Wilson v. Omaha Tribe

Wilson v. Omaha Tribe
Argued March 21, 1979
Decided June 20, 1979
Full case nameWilson, et al. v. Omaha Indian Tribe, et al.
Citations442 U.S. 653 (more)
99 S. Ct. 2529; 61 L. Ed. 2d 153; 1979 U.S. LEXIS 5
Case history
PriorUnited States v. Wilson, 433 F. Supp. 67 (N.D. Iowa 1977); Omaha Indian Tribe v. Wilson, 575 F.2d 620 (8th Cir. 1978); cert. granted, 439 U.S. 963 (1978).
SubsequentUnited States v. Wilson, 926 F.2d 725 (8th Cir. 1991); 933 F.2d 1462 (8th Cir. 1991); cert. denied, 502 U.S. 942 (1991); Rupp v. Omaha Indian Tribe, 45 F.3d 1241 (8th Cir. 1995).
Holding
Vacated and remanded, held that in a land dispute, 25 U.S.C. § 194 applied only to individuals and not a state, that federal law governed the tribe's right to possession, but that state law was to be used in determining how that applied to the natural movement of a river's boundaries.
Court membership
Chief Justice
Warren E. Burger
Associate Justices
William J. Brennan Jr. · Potter Stewart
Byron White · Thurgood Marshall
Harry Blackmun · Lewis F. Powell Jr.
William Rehnquist · John P. Stevens
Case opinions
MajorityWhite, joined by Burger, Brennan, Stewart, Marshall, Blackmun, Rehnquist, Stevens
ConcurrenceBlackmun, joined by Burger
Powell took no part in the consideration or decision of the case.
Laws applied
25 U.S.C. § 194

Wilson v. Omaha Tribe, 442 U.S. 653 (1979), was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that in a land dispute, 25 U.S.C. § 194 applied only to individuals and not a state, that federal law governed the tribe's right to possession, but that state law was to be used in determining how that applied to the natural movement of a river's boundaries.