Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe v. Cecil D. Andrus, Secretary of the United States Department of the Interior

TALBOT SMITH, Senior District Judge.

In the action before us the Tribe, as plaintiff, seeks declaratory and injunctive relief against the defendants, who are all officials of the Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs. 1 The case arises from a conflict between the Tribal and federal constitutions as to the age limitation on the right to vote in an election to amend the Tribal constitution. The plaintiff insists upon the primacy of the Tribal constitution; the defendants, per contra, argue that the federal constitution controls.

The district court, 2 entertaining motions for…