US position on tribal relief funds sets up court battle

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — Alaska Native corporations are eligible for a share of $8 billion in coronavirus funding for tribes, the U.S. Treasury Department said late Thursday, setting the stage for a court battle.

More than a dozen Native American tribes have sued the federal government to try to keep the money out of the hands of the corporations. They contend it should go only to the 574 tribes that have a government-to-government relationship with the United States.

The Treasury Department said a plain reading of the CARES Act makes the corporations set up under a 1971 settlement among the U.S., Alaska Natives and the state of Alaska eligible for the funding.

U.S. District Court Judge Amit Mehta in Washington, D.C., has scheduled a Friday hearing on the tribes’ request for a temporary restraining order to keep the Treasury Department from dispersing the funds until the judge settles the larger question of eligibility.

“Each day that goes by without receipt of these funds causes greater hardship to Native American tribes and associated entities,” he said during a Thursday morning hearing in the case. “The sooner we get to a decision in this case, the better.”

State and local governments started getting direct payments this week under the $2.2 trillion package, under a formula based largely on population. No payments have been made to tribes.

The CARES Act includes the corporations under a definition of “Indian Tribe." But the tribes and the corporations disagree on the intent of Congress.

The Treasury Department's position that the corporations are eligible is in line with the Interior Department and the corporations themselves.

Tribes have said the corporations’ reading of the definition is short-sighted, and they worry the corporations could receive...