Tribes in legal limbo over federal virus relief funding

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — Nearly a year after Congress passed a coronavirus relief bill, some Native American tribes are still in legal limbo over what’s been distributed.

The issue didn’t become any more clear this week for three tribes who argued in a federal court hearing that they should get quick relief because they were shortchanged by the use of federal population data.

The Treasury Department has doled out all but about $530 million from the $8 billion set aside for tribes in the CARES Act. Where it goes depends on the outcome of two cases in a federal district court and the U.S. Supreme Court.