Tee-Hit-Ton v. United States

Tee-Hit-Ton v. United States
Argued November 12, 1954
Decided February 7, 1955
Full case nameTee-Hit-Ton Indians v. United States
Citations348 U.S. 272 (more)
75 S. Ct. 313; 99 L. Ed. 2d 314; 1955 U.S. LEXIS 1186
Case history
PriorAppeal from the United States Court of Claims, 120 F. Supp. 202 (1954)
Subsequent132 F. Supp. 695 (1955)
Holding
A Tribal nation's right of occupancy may be eliminated by the United States without any compensation.
Court membership
Chief Justice
Earl Warren
Associate Justices
Hugo Black · Stanley F. Reed
Felix Frankfurter · William O. Douglas
Harold H. Burton · Tom C. Clark
Sherman Minton
Case opinions
MajorityReed, joined by Black, Burton, Clark, Minton
DissentDouglas, joined by Warren, Frankfurter

Tee-Hit-Ton v. United States, 348 U.S. 272 (1955), was a United States Supreme Court case in which the court held that a Tribal nation's right of occupancy (or "aboriginal title") may be eliminated by the United States without any compensation. Breaking with earlier cases, the court said the Natives' right of occupancy was lesser than a vested property right that the fee simple owner of the land would have within the American property system.