Justices Deny Bid to Weigh Dispute Over Colonial-Era Treaty

The Supreme Court refused to consider whether a 17th-century fishing treaty between a New York indigenous tribe and the then-royal government is valid under federal law.

The case denied on Monday stems from a legal dispute between the Long Island-based Unkechaug Indian Nation and authorities in New York over a state law banning the harvest of certain juvenile eels.

The tribe sued after members were caught harvesting glass eels off-reservation and attempting to export them to Hong Kong.

The questions at issue were mostly procedural, dealing with whether a district court erred in granting summary judgment to New York before ...