Joint Tribal Council of the Passamaquoddy Tribe v. Morton

The Passamaquoddy Tribe (plaintiff), which had extensive dealings with Maine but almost none with the federal government and was the subject of no federal treaty, sought to have the Secretary of the Interior (defendant) sue Maine on the tribe's behalf after Maine took tribal land, allegedly in violation of the Nonintercourse Act barring purchases of Indian land without a treaty or constitutional convention. The Secretary refused, believing no fiduciary relationship existed with the unrecognized tribe, but the district court disagreed and found such a relationship did exist; the United States appealed.