South Dakota v. United States Department of Interior

SMITH, Circuit Judge.

The State of South Dakota (“the State”) and Moody County (“the County”) appeal from the district court’s 1 grant of summary judgment in favor of the United States Department of the Interior (“the Department”), upholding the Department’s decision to take land into trust for the Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe (“FSST”). We affirm.

I. Background

After purchasing 310 acres contiguous to its current reservation, the FSST submitted an application to the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), requesting that the United States take the land into trust for the FSST’s benefit pursuant to § 5…