Court case
Joint Tribal Council of the Passamaquoddy Tribe v. Morton
In 1975 the First Circuit held the Nonintercourse Act covers the Passamaquoddy Tribe and creates a federal trust relationship over its land claims.
- Citation
- 528 F.2d 370 (1st Cir. 1975), aff'g 388 F. Supp. 649 (D. Me. 1975)
- Court
- U.S. Court of Appeals, 1st Cir.
- Year
- 1975
- Nations
- Passamaquoddy Tribe, Penobscot Nation
- Treaty at issue
- none (Massachusetts/Maine conveyances without federal consent)
- Effect on land rights
- advanced
What happened
The Passamaquoddy Tribe lives on two reservations in Washington County, Maine. Its representatives wrote to the Bureau of Indian Affairs with grievances against Maine and its predecessor, Massachusetts. They said Maine had taken most of the Tribe's aboriginal territory in a treaty negotiated in 1794, and had wrongfully diverted 6,000 of the 23,000 acres reserved to the Tribe in that treaty.
The Tribe asked the Secretary of the Interior to sue Maine on its behalf before July 18, 1972, the date an action would allegedly be barred. The Secretary did not act. The Interior Department's Acting Solicitor advised that there was no trust relationship between the United States and the Tribe. On June 2, 1972, the Tribe's representatives sued for a declaration that the Tribe is protected by the Indian Nonintercourse Act.
The district court ruled for the Tribe, and the First Circuit affirmed, with qualifications. The Nonintercourse Act, passed by the First Congress in 1790, protects the lands of "any tribe of Indians." The Tribe argued, and the courts agreed, that this includes a tribe not otherwise recognized by the federal government.
The court stressed that "the 'trust relationship' we affirm has as its source the Nonintercourse Act," so it covers land transactions the Act reaches. It did not decide whether the United States must actually sue Maine; the court called that a separate question not raised below.
Summarized with AI assistance from 3 sources and checked against their words; not yet reviewed by historians or by the nations. Report an error
What the sources say, and how this was checked
Well supported by the sources below.
the “trust relationship” we affirm has as its source the Nonintercourse Act
Joint Tribal Council of the Passamaquoddy Tribe v. Morton, 528 F.2d 370 (1st Cir. 1975) (court opinion text via Harvard Caselaw Access Project)Maine had wrongfully diverted 6,000 of the 23,000 acres reserved to the Tribe in that treaty
Joint Tribal Council of the Passamaquoddy Tribe v. Morton, 528 F.2d 370 (1st Cir. 1975) (court opinion text via Harvard Caselaw Access Project)is a separate issue that was not raised or decided below and which consequently we do not address
Joint Tribal Council of the Passamaquoddy Tribe v. Morton, 528 F.2d 370 (1st Cir. 1975) (court opinion text via Harvard Caselaw Access Project)
Research notes. The opinion text was read from case.law; the decision date (Dec. 23, 1975) and the 1980 Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act are not stated in the opened source and are left out. The page citation 528 F.2d 370 and the district court cite 388 F. Supp. 649 match the opinion.
Who is doing the work
This history belongs to living nations. Start with them:
Working with these nations
- Wabanaki Alliance Nation government Tribal sovereignty and land rights in Maine (MICSA/Settlement Act reform, tribal lands education, legislative advocacy) Give on their site Website
- Mi'kmaq Nation Nation government 3,400+ acre Bridgewater parcel (June 2026, $1.9M)
- Penobscot Nation Nation government 735 acres (Elliotsville Foundation, Oct 2020)
- Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians Nation government 1,327 acres near Wilderness Pines Campground (2025, per BDN)
- Wabanaki REACH Native-led Truth-seeking, decolonization education and Wabanaki wellbeing Give on their site Website
- The Nature Conservancy (TNC) Allied land trust Funder/partner in several tribal land returns Website
Native legal and land defense, nationally
- Native American Rights Fund (NARF) Native-led Litigation and legal advocacy for tribal sovereignty, treaty rights, land and resources Give on their site Website
- NDN Collective (LANDBACK Campaign) Native-led LANDBACK campaign (launched 2020; Mount Rushmore closure and return of Black Hills public lands), Indigenous… Give on their site Website
- Indian Land Tenure Foundation (ILTF) Native-led Land recovery and control by tribes and individual Indian landowners Website
- Decolonizing Wealth Project (Indigenous Earth Fund; California Tribal Land Return) Native-led Reparative philanthropy Give on their site Website
Gifts go straight to each organization; this atlas takes nothing. Listing is not endorsement: how organizations are listed.
Connections
Links marked “suggested” were matched automatically by name or date and have not yet been reviewed by a person.
Doctrine applied 4
Nations named 2
- Passamaquoddy (Motahkomikuk and Sipayik)suggested
- Penobscot Nationsuggested
Policy era 1
- Self-Determination1970suggested
Decided a dispute over 1
Answered by 1
- Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act (MICSA)1980suggested
Sources
The record’s fields
- Holding
- The Nonintercourse Act protects any tribe, including one not federally recognized, and creates a federal trust relationship Maine could not end; this opened the way to the Maine land claims and the Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act (1980).
- Kind
- Court case
- Confidence
- High