Several Alaska Native corporations challenging a federal appeals court decision denying them eligibility for the Coronavirus Relief Fund tribal set-aside under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES) Act will have their case reviewed by the U.S. Supreme Court.
At stake is a portion of the $8 billion set aside by Congress to help tribes respond to the novel coronavirus pandemic.
The Supreme Court granted certiorari, to review the decision of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals decision of Sept. 25, 2020, and also granted a motion from the Alaska congressional delegation to participate via an amicus curiae brief. The delegation contends that indigenous peoples of Alaska would suffer significant negative consequences as a result of the appeals court decision.
Amicus curiae is a Latin phrase that literally means “friend of the court.” The term is used in reference to a legal brief, called an amicus brief, that may be filed with an appellate court, including supreme court by a party not involved with the case, but in support of one side or the other on the legal issue at hand.
Last spring 18 tribes, including six from Alaska, filed three separate lawsuits to block distribution of CARES Act funds to the Alaska Native corporations. After the decision handed down by U.S. District Court Judge Amit P. Mehta, Native News Online reported that Tribal organizations, including the National Congress of American Indians in support of his decision.
The Alaska Native regional corporations won their case initially last June 27, in a U.S. District Court decision handed down in Anchorage. The case was brought by several Lower 48 tribes, who were joined as plaintiffs by the Akiak Native Community, Asa’carsarmiut Tribe of Mountain Village and the Aleut Community of St. Paul Island.
Then came the appeals court decision, which will now be reviewed by the Supreme Court.
Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan, with Rep. Don Young, all R-Alaska, contend that the appeals court decision destabilizes agency and legislative practice in place for over 40 years as well as systems in place that deliver programs and services to Alaska Natives across the state.
The congressional delegation cited the number of COVID cases in remote villages and that over 30 villages lack basic sanitation infrastructure, enabling the pandemic to spread quicker.
