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4 Am. Indian L.J. 1 (2015-2016)

handle is hein.journals/ailj4 and id is 1 raw text is: THE BINDING GUIDANCE PRINCIPLE: USING THE INDIAN TRUST DOCTRINE TO TRUMP THE APA John Robinson Jr.* CONTENTS INTRODUCTION .................................................................................1 I. BACKGROUND ...............................................................................3 A. Historical Perspective: European Interaction with Indian Peoples .................................................................................3 B. The Indian Trust Doctrine in Short .......................................9 II. JUDICIAL ENFORCEMENT OF AGENCY POLICY & GUIDANCE......12 A. Judicial Enforcement of Agency Policy in Typical Circumstances....................................................................13 1. Disclaiming Language is Largely Irrelevant to Judicial Enforceability...............................................................15 B. Atypical Circumstances: The Indian Trust Doctrine Modifies Enforceability .....................................................................17 III. DISTILLATION AND APPLICATION..............................................21 A. Distillation of a Useful Rule ..............................................21 B. Applying the Rule to Environmental Justice ......................23 CONCLUSION...................................................................................26 INTRODUCTION In 1979, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals held the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) accountable to its internal tribal consultation policy in Oglala Sioux Tribe of Indians v. Andrus.1 This holding contradicted the Administrative Procedure Act's (APA) general rule that an agency's internal policy and guidance are not judicially enforceable.2 It also established a precedent that supported a small line of cases that held similarly-in some circumstances, Eighth Circuit courts have forced agencies to follow their internal guidance when it comes to dealing with Indian tribes. * Copyright 2015 John Robinson Jr., J.D. 2014, University of Utah College of Law. John practices natural resources law in Salt Lake City. Contact him at mainerobinson@gmail. corm. 1 Oglala Sioux Tribe of Indians v. Andrus, 603 F.2d 707 (8th Cir. 1979). 2 See infra Part II. 1