BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) - Government attorneys have appealed a federal judge’s ruling that blocked the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs from giving funds intended to benefit the Northern Arapaho Tribe to the Shoshone Business Council.
The Northern Arapaho Tribe and the Eastern Shoshone Tribe share the Wind River Indian Reservation in central Wyoming.
The tribes had managed their affairs under a joint business council for decades before the Northern Arapaho pulled out two years ago.
The Northern Arapaho later sued, saying the BIA gave money intended to benefit both tribes to the Shoshone Business Council.
In October, U.S. District Judge Brian Morris in Billings required contracts for the reservation to have approval from both tribes. Justice Department attorneys representing the BIA last week appealed the ruling to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
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