Green v. Menominee Tribe

Background

Green, a Wisconsin licensed trader, sued the Menominee tribe and 158 named tribal members for $13,087.46, claiming he furnished equipment and supplies for logging on the Menominee Reservation between 1886 and 1889. He alleged an earlier oral agreement, first made in 1881 between a prior trader, M. Wescott, and tribal leaders (with the Indian Agent and a special Interior Department agent present), that the tribe would allow traders to advance supplies and that proceeds from the sale of dead and down timber would be applied to pay those advances. Green said he and a partner continued the arrangement, that the Indian agent received the timber proceeds but did not apply them to pay the supplies, and that a large fund from logging was held by the United States for the tribe’s benefit.

Reasoning

The Court addressed whether Green’s amended petition stated a legal cause of action. It held that the 1908 statute authorizing suit in the Court of Claims did not create a new substantive right to recover from the United States or change the nature of claimed liabilities. The Court found §2103 of the Revised Statutes controlling: agreements with tribes or non-citizen Indians for money or things of value must be written and approved, or they are void. The alleged oral contracts thus failed to meet the statutory requirements, and the presence of an agent at the council did not validate otherwise prohibited agreements.

Real world impact

The decision leaves traders without recovery on similar oral, unapproved advance arrangements and enforces strict protection against unwritten contracts with tribes. It emphasizes that funds in the hands of federal agents are not automatically available to traders absent a valid statutory basis. The dismissal was affirmed, so Green’s claim was denied.