Harry Blackmun

“ In resisting this conclusion, the majority asserts that, because the Tax Injunction Act is merely a congressional enactment while the doctrine of sovereign immunity is a constitutional one, a "willingness to eliminate the former in no way bespeaks a willingness to eliminate the latter." ”

“ Whatever the validity of that determination may be generally, it cannot extend to matters concerning federal regulation of Native American affairs; in that sphere of governmental operations, the "balance of power" always has weighed heavily against the States and in favor of the Federal Government. Indeed, " [t] he plenary power of Congress to deal with the special problems of Indians is drawn both explicitly and implicitly from the Constitution itself." ”

“ The legislative history of the statute reveals Congress' intention that the tribes bring litigation "involving issues identical to those" that would have been raised by the United States acting as trustee for the tribes. H.R.Rep. No. 2040, 89th Cong., 2d Sess., 2 (1966) (House Report) . There is no reason to believe that this authority would be limited to prospective relief in the broad range of suits brought against the States.
Fundamentally, the vindication of Native American rights has been the institutional responsibility of the Federal Government since the Republic's founding. ”

“ See U.S.C.onst., Art. I, § 8, cl. 3; Art. I, § 2, cl. 3. In light of this time-honored principle of construction, it requires no linguistic contortion to read § 1362's grant of federal jurisdiction over "all civil actions" to encompass all tribal litigation that the United States could have brought as the tribes' guardian.
Having concluded that respondents' suit may be brought in federal court, I agree with the Court of Appeals that respondents are recognized "tribe [s] or band [s] " for purposes of § 1362, and that they have alleged a federal cause of action. ”