United States v. Gila River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community

This action, involving an Indian claim against the Government to recover monies alleged to have been wrongfully collected, comes before the court on the Government’s appeal of two decisions by the Indian Claims Commission (the Commission)1 in favor of the Gila River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community (plaintiffs or Indians). The specific monies which the Indians seek to recover were collected by the Government as charges for the operation and maintenance of an irrigation system which delivered *77water to Indian lands. Because we conclude that the Government was without authority to collect the fees…