This is a list of U.S. Supreme Court cases involving Indian Tribe

Indian tribe

In the United States, a Native American tribe is any extant or historical tribe, band, nation, or other group or community of Indigenous peoples in the United States...

s. Included in the list are Supreme Court cases that have a major component that deals with the relationship between tribes, between a governmental entity and tribes, tribal sovereignty, tribal rights (including property, hunting, fishing, religion, etc.) and actions involving members of tribes. Cases are sorted into general areas of Native American law, with a chronological listing at the end of the article.

Adoption

• Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians v. Holyfield
  Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians v. Holyfield
  Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians v. Holyfield, 490 U.S. 30 , was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that the Indian Child Welfare Act governed adoptions of Indian children, and a tribal court had jurisdiction over a state court regardless of the location of birth of the...
  
  ,

Tribal

• Ex parte Joins
  Ex parte Joins
  Ex parte Joins, 191 U.S. 93 , was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that a request for a writ of prohibition was moot, as the lower court case had already been completed prior to the petition being heard at the Supreme Court.-Background:In 1893, Congress created the Dawes...
  
  ,
• Santa Clara Pueblo v. Martinez
  Santa Clara Pueblo v. Martinez
  Santa Clara Pueblo v. Martinez, 436 U.S. 49 , involved a request to stop denying tribal membership to those children born to female tribal members who married outside of the tribe. The mother who made the case pleaded that the discrimination against her child was solely based on sex, which...
  
  ,
• Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians v. Holyfield
  Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians v. Holyfield
  Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians v. Holyfield, 490 U.S. 30 , was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that the Indian Child Welfare Act governed adoptions of Indian children, and a tribal court had jurisdiction over a state court regardless of the location of birth of the...
  
   (Smeg-mah),
• South Dakota v. Bourland
  South Dakota v. Bourland
  South Dakota v. Bourland, 508 U.S. 679 , was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that Congress specifically abrogated treaty rights with the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe as to hunting and fishing rights on reservation lands that were acquired for a reservoir.-History:In 1868,...
  
  ,

Civil Rights

• Oliphant v. Suquamish Indian Tribe
  Oliphant v. Suquamish Indian Tribe
  Oliphant v. Suquamish Indian Tribe, 435 U.S. 191 is a United States Supreme Court case regarding the criminal jurisdiction of Tribal courts over non-Indians. The case was decided on March 6, 1978, with a 6-2 majority. The court opinion was written by William Rehnquist; a dissenting opinion was...
  
  ,
• United States v. Wheeler
  United States v. Wheeler
  United States v. Wheeler, 254 U.S. 281 , is an 8-to-1 ruling by the Supreme Court of the United States which held that the Constitution alone did not grant the federal government the power to prosecute kidnappers, and that only the states had the authority to punish a private citizen's unlawful...
  
  ,

Congressional Authority

• Ex parte Joins
  Ex parte Joins
  Ex parte Joins, 191 U.S. 93 , was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that a request for a writ of prohibition was moot, as the lower court case had already been completed prior to the petition being heard at the Supreme Court.-Background:In 1893, Congress created the Dawes...
  
  ,
• White Mountain Apache Tribe v. Bracker
  White Mountain Apache Tribe v. Bracker
  White Mountain Apache Tribe v. Bracker, 448 U.S. 136 , was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States holding that Arizona's taxes that were assessed against a non-Indian contractor that was working exclusively for an Indian tribe on that tribe's reservation were preempted by federal...
  
  ,
• California v. Cabazon Band of Mission Indians,
• South Dakota v. Bourland
  South Dakota v. Bourland
  South Dakota v. Bourland, 508 U.S. 679 , was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that Congress specifically abrogated treaty rights with the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe as to hunting and fishing rights on reservation lands that were acquired for a reservoir.-History:In 1868,...
  
  ,
• United States v. Lara,

Hunting and Fishing Rights

• Menominee Tribe v. United States
  Menominee Tribe v. United States
  Menominee Tribe v. United States, 391 U.S. 404 , was a case in which the Supreme Court ruled that the tribal hunting and fishing rights which were retained by treaty were not abrogated by the Menominee Termination Act without a clear and unequivocal statement to that effect by Congress...
  
  ,
• New Mexico v. Mescalero Apache Tribe,
• Oregon Dept. of Fish and Wildlife v. Klamath Indian Tribe
  Oregon Dept. of Fish and Wildlife v. Klamath Indian Tribe
  The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife v. Klamath Indian Tribe 473 U.S. 753 was a case appealed to the US Supreme Court by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife...
  
  ,
• Brendale v. Confederated Yakima Indian Nation,
• South Dakota v. Bourland
  South Dakota v. Bourland
  South Dakota v. Bourland, 508 U.S. 679 , was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that Congress specifically abrogated treaty rights with the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe as to hunting and fishing rights on reservation lands that were acquired for a reservoir.-History:In 1868,...
  
  ,

Jurisdiction

• Iowa Mutual Insurance Co. v. LaPlante,
• California v. Cabazon Band of Mission Indians,
• Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians v. Holyfield
  Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians v. Holyfield
  Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians v. Holyfield, 490 U.S. 30 , was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that the Indian Child Welfare Act governed adoptions of Indian children, and a tribal court had jurisdiction over a state court regardless of the location of birth of the...
  
  ,
• South Dakota v. Bourland
  South Dakota v. Bourland
  South Dakota v. Bourland, 508 U.S. 679 , was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that Congress specifically abrogated treaty rights with the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe as to hunting and fishing rights on reservation lands that were acquired for a reservoir.-History:In 1868,...
  
  ,

Criminal

• Ex parte Crow Dog
  Ex parte Crow Dog
  Ex parte Crow Dog, 109 U.S. 556 , was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that a federal court did not have jurisdiction to try Crow Dog, a Native American who killed another Indian on the reservation when the offense had been tried by the tribal council...
  
  ,
• United States v. Wheeler
  United States v. Wheeler
  United States v. Wheeler, 254 U.S. 281 , is an 8-to-1 ruling by the Supreme Court of the United States which held that the Constitution alone did not grant the federal government the power to prosecute kidnappers, and that only the states had the authority to punish a private citizen's unlawful...
  
  ,
• Duro v. Reina
  Duro v. Reina
  In Duro v. Reina, 495 U.S. 676 , the U.S. Supreme Court concluded that Indian tribes could not prosecute Indians who were members of other tribes for crimes committed by those nonmember Indians on their reservations...
  
  ,
• United States v. Lara,

Federal

• United States v. Rogers
  United States v. Rogers
  United States v. Rogers, 45 U.S. 567 , was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States holding that a white man, adopted into an Indian tribe, does not become exempt from the enforcement of the laws prohibiting murder.-Background:...
  
  ,
• Ex parte Crow Dog
  Ex parte Crow Dog
  Ex parte Crow Dog, 109 U.S. 556 , was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that a federal court did not have jurisdiction to try Crow Dog, a Native American who killed another Indian on the reservation when the offense had been tried by the tribal council...
  
  ,
• National Farmers Union Ins. Cos. v. Crow Tribe,
• United States v. Lara,

Over Non-Indians

• Oliphant v. Suquamish Indian Tribe
  Oliphant v. Suquamish Indian Tribe
  Oliphant v. Suquamish Indian Tribe, 435 U.S. 191 is a United States Supreme Court case regarding the criminal jurisdiction of Tribal courts over non-Indians. The case was decided on March 6, 1978, with a 6-2 majority. The court opinion was written by William Rehnquist; a dissenting opinion was...
  
  ,
• New Mexico v. Mescalero Apache Tribe,
• National Farmers Union Ins. Cos. v. Crow Tribe,
• Iowa Mutual Insurance Co. v. LaPlante,
• California v. Cabazon Band of Mission Indians,
• Duro v. Reina
  Duro v. Reina
  In Duro v. Reina, 495 U.S. 676 , the U.S. Supreme Court concluded that Indian tribes could not prosecute Indians who were members of other tribes for crimes committed by those nonmember Indians on their reservations...
  
  ,
• Plains Commerce Bank v. Long Family Land and Cattle Co., Inc.
  Plains Commerce Bank v. Long Family Land and Cattle Co., Inc.
  Plains Commerce Bank v. Long Family Land and Cattle Co., Inc., No. 07-0411 , was a decision by the Supreme Court of the United States holding that a tribal court had no jurisdiction to hear a case on the sale of non-Indian fee land located on a reservation.-History:Ronnie and Lila Long had a family...
  
  , ___ U.S. ___, 128 S.Ct. 2709 (2008)

State

• Washington v. Confederated Bands and Tribes of the Yakima Indian Nation,
• White Mountain Apache Tribe v. Bracker
  White Mountain Apache Tribe v. Bracker
  White Mountain Apache Tribe v. Bracker, 448 U.S. 136 , was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States holding that Arizona's taxes that were assessed against a non-Indian contractor that was working exclusively for an Indian tribe on that tribe's reservation were preempted by federal...
  
  ,
• Rice v. Rehner,
• Three Affiliated Tribes of Fort Berthold Reservation v. Wold Engineering, P. C.,
• Iowa Mutual Insurance Co. v. LaPlante,
• California v. Cabazon Band of Mission Indians,

Property Rights

• Oklahoma Tax Commission v. United States
  Oklahoma Tax Commission v. United States
  Oklahoma Tax Commission v. United States, 319 U.S. 598 , was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that Indian land that Congress has exempted from direct taxation by a state is also exempt from state estate taxes.-Background:...
  
  ,
• United States v. Southern Ute Tribe or Band of Indians,
• United States v. Sioux Nation of Indians
  United States v. Sioux Nation of Indians
  In United States v. Sioux Nation of Indians, 448 U.S. 371 the Supreme Court of the United States held that: 1) The enactment by Congress of a law allowing the Sioux Nation to pursue a claim against the United States that had been previously adjudicated did not violate the doctrine of separation...
  
  ,
• Rice v. Rehner,
• Brendale v. Confederated Yakima Indian Nation,
• Oklahoma Tax Comm'n v. Citizen Band of Potawatomi Tribe of Okla.,
• Yakima v. Confederated Tribes,
• South Dakota v. Bourland
  South Dakota v. Bourland
  South Dakota v. Bourland, 508 U.S. 679 , was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that Congress specifically abrogated treaty rights with the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe as to hunting and fishing rights on reservation lands that were acquired for a reservoir.-History:In 1868,...
  
  ,
• Plains Commerce Bank v. Long Family Land and Cattle Co., Inc.
  Plains Commerce Bank v. Long Family Land and Cattle Co., Inc.
  Plains Commerce Bank v. Long Family Land and Cattle Co., Inc., No. 07-0411 , was a decision by the Supreme Court of the United States holding that a tribal court had no jurisdiction to hear a case on the sale of non-Indian fee land located on a reservation.-History:Ronnie and Lila Long had a family...
  
  , ___ U.S. ___, 128 S.Ct. 2709 (2008)

Allotment

• Brendale v. Confederated Yakima Indian Nation,
• Yakima v. Confederated Tribes,
• Plains Commerce Bank v. Long Family Land and Cattle Co., Inc.
  Plains Commerce Bank v. Long Family Land and Cattle Co., Inc.
  Plains Commerce Bank v. Long Family Land and Cattle Co., Inc., No. 07-0411 , was a decision by the Supreme Court of the United States holding that a tribal court had no jurisdiction to hear a case on the sale of non-Indian fee land located on a reservation.-History:Ronnie and Lila Long had a family...
  
  , ___ U.S. ___, 128 S.Ct. 2709 (2008)

Reservations

• United States v. Southern Ute Tribe or Band of Indians,
• McClanahan v. Arizona State Tax Comm'n
  McClanahan v. Arizona State Tax Comm'n
  McClanahan v. Arizona State Tax Comm'n, 411 U.S. 164 , was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States holding that Arizona has no jurisdiction to impose a tax on the income of Navajo Indians residing on the Navajo Reservation and whose income is wholly derived from reservation...
  
  ,
• Oliphant v. Suquamish Indian Tribe
  Oliphant v. Suquamish Indian Tribe
  Oliphant v. Suquamish Indian Tribe, 435 U.S. 191 is a United States Supreme Court case regarding the criminal jurisdiction of Tribal courts over non-Indians. The case was decided on March 6, 1978, with a 6-2 majority. The court opinion was written by William Rehnquist; a dissenting opinion was...
  
  ,
• Washington v. Confederated Bands and Tribes of the Yakima Indian Nation,
• Washington v. Confederated Tribes of Colville Reservation,
• White Mountain Apache Tribe v. Bracker
  White Mountain Apache Tribe v. Bracker
  White Mountain Apache Tribe v. Bracker, 448 U.S. 136 , was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States holding that Arizona's taxes that were assessed against a non-Indian contractor that was working exclusively for an Indian tribe on that tribe's reservation were preempted by federal...
  
  ,
• United States v. Sioux Nation of Indians
  United States v. Sioux Nation of Indians
  In United States v. Sioux Nation of Indians, 448 U.S. 371 the Supreme Court of the United States held that: 1) The enactment by Congress of a law allowing the Sioux Nation to pursue a claim against the United States that had been previously adjudicated did not violate the doctrine of separation...
  
  ,
• Merrion v. Jicarilla Apache Tribe
  Merrion v. Jicarilla Apache Tribe
  Merrion v. Jicarilla Apache Tribe, 455 U.S. 130 , was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States holding that an Indian tribe has the authority to impose taxes on non-Indians that are conducting business on the reservation as an inherent power under their tribal sovereignty.-History:The...
  
  ,
• New Mexico v. Mescalero Apache Tribe,
• Rice v. Rehner,
• Oregon Dept. of Fish and Wildlife v. Klamath Indian Tribe
  Oregon Dept. of Fish and Wildlife v. Klamath Indian Tribe
  The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife v. Klamath Indian Tribe 473 U.S. 753 was a case appealed to the US Supreme Court by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife...
  
  ,
• California v. Cabazon Band of Mission Indians,
• Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians v. Holyfield
  Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians v. Holyfield
  Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians v. Holyfield, 490 U.S. 30 , was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that the Indian Child Welfare Act governed adoptions of Indian children, and a tribal court had jurisdiction over a state court regardless of the location of birth of the...
  
  ,
• Brendale v. Confederated Yakima Indian Nation,
• Oklahoma Tax Comm'n v. Citizen Band of Potawatomi Tribe of Okla.,
• South Dakota v. Bourland
  South Dakota v. Bourland
  South Dakota v. Bourland, 508 U.S. 679 , was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that Congress specifically abrogated treaty rights with the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe as to hunting and fishing rights on reservation lands that were acquired for a reservoir.-History:In 1868,...
  
  ,
• Plains Commerce Bank v. Long Family Land and Cattle Co., Inc.
  Plains Commerce Bank v. Long Family Land and Cattle Co., Inc.
  Plains Commerce Bank v. Long Family Land and Cattle Co., Inc., No. 07-0411 , was a decision by the Supreme Court of the United States holding that a tribal court had no jurisdiction to hear a case on the sale of non-Indian fee land located on a reservation.-History:Ronnie and Lila Long had a family...
  
  , ___ U.S. ___, 128 S.Ct. 2709 (2008)

Statutory and Treaty Interpretation

• Ex parte Crow Dog
  Ex parte Crow Dog
  Ex parte Crow Dog, 109 U.S. 556 , was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that a federal court did not have jurisdiction to try Crow Dog, a Native American who killed another Indian on the reservation when the offense had been tried by the tribal council...
  
  ,
• Menominee Tribe v. United States
  Menominee Tribe v. United States
  Menominee Tribe v. United States, 391 U.S. 404 , was a case in which the Supreme Court ruled that the tribal hunting and fishing rights which were retained by treaty were not abrogated by the Menominee Termination Act without a clear and unequivocal statement to that effect by Congress...
  
  ,
• Bryan v. Itasca County
  Bryan v. Itasca County
  Bryan v. Itasca County, 426 U.S. 373 , was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that a state did not have the right to assess a tax on the property of a Native American living on tribal land absent a specific Congressional grant of authority to do so.A county in Minnesota...
  
  ,
• Washington v. Confederated Bands and Tribes of the Yakima Indian Nation,
• Oregon Dept. of Fish and Wildlife v. Klamath Indian Tribe
  Oregon Dept. of Fish and Wildlife v. Klamath Indian Tribe
  The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife v. Klamath Indian Tribe 473 U.S. 753 was a case appealed to the US Supreme Court by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife...
  
  ,
• South Dakota v. Bourland
  South Dakota v. Bourland
  South Dakota v. Bourland, 508 U.S. 679 , was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that Congress specifically abrogated treaty rights with the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe as to hunting and fishing rights on reservation lands that were acquired for a reservoir.-History:In 1868,...
  
  ,

State

• Oklahoma Tax Commission v. United States
  Oklahoma Tax Commission v. United States
  Oklahoma Tax Commission v. United States, 319 U.S. 598 , was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that Indian land that Congress has exempted from direct taxation by a state is also exempt from state estate taxes.-Background:...
  
  ,
• Mescalero Apache Tribe v. Jones
  Mescalero Apache Tribe v. Jones
  Mescalero Apache Tribe v. Jones, 411 U.S. 145 , was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that a state could tax tribal, off-reservation business activities but could not impose a tax on tribal land, which was exempt from all forms of property taxes.-Background:The Mescalero...
  
  ,
• McClanahan v. Arizona State Tax Comm'n
  McClanahan v. Arizona State Tax Comm'n
  McClanahan v. Arizona State Tax Comm'n, 411 U.S. 164 , was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States holding that Arizona has no jurisdiction to impose a tax on the income of Navajo Indians residing on the Navajo Reservation and whose income is wholly derived from reservation...
  
  ,
• Bryan v. Itasca County
  Bryan v. Itasca County
  Bryan v. Itasca County, 426 U.S. 373 , was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that a state did not have the right to assess a tax on the property of a Native American living on tribal land absent a specific Congressional grant of authority to do so.A county in Minnesota...
  
  ,
• Washington v. Confederated Tribes of Colville Reservation,
• White Mountain Apache Tribe v. Bracker
  White Mountain Apache Tribe v. Bracker
  White Mountain Apache Tribe v. Bracker, 448 U.S. 136 , was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States holding that Arizona's taxes that were assessed against a non-Indian contractor that was working exclusively for an Indian tribe on that tribe's reservation were preempted by federal...
  
  ,
• Ramah Navajo School Bd., Inc. v. Bureau of Revenue of N.M.
  Ramah Navajo School Bd., Inc. v. Bureau of Revenue of N.M.
  Ramah Navajo School Bd., Inc. v. Bureau of Revenue of N.M., 458 U.S. 832 , was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States holding that the state was not authorized to impose taxes on a construction company building a school on an Native American reservation.-Background:The children of...
  
  ,
• New Mexico v. Mescalero Apache Tribe,
• Cotton Petroleum Corp. v. New Mexico,
• Oklahoma Tax Comm'n v. Citizen Band of Potawatomi Tribe of Okla.,
• Yakima v. Confederated Tribes,
• Oklahoma Tax Comm'n v. Sac & Fox Nation,
• Dept. of Taxation and Finance of N.Y. v. Milhelm Attea & Bros., Inc.,
• Wagnon v. Prairie Band Potawatomi Indians,

Tribal Sovereignty

• Oklahoma Tax Commission v. United States
  Oklahoma Tax Commission v. United States
  Oklahoma Tax Commission v. United States, 319 U.S. 598 , was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that Indian land that Congress has exempted from direct taxation by a state is also exempt from state estate taxes.-Background:...
  
  ,
• Menominee Tribe v. United States
  Menominee Tribe v. United States
  Menominee Tribe v. United States, 391 U.S. 404 , was a case in which the Supreme Court ruled that the tribal hunting and fishing rights which were retained by treaty were not abrogated by the Menominee Termination Act without a clear and unequivocal statement to that effect by Congress...
  
  ,
• Bryan v. Itasca County
  Bryan v. Itasca County
  Bryan v. Itasca County, 426 U.S. 373 , was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that a state did not have the right to assess a tax on the property of a Native American living on tribal land absent a specific Congressional grant of authority to do so.A county in Minnesota...
  
  ,
• Oliphant v. Suquamish Indian Tribe
  Oliphant v. Suquamish Indian Tribe
  Oliphant v. Suquamish Indian Tribe, 435 U.S. 191 is a United States Supreme Court case regarding the criminal jurisdiction of Tribal courts over non-Indians. The case was decided on March 6, 1978, with a 6-2 majority. The court opinion was written by William Rehnquist; a dissenting opinion was...
  
  ,
• United States v. Wheeler
  United States v. Wheeler
  United States v. Wheeler, 254 U.S. 281 , is an 8-to-1 ruling by the Supreme Court of the United States which held that the Constitution alone did not grant the federal government the power to prosecute kidnappers, and that only the states had the authority to punish a private citizen's unlawful...
  
  ,
• Santa Clara Pueblo v. Martinez
  Santa Clara Pueblo v. Martinez
  Santa Clara Pueblo v. Martinez, 436 U.S. 49 , involved a request to stop denying tribal membership to those children born to female tribal members who married outside of the tribe. The mother who made the case pleaded that the discrimination against her child was solely based on sex, which...
  
  ,
• Washington v. Confederated Bands and Tribes of the Yakima Indian Nation,
• Washington v. Confederated Tribes of Colville Reservation,
• White Mountain Apache Tribe v. Bracker
  White Mountain Apache Tribe v. Bracker
  White Mountain Apache Tribe v. Bracker, 448 U.S. 136 , was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States holding that Arizona's taxes that were assessed against a non-Indian contractor that was working exclusively for an Indian tribe on that tribe's reservation were preempted by federal...
  
  ,
• Merrion v. Jicarilla Apache Tribe
  Merrion v. Jicarilla Apache Tribe
  Merrion v. Jicarilla Apache Tribe, 455 U.S. 130 , was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States holding that an Indian tribe has the authority to impose taxes on non-Indians that are conducting business on the reservation as an inherent power under their tribal sovereignty.-History:The...
  
  ,
• Ramah Navajo School Bd., Inc. v. Bureau of Revenue of N.M.
  Ramah Navajo School Bd., Inc. v. Bureau of Revenue of N.M.
  Ramah Navajo School Bd., Inc. v. Bureau of Revenue of N.M., 458 U.S. 832 , was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States holding that the state was not authorized to impose taxes on a construction company building a school on an Native American reservation.-Background:The children of...
  
  ,
• New Mexico v. Mescalero Apache Tribe,
• National Farmers Union Ins. Cos. v. Crow Tribe,
• Three Affiliated Tribes of Fort Berthold Reservation v. Wold Engineering, P. C.,
• Cotton Petroleum Corp. v. New Mexico,
• Brendale v. Confederated Yakima Indian Nation,
• Duro v. Reina
  Duro v. Reina
  In Duro v. Reina, 495 U.S. 676 , the U.S. Supreme Court concluded that Indian tribes could not prosecute Indians who were members of other tribes for crimes committed by those nonmember Indians on their reservations...
  
  ,
• Oklahoma Tax Comm'n v. Citizen Band of Potawatomi Tribe of Okla.,
• Yakima v. Confederated Tribes,
• Dept. of Taxation and Finance of N.Y. v. Milhelm Attea & Bros., Inc.,
• Wagnon v. Prairie Band Potawatomi Indians,
• Plains Commerce Bank v. Long Family Land and Cattle Co., Inc.
  Plains Commerce Bank v. Long Family Land and Cattle Co., Inc.
  Plains Commerce Bank v. Long Family Land and Cattle Co., Inc., No. 07-0411 , was a decision by the Supreme Court of the United States holding that a tribal court had no jurisdiction to hear a case on the sale of non-Indian fee land located on a reservation.-History:Ronnie and Lila Long had a family...
  
  , ___ U.S. ___, 128 S.Ct. 2709 (2008)

Chronological Listing

• New Jersey v. Wilson,
• Preston v. Browder,
• Danforth's Lessee v. Thomas,
• Johnson and Graham's Lessee v. M'Intosh,
• Patterson v. Jenks,
• American Fur Co. v. United States,
• Cherokee Nation v. Georgia
  Cherokee Nation v. Georgia
  Cherokee Nation v. Georgia, , was a United States Supreme Court case. The Cherokee Nation sought a federal injunction against laws passed by the state of Georgia depriving them of rights within its boundaries, but the Supreme Court did not hear the case on its merits...
  
  ,
• Worcester v. Georgia
  Worcester v. Georgia
  Worcester v. Georgia, 31 U.S. 515 , was a case in which the United States Supreme Court vacated the conviction of Samuel Worcester and held that the Georgia criminal statute that prohibited non-Indians from being present on Indian lands without a license from the state was unconstitutional.The...
  
  ,
• United States v. Rogers
  United States v. Rogers
  United States v. Rogers, 45 U.S. 567 , was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States holding that a white man, adopted into an Indian tribe, does not become exempt from the enforcement of the laws prohibiting murder.-Background:...
  
  ,
• United States v. Brooks,
• United States v. Holliday,
• In re Kansas Indians,
• The Cherokee Tobacco,
• Walker v. Henshaw,
• Holden v. Joy,
• United States v. Cook,
• United States v. Joseph,
• Beecher v. Wetherby,
• Harkness v. Hyde,
• United States v. Perryman,
• Pennock v. Commissioners,
• United States v. McBratney,
• United States v. Forty-Three Gallons of Whiskey (1883),
• Ex parte Crow Dog
  Ex parte Crow Dog
  Ex parte Crow Dog, 109 U.S. 556 , was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that a federal court did not have jurisdiction to try Crow Dog, a Native American who killed another Indian on the reservation when the offense had been tried by the tribal council...
  
  ,
• United States v. Kagama
  United States v. Kagama
  United States v. Kagama, , is a United States Supreme Court case that upheld the Constitutionality of the Major Crimes Act of 1885. Kagama was selected as a test case by the Department of Justice to test the constitutionality of the Major Crimes Act of 1885, which was passed as a rider to an...
  
  ,
• Talton v. Mayes
  Talton v. Mayes
  Talton v. Mayes, 163 U.S. 376, was a 1896 United States Supreme Court case, in which the court decided that the individual rights protections, which limit federal, and later, state governments, do not apply to tribal government. It reaffirmed earlier decisions, such as the 1831 Cherokee Nation v...
  
  ,
• Lucas v. United States,
• Lone Wolf v. Hitchcock
  Lone Wolf v. Hitchcock
  Lone Wolf v. Hitchcock, was a United States Supreme Court case brought against the US government by the Kiowa chief Lone Wolf, who charged that Native American tribes under the Medicine Lodge Treaty had been defrauded of land by Congressional actions in violation of the treaty.The Court declared...
  
  ,
• Ex parte Joins
  Ex parte Joins
  Ex parte Joins, 191 U.S. 93 , was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that a request for a writ of prohibition was moot, as the lower court case had already been completed prior to the petition being heard at the Supreme Court.-Background:In 1893, Congress created the Dawes...
  
  ,
• Winters v. United States
  Winters v. United States
  Winters v. United States is a United States Supreme Court case clarifying water rights of American Indian reservations. This doctrine was meant to clearly define the water rights of American Indians in cases where the rights were not clear. The case was first argued on October 24, 1907 and a...
  
  ,
• United States v. Sandoval
  United States v. Sandoval
  United States v. Sandoval, , was a case decided by the United States Supreme Court.-Background:The King of Spain granted formal title to the Pueblo people in 1689. Mexico ceded most of what is today New Mexico to the United States in 1848 under the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo...
  
  ,
• Carpenter v. Shaw,
• United States v. Creek Nation,
• United States v. Shoshone Tribe of Indians
  United States v. Shoshone Tribe of Indians
  The United States v. Shoshone Tribe of Indians, 304 U.S. 111 , was a United States Supreme Court case which held that mineral rights on a reservation belonged to the tribe, not the federal government.-Background:...
  
  ,
• Tulee v. Washington,
• Oklahoma Tax Commission v. United States
  Oklahoma Tax Commission v. United States
  Oklahoma Tax Commission v. United States, 319 U.S. 598 , was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that Indian land that Congress has exempted from direct taxation by a state is also exempt from state estate taxes.-Background:...
  
  ,
• Williams v. Lee,
• Seymour v. Superintendent of Wash. State Penitentiary,
• Warren Trading Post Co. v. Arizona Tax Comm'n,
• Menominee Tribe v. United States
  Menominee Tribe v. United States
  Menominee Tribe v. United States, 391 U.S. 404 , was a case in which the Supreme Court ruled that the tribal hunting and fishing rights which were retained by treaty were not abrogated by the Menominee Termination Act without a clear and unequivocal statement to that effect by Congress...
  
  ,
• United States v. Southern Ute Tribe or Band of Indians,
• Mescalero Apache Tribe v. Jones
  Mescalero Apache Tribe v. Jones
  Mescalero Apache Tribe v. Jones, 411 U.S. 145 , was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that a state could tax tribal, off-reservation business activities but could not impose a tax on tribal land, which was exempt from all forms of property taxes.-Background:The Mescalero...
  
  ,
• McClanahan v. Arizona State Tax Comm'n
  McClanahan v. Arizona State Tax Comm'n
  McClanahan v. Arizona State Tax Comm'n, 411 U.S. 164 , was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States holding that Arizona has no jurisdiction to impose a tax on the income of Navajo Indians residing on the Navajo Reservation and whose income is wholly derived from reservation...
  
  ,
• Morton v. Mancari
  Morton v. Mancari
  Morton v. Mancari, , was a United States legal case about the constitutionality, under the Fifth Amendment, of hiring preferences given to Indians within the Bureau of Indian Affairs...
  
  ,
• United States v. Mazurie,
• Moe v. Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of Flathead Reservation,
• Bryan v. Itasca County
  Bryan v. Itasca County
  Bryan v. Itasca County, 426 U.S. 373 , was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that a state did not have the right to assess a tax on the property of a Native American living on tribal land absent a specific Congressional grant of authority to do so.A county in Minnesota...
  
  ,
• United States v. Antelope,
• Puyallup Tribe, Inc. v. Department of Game of Wash.,
• Oliphant v. Suquamish Indian Tribe
  Oliphant v. Suquamish Indian Tribe
  Oliphant v. Suquamish Indian Tribe, 435 U.S. 191 is a United States Supreme Court case regarding the criminal jurisdiction of Tribal courts over non-Indians. The case was decided on March 6, 1978, with a 6-2 majority. The court opinion was written by William Rehnquist; a dissenting opinion was...
  
  ,
• United States v. Wheeler
  United States v. Wheeler
  United States v. Wheeler, 254 U.S. 281 , is an 8-to-1 ruling by the Supreme Court of the United States which held that the Constitution alone did not grant the federal government the power to prosecute kidnappers, and that only the states had the authority to punish a private citizen's unlawful...
  
  ,
• Santa Clara Pueblo v. Martinez
  Santa Clara Pueblo v. Martinez
  Santa Clara Pueblo v. Martinez, 436 U.S. 49 , involved a request to stop denying tribal membership to those children born to female tribal members who married outside of the tribe. The mother who made the case pleaded that the discrimination against her child was solely based on sex, which...
  
  ,
• Washington v. Confederated Bands and Tribes of the Yakima Indian Nation,
• Washington v. Confederated Tribes of Colville Reservation,
• White Mountain Apache Tribe v. Bracker
  White Mountain Apache Tribe v. Bracker
  White Mountain Apache Tribe v. Bracker, 448 U.S. 136 , was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States holding that Arizona's taxes that were assessed against a non-Indian contractor that was working exclusively for an Indian tribe on that tribe's reservation were preempted by federal...
  
  ,
• Central Machinery Co. v. Arizona Tax Comm'n,
• United States v. Sioux Nation of Indians
  United States v. Sioux Nation of Indians
  In United States v. Sioux Nation of Indians, 448 U.S. 371 the Supreme Court of the United States held that: 1) The enactment by Congress of a law allowing the Sioux Nation to pursue a claim against the United States that had been previously adjudicated did not violate the doctrine of separation...
  
  ,
• Montana v. United States
  Montana v. United States
  Montana v. United States, 450 U.S. 544 is a Supreme Court case which addressed the Crow Nation’s ability to regulate hunting and fishing on tribal lands by a non-tribal member. The case considered several important issues concerning tribes' treaty rights and sovereign governing authority on Indian...
  
  ,
• Merrion v. Jicarilla Apache Tribe
  Merrion v. Jicarilla Apache Tribe
  Merrion v. Jicarilla Apache Tribe, 455 U.S. 130 , was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States holding that an Indian tribe has the authority to impose taxes on non-Indians that are conducting business on the reservation as an inherent power under their tribal sovereignty.-History:The...
  
  ,
• Ramah Navajo School Bd., Inc. v. Bureau of Revenue of N.M.
  Ramah Navajo School Bd., Inc. v. Bureau of Revenue of N.M.
  Ramah Navajo School Bd., Inc. v. Bureau of Revenue of N.M., 458 U.S. 832 , was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States holding that the state was not authorized to impose taxes on a construction company building a school on an Native American reservation.-Background:The children of...
  
  ,
• New Mexico v. Mescalero Apache Tribe,
• United States v. Mitchell,
• Rice v. Rehner,
• Solem v. Bartlett
  Solem v. Bartlett
  Solem v. Bartlett, 465 U.S. 463, was 1984 a Supreme Court Case involving Indian country jurisdiction in the United States, in which the court decided that opening up reservation lands for settlement by non-Indians does not constitute the intent to diminish reservation boundaries...
  
  ,
• Three Affiliated Tribes of Fort Berthold Reservation v. Wold Engineering, P. C.,
• National Farmers Union Ins. Cos. v. Crow Tribe,
• United States v. Dann,
• Kerr-McGee Corp. v. Navajo Tribe,
• Montana v. Blackfeet Tribe,
• Oregon Dept. of Fish and Wildlife v. Klamath Indian Tribe
  Oregon Dept. of Fish and Wildlife v. Klamath Indian Tribe
  The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife v. Klamath Indian Tribe 473 U.S. 753 was a case appealed to the US Supreme Court by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife...
  
  ,
• Bowen v. Roy
  Bowen v. Roy
  Bowen v. Roy, 476 U.S. 693 , was a United States Supreme Court case which helped to establish limits on freedom of religion in the United States....
  
  ,
• Iowa Mutual Insurance Co. v. LaPlante,
• California v. Cabazon Band of Mission Indians,
• Lyng v. Northwest Cemetery Protection Assn.,
• Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians v. Holyfield
  Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians v. Holyfield
  Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians v. Holyfield, 490 U.S. 30 , was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that the Indian Child Welfare Act governed adoptions of Indian children, and a tribal court had jurisdiction over a state court regardless of the location of birth of the...
  
  ,
• Cotton Petroleum Corp. v. New Mexico,
• Brendale v. Confederated Yakima Indian Nation,
• Employment Division, Oregon Department of Natural Resources v. Smith
  Employment Division v. Smith
  Employment Division, Department of Human Resources of Oregon v. Smith, 494 U.S. 872 , is a United States Supreme Court case that determined that the state could deny unemployment benefits to a person fired for violating a state prohibition on the use of peyote, even though the use of the drug was...
  
  ,
• Duro v. Reina
  Duro v. Reina
  In Duro v. Reina, 495 U.S. 676 , the U.S. Supreme Court concluded that Indian tribes could not prosecute Indians who were members of other tribes for crimes committed by those nonmember Indians on their reservations...
  
  ,
• Oklahoma Tax Comm'n v. Citizen Band of Potawatomi Tribe of Okla.,
• Blatchford v. Native Village of Noatak,
• Yakima v. Confederated Tribes,
• Negonsott v. Samuels,
• Oklahoma Tax Comm'n v. Sac & Fox Nation,
• Lincoln v. Vigil,
• South Dakota v. Bourland
  South Dakota v. Bourland
  South Dakota v. Bourland, 508 U.S. 679 , was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that Congress specifically abrogated treaty rights with the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe as to hunting and fishing rights on reservation lands that were acquired for a reservoir.-History:In 1868,...
  
  ,
• Hagan v. Utah,
• Dept. of Taxation and Finance of N.Y. v. Milhelm Attea & Bros., Inc.,
• Oklahoma Tax Comm'n v. Chickasaw Nation,
• Seminole Tribe of Florida v. Florida,
• Babbitt v. Youpee,
• Strate v. A-1 Contractors,
• Idaho v. Coeur d'Alene Tribe of Idaho
  Idaho v. Coeur d'Alene Tribe of Idaho
  Idaho v. Coeur d'Alene Tribe of Idaho, 521 U.S. 261 , was an important U.S. Supreme Court precedent for aboriginal title in the United States and sovereign immunity in the United States...
  
  ,
• South Dakota v. Yankton Sioux Tribe,
• Alaska v. Native Village of Venetie,
• Montana v. Crow Tribe of Indians,
• Kiowa Tribe of Oklahoma v. Manufacturing Technologies, Inc.,
• Cass County v. Leech Lake Band of Chippewa Indians,
• Arizona Dept. of Revenue v. Blaze,
• Minnesota v. Mille Lacs Band of Chippewa Indians
  Minnesota v. Mille Lacs Band of Chippewa Indians
  Minnesota v. Mille Lacs Band of Chippewa Indians, 526 U.S. 172 , was a United States Supreme Court decision concerning the usufructuary rights of the Chippewa tribe to certain lands it had ceded to the federal government in 1837...
  
  ,
• El Paso Natural Gas Company v. Neztsosie,
• Amoco Production Co. v. Southern Ute Indian Tribe,
• Rice v. Cayetano
  Rice v. Cayetano
  Rice v. Cayetano, 528 U.S. 495 , was a case filed in 1996 by Big Island rancher Harold "Freddy" Rice against the state of Hawaii and argued before the United States Supreme Court...
  
  ,
• Arizona v. California
  Arizona v. California
  Arizona v. California is a set of United States Supreme Court cases, all dealing with water distribution from the Colorado River.When a dispute arises between two states, the case is filed for original jurisdiction with the United States Supreme Court. This is one of the very limited circumstances...
  
  ,
• Department of the Interior v. Klamath Water Users Association,
• Atkinson Trading Co. v. Shirley,
• Nevada v. Hicks
  Nevada v. Hicks
  Nevada v. Hicks, , is a United States Supreme Court case regarding the jurisdiction of Tribal Courts over local Native Americans.- Background :Hicks was a member of the Fallon Paiute-Shoshone Tribes of western Nevada and lived on tribal land...
  
  ,
• Chickasaw Nation v. United States
  Chickasaw Nation v. United States
  Chickasaw Nation v. United States, 534 U.S. 84 , was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that Indian tribes were liable for taxes on gambling operations under .-Background:...
  
  ,
• United States v. White Mountain Apache Tribe
  United States v. White Mountain Apache Tribe
  United States v. White Mountain Apache Tribe, 537 U.S. 465 , was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that when the federal government used land or property held in trust for an Indian tribe, it had the duty to maintain that land or property and was liable for any damages for...
  
  ,
• United States v. Navajo Nation
  United States v. Navajo Nation
  United States v. Navajo Nation is a United States Supreme Court case in which the Navajo Nation initiated proceedings in the Court of Federal Claims alleging that when they sought the assistance of the United States Secretary of the Interior to renegotiate their original leasing agreement with the...
  
  ,
• Inyo County v. Paiute-Shoshone Indians of the Bishop Community,
• South Florida Water Management Dist. v. Miccosukee Tribe,
• United States v. Lara,
• Wagnon v. Prairie Band Potawatomi Indians,
• Plains Commerce Bank v. Long Family Land and Cattle Co., Inc.
  Plains Commerce Bank v. Long Family Land and Cattle Co., Inc.
  Plains Commerce Bank v. Long Family Land and Cattle Co., Inc., No. 07-0411 , was a decision by the Supreme Court of the United States holding that a tribal court had no jurisdiction to hear a case on the sale of non-Indian fee land located on a reservation.-History:Ronnie and Lila Long had a family...
  
  , ___ U.S. ___, 128 S.Ct. 2709 (2008)
• Carcieri v. Salazar
  Carcieri v. Salazar
  Carcieri v. Salazar, No. 07-526 , was a recent case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that the term "now under Federal jurisdiction" referred only to tribes that were federally recognized when the Indian Reorganization Act became law, and the federal government could not take...
  
  , ___ U.S. ___, 129 S.Ct. 1058 (2009)
• United States v. Navajo Nation (2009), ___ U.S. ___, 129 S.Ct. 1547 (2009)

See also

• Outline of United States federal indian law and policy
  Outline of United States federal Indian law and policy
  Law and U.S. public policy related to Native Americans has evolved continuously since the founding of the United States. This outline lists notable people, organizations, events, legislation, treaties, court cases and literature related to United States Federal Indian Law and Policy.-U.S. Supreme...