Babbitt

*659 OPINION

We must decide whether the Reindeer Industry Act of 1937, 25 U.S.C. §§ 500 et seq., prohibits reindeer herding by non-natives in Alaska.

I

Contrary to popular belief, reindeer are neither native to Alaska nor part of the Alaskan native way of life. Around the turn of the century, white settlers had just about exhausted the natural food supply of Alaskan natives, who traditionally relied on fishing and hunting. Dr. Sheldon Jackson, the famous missionary, realized that raising livestock could provide natives a stable food supply, so he arranged for the importation of reindeer from Russia. 1 See Alaska Legislation: Hearing on Bills Relating to the Territory of Alaska Before the House Comm, on the Territories, 75th Cong., 1st Sess. 4-5 (1937) (statement of Rep. Dimond). But white settlers also muscled into the reindeer business, prompting Congress to pass the Reindeer Act of 1937. The Act appropriated $2 million to buy all reindeer owned by nonnatives in Alaska and give them to the natives. The Act also strictly limits the sale of reindeer to non-natives.

In 1986, appellant Williams informed the Bureau of Indian Affairs Area Director in Alaska that he intended to…

concurring separately:

Although I agree with the result reached by the majority opinion, I cannot concur in the majority’s method of resolving this ease. Because the plain language of the statute does not support the district court’s upholding of the IBIA’s interpretation of the statute, it is not necessary to resort to legislative history to determine the propriety of that interpretation or to resolve constitutional questions posed by the same.

*667 As the majority opinion notes, the Reindeer Act “does not by its terms guarantee Alaskan natives a monopoly in the reindeer business.” That is the beginning and, I believe, ought to be the end of our analysis. Nothing in the Act prohibits Appellants from purchasing and importing non-native or government-owned reindeer to Alaska. “When the words of a statute are unambiguous, then, this first canon is also the last: ‘judicial inquiry is complete.’” Connecticut Nat’l Bank v. Germain, 503 U.S. 249, 254 , 112 S.Ct. 1146, 1149 , 117 L.Ed.2d 391 (1992), citing Rubin v. United States, 449 U.S. 424, 430 , 101 S.Ct. 698, 701 , 66 L.Ed.2d 633 (1981). Attempting to divine congressional intent from the structure of the Act is both improper and…