Diminishment is the legal process by which theUnited States Congress can reduce the size of anIndian reservation.
In 1984, theUnited States Supreme Court held inSolem v. Bartlett, 465 U.S. 463 (1984), that "only Congress may diminish the boundaries of an Indian reservation, and its intent to do so must be clear."[1] This was noted in the Court's 2016 caseNebraska v. Parker, 577 U.S. ___ (2016), in which the Court held that an 1882 Act passed by Congress did not diminish theOmaha Reservation.
TheSolem case established a "diminishment doctrine" that U.S. courts could use when evaluating whether diminishment had taken place.[2]
In the 1994 caseHagen v. Utah, 510 U.S. 399 (1994), the Supreme Court held that Congress's 1902 Act had diminished theUintah Reservation.[3] The Court applied its doctrine established in theSolem case.
Diminishment commonly refers to the reduction in size of a reservation. A finding of diminishment generally suggests that a discrete, easily identifiable parcel of land has been removed from reservation status.[4]
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