Government of Guam ex rel. Guam Economic Development Authority v. United States

The government of Guam brought this action against the United States, alleging that it is entitled to own or control about 24,000 acres of land pursuant to the Organic Act of Guam, the Territorial Submerged Lands Act, and the doctrine, of aboriginal title. The district court disagreed and granted summary judgment to the United States. We affirm.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

The facts are not in dispute. In 1898, Spain ceded Guam, including 41,859 acres *632 of Spanish-owned property (crown land), to the United States. In that same year, the President of the United States placed Guam under the control of the Department of the Navy. Guam remained under the Navy’s control until 1941, when Japan captured the island during World War II.

After the United States recaptured Guam in 1944, it increased its military presence on the island. That increased presence required more land, which the United States continued to acquire until 1950.

In 1950, Congress passed the Organic Act of Guam, which established a civil government in Guam. Pursuant to that Act, the United States gave to the newly created government 1,250 acres of land that the naval government of Guam had used in the…