PROVIDENCE, R.I. — A federal appeals court panel this week upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit brought by the Narragansett Indian Tribe against the state Department of Transportation, finding the tribe's allegations that the state reneged on a deal to transfer three properties to it belong in Rhode Island, not federal, court.

A three-judge panel from the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with U.S. District Court Chief Judge William E. Smith that the Federal Highway Administration had not waived its sovereign immunity and, thus, was shielded from the tribe's claims. Further, the court found, the tribe's allegations that the state breached its agreement to turn over three properties as compensation for damage done by the Providence I-95 Viaduct reconstruction project to the remains of tribal archaeological sites would best be heard in state court.

"The disputed questions — such as whether the state could bind itself in the manner alleged, whether it did bind itself by signing the programmatic agreement, or whether it waived sovereign immunity when it did so — are all questions of state law best left for the courts of Rhode Island," the panel wrote.

The tribe, on behalf of the Narragansett Indian Tribal Historic Preservation Office, last year sued the state Department of Transportation, the Federal Highway Administration and two other agencies whose purpose is to minimize a construction project’s impact on historic land. The tribe alleged that the parties failed to fulfill a 2013 signed agreement to transfer properties, including Camp Davis, to the tribe.

The National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 requires federal agencies overseeing major projects receiving federal funds to consult with key players in what the court described as a "stop, look and listen" process or develop and implement a "programmatic agreement" specifying how the agencies will resolve any adverse effects on historic sites. The bridge project was expected to impact the Providence Covelands Archaeological District, a burial site of importance to the tribe.

The parties reached an agreement in 2011. Federal and state parties, however, backed out of the deal after the tribe refused to agree that state criminal and civil laws applied on the lands. The Federal Highway Administration then followed through on its obligations under the Preservation Act apart from the agreement, the ruling states.

The appeals court ruling notes that nowhere in the tribe's pleadings does it contend that the federal government violated the federal Preservation Act, but instead asks that the court enforce the agreement.

The state praised the decision.

"We are pleased the First Circuit upheld the District Court, affirming the decision that dismissed the case," Amy Kempe, spokeswoman for the attorney general's office, said in an email Friday.

William Devereaux, lawyer for the tribe, could not be reached for comment late.

The properties the state initially purchased and agreed to transfer to the tribe are the Salt Pond Archaeological Preserve off Route 110 in Narragansett; the Chief Sachem Nighthawk property, at 4553 South County Trail, in Charlestown; and the Providence Boys Club-Camp Davis, a 105-plus-acre property in Charlestown.