.3 million acres of land in southeastern Montana. In the Crow Allotment Act, 41 Stat. 751 (1920), Congress provided for the allotment of lands of the Tribe to individual members. Section 2 of the Act generally *769 forbids the Secretary of the Interior from approving any direct or indirect conveyance of land from a Crow Indian to any person or company that owns 640 acres of agricultural or 1,280 acres of grazing land within the present boundaries of the Reservation. It also forbids approval of any conveyance to one who already owns land if, after the conveyance the person or company…