Tribal Sovereignty in the United States

What Is Tribal Sovereignty

Tribal sovereignty is the right of a Tribal Nation to govern itself: to make its own laws, run its own courts and police, decide who its citizens are, and manage its own land. It is not a power the United States granted. Tribal Nations governed themselves before the country existed, and federal law recognizes that authority as inherent, while Congress and the courts have limited it over time.

The Native American Rights Fund, which has argued many of these cases, prefers “Tribal Nation” and “Tribal citizen” to “tribe” and “member,” because the terms describe governments and citizenship rather than clubs (Native American Rights Fund). This page uses them, except when quoting laws and court opinions.

A Promise at the End of the Trail of Tears

Justice Neil Gorsuch opened the Supreme Court’s 2020 opinion in McGirt v. Oklahoma with one line: “On the far end of the Trail of Tears was a promise.” The United States had forced the Muscogee (Creek) Nation out of Georgia and Alabama. In an 1832 treaty, it pledged that “[t]he Creek country west of the Mississippi shall be solemnly guarantied to the Creek Indians.” It also promised that no state would “ever have a right to pass laws for the government of such Indians” (McGirt v. Oklahoma).

A century and a half later, the case of Jimcy McGirt tested that promise. Oklahoma had convicted him of three serious sexual offenses. McGirt, a citizen of the Seminole Nation, argued that the crimes happened on the Creek reservation, so under the federal Major Crimes Act only the federal government could try him. Oklahoma said the reservation had ended long ago.

On July 9, 2020, the Court sided with McGirt, 5-4. “Because Congress has not said otherwise, we hold the government to its word,” Gorsuch wrote. The reservation had never been dissolved, because Congress never said so. The Court noted that the ruling meant Oklahoma had no right to prosecute Indians for major crimes in an area that “includes most of the city of Tulsa.” Those cases go to federal and Tribal courts. The dissent put the reservation at three million acres.

Who Has Power Over What in Indian Country

Who can prosecute a crime in Indian country depends on two facts: whether the person accused is a Tribal citizen, and whether the victim is. “Indian country” is a legal term. It covers reservations, dependent Indian communities, and Indian allotments still held in trust (18 U.S.C. 1151). The table shows the general rules outside the six states where Congress handed criminal jurisdiction to the state.

The biggest limit on Tribal courts dates to 1978. In Oliphant v. Suquamish Indian Tribe, the Supreme Court held that Tribal Nations “do not have inherent jurisdiction to try and to punish non-Indians” (Oliphant v. Suquamish). That left many crimes by outsiders on reservations to federal prosecutors. Congress narrowed that gap in 2013 and widened the fix in 2022. Participating Tribal Nations can now prosecute anyone for nine covered crimes, including domestic violence, dating violence, sexual violence, stalking, sex trafficking, and assaults on Tribal justice officers (25 U.S.C. 1304).

Six states follow different rules. A 1953 law, known as Public Law 280, gave California, Minnesota, Nebraska, Oregon, and Wisconsin criminal jurisdiction over Indian country inside their borders. A 1958 amendment added Alaska. The law exempts the Red Lake, Warm Springs, and Metlakatla communities (18 U.S.C. 1162).

If a Case Touches Indian Country

When jurisdiction affects you

Open the one closest to yours. This is general information from federal law and court rulings, not legal advice.

A crime happened to me or my family on a reservation

1. In an emergency, call 911.
2. Report it to the Tribal police as well, and ask which agency will investigate.
3. For domestic or dating violence, call or text the StrongHearts Native Helpline at 1-844-762-8483, 24 hours a day.

Law, since 2022: a participating Tribal Nation can prosecute anyone, including a non-Indian, for domestic violence, sexual violence, stalking, and six other covered crimes.

A foster care or adoption case involves a Native child

1. Ask the court whether the Indian Child Welfare Act applies. It covers many children who are Tribal citizens or eligible to become one.
2. Contact the child's Tribal Nation. Find its government in the Bureau of Indian Affairs Tribal Leaders Directory.
3. Ask for a lawyer. The law sets placement preferences a state court has to follow unless it finds good cause not to.

Final ruling: the Supreme Court upheld the Indian Child Welfare Act 7-2 in 2023. A new challenge to it is waiting on the justices.

A state wants income tax on money I earned on my reservation

1. Check where you live and work. States generally cannot tax a Tribal citizen's income earned on the reservation where that citizen lives.
2. Contact your Tribal Nation's tax or finance office before you file.
3. Keep filing federal income tax. Tribal citizens owe it like other Americans.

Law: the Native American Rights Fund explains that states generally may not impose income, property, or sales taxes on Tribal citizens on the reservation.

How Courts and Congress Drew the Lines

The rules in the table came one ruling and one law at a time, over nearly two centuries.

1. 1832 Worcester v. Georgia Georgia's laws "can have no force" inside the Cherokee Nation. (source)
2. 1924 Indian Citizenship Act Congress makes Tribal citizens U.S. citizens.
3. 1953 Public Law 280 Five states get criminal jurisdiction over Indian country. Alaska is added in 1958. (source)
4. 1978 Oliphant v. Suquamish Tribal courts cannot try non-Indians. (source)
5. 1988 Indian Gaming Regulatory Act Casino gaming requires a Tribal-state compact. (source)
6. 2020 McGirt v. Oklahoma The Creek reservation was never dissolved, 5-4. (source)
7. 2022 Oklahoma v. Castro-Huerta States can also prosecute non-Indians for crimes against Indians, 5-4. (source)
8. 2025 Lumbee recognition Congress recognizes the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina. (source)

Sources: Supreme Court opinions via supremecourt.gov and Cornell Legal Information Institute; U.S. Code; Federal Register.

Rulings and Laws That Set Tribal Sovereignty, 1832 to 2025: 1832: Worcester v. Georgia (Georgia's laws "can have no force" inside the Cherokee Nation.). 1924: Indian Citizenship Act (Congress makes Tribal citizens U.S. citizens.). 1953: Public Law 280 (Five states get criminal jurisdiction over Indian country. Alaska is added in 1958.). 1978: Oliphant v. Suquamish (Tribal courts cannot try non-Indians.). 1988: Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (Casino gaming requires a Tribal-state compact.). 2020: McGirt v. Oklahoma (The Creek reservation was never dissolved, 5-4.). 2022: Oklahoma v. Castro-Huerta (States can also prosecute non-Indians for crimes against Indians, 5-4.). 2025: Lumbee recognition (Congress recognizes the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina.).

1832: In Worcester v. Georgia, Chief Justice Marshall described the Cherokee Nation as “a distinct community occupying its own territory,” which Georgia’s citizens had “no right to enter” without Cherokee consent. Justice Gorsuch later wrote that “both Georgia and President Jackson flouted it,” and the Cherokee were forced west to what became Oklahoma (Oklahoma v. Castro-Huerta, dissent).

1924: Congress made every Tribal citizen born in the United States a U.S. citizen. The Native American Rights Fund notes that the United States conferred it “unilaterally,” and that some saw it as an encroachment on Tribal sovereignty.

1953: Public Law 280 moved criminal authority over Indian country to five states. A 1958 amendment added Alaska.

1978: Oliphant barred Tribal courts from trying non-Indians, a limit Congress has since narrowed only for covered crimes.

1988: The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act made casino-style gaming legal on Indian lands only under a compact the Tribal Nation negotiates with its state.

2020: McGirt held that a reservation exists until Congress clearly ends it.

2022: Castro-Huerta held that Oklahoma can prosecute non-Indians who commit crimes against Indians in Indian country, alongside the federal government.

2025: Congress recognized the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina in the defense budget law signed December 18, 2025.

Treaty Rights, the Trust Duty, and Citizenship

Treaties are not history. They are federal law, and courts still enforce the rights they reserved, though the Supreme Court has read the government’s duties narrowly. In the treaties, Tribal Nations gave up land and kept rights, such as fishing and hunting in their traditional places. The United States took on a trust responsibility to protect Tribal lands, resources, and self-government, which the Native American Rights Fund describes as “a legally enforceable fiduciary obligation” (NARF).

The Navajo Nation ruling shows where the trust duty stops. The Court held that a Tribe suing for breach of trust has to point to specific duties written into a treaty, statute, or regulation. Justice Gorsuch wrote the dissent for four justices (Supreme Court).

Tribal citizenship is a political status because it comes from belonging to a government, which is why Mancari upheld hiring preferences that would be illegal if they turned on race. A Tribal Nation gains that government-to-government relationship through federal recognition, which comes from Congress, from the Interior Department’s acknowledgment process under 25 CFR Part 83, or from a court. The Lumbee Tribe’s 2025 recognition came from Congress.

Where Tribal Sovereignty Stands in 2026

Where Each Tribal Sovereignty Fight Stands

As of September 26, 2026

• Creek reservation (McGirt) Final ruling

  The Supreme Court held on July 9, 2020 that the reservation still exists. Only Congress can end it. (source)

• State power over non-Indian crimes (Castro-Huerta) Final ruling, narrowed Tribal sovereignty

  Decided June 29, 2022, 5-4. States share jurisdiction with the federal government unless federal law preempts it. (source)

• Indian Child Welfare Act Final ruling, upheld

  Upheld 7-2 in Haaland v. Brackeen, June 15, 2023. (source)

• New challenge to ICWA (N.R. v. Ellison) In litigation, petition pending

  A challenge to ICWA and Minnesota's state version goes to the justices' conference on September 28, 2026. (source)

• Tribal prosecution of non-Indians for covered crimes Law

  Since 2022, participating Tribal Nations can prosecute anyone for nine crimes, including domestic and sexual violence. (source)

• Lumbee Tribe recognition Law, services delayed

  Recognized December 18, 2025. Federal services wait until the third fiscal year after the law passed. (source)

• Indian education cuts and transfer (Isleta v. Burgum) In litigation

  Three Tribal Nations and Native students amended their suit in August 2026 to challenge moving Indian education programs out of the Education Department without consultation. (source)

Source: Supreme Court opinions and docket; Federal Register; U.S. Code; Native American Rights Fund, including its Tribal Supreme Court Project; KSFR/New Mexico In Depth

The education case shows how sovereignty works day to day. Federal law requires the Interior Department to consult Tribal Nations before actions that affect Indian education. The suit says that did not happen. The Native American Rights Fund reports that in February 2025, Haskell Indian Nations University lost more than a quarter of its staff, and 34 of its courses lost their instructors. Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute in Albuquerque lost almost a quarter of its staff (Native American Rights Fund). The Tribal Nations’ amended complaint says the government then moved Indian education programs to the Interior and Labor departments, and that a consultation session came more than four months after the agreements were signed (KSFR).

Casinos Did Not Make Every Nation Rich

Tribal gaming is a $46.2 billion business, and most of it goes to a small number of large casinos. Fewer than half of Tribal Nations run gaming at all: the National Indian Gaming Commission counted 545 operations run by “nearly 250 Tribal Governments” in fiscal 2025, out of 575 recognized nations. Revenue rose 5.3% from the year before (NIGC).

56%

39%

5%

• Largest 9% of casinos (over $250M each) (56%)
• Middle 37% of casinos (39%)
• Smallest 54% of casinos (under $25M each) (5%)

Source: National Indian Gaming Commission, FY 2025 Gross Gaming Revenue Report (July 2026). Middle group derived as the remainder of the reported shares.

Gaming revenue is Tribal government revenue. Federal law allows net gaming revenue to be used only for Tribal government programs, the welfare of the Tribal Nation and its citizens, economic development, charity, or local government agencies (25 U.S.C. 2710). A nation with no casino, or a small one, depends on other income and on the federal funding promised by treaty.

Land Back

Land Back is a movement to return land to Indigenous control. The LANDBACK campaign, led by the NDN Collective, calls it “an Indigenous-led, spiritually grounded, organizing, and narrative framework.” Its site says “everything connects to LANDBACK,” from “returning stolen lands to reclaiming everything that has been taken by colonization” (LANDBACK).

Some returns go through ordinary law. In 1908, President Theodore Roosevelt signed legislation to buy land for the National Bison Range inside the Flathead Reservation in Montana. After 113 years of federal management, Congress repealed that law in 2020, and on June 23, 2021, the Interior Department moved all 18,800 acres into trust for the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (U.S. Department of the Interior). Land held “in trust” belongs to the United States for the benefit of the Tribal Nation, which governs it.

The Honest Disagreement

Justices on both sides have made their case in their own words, and the split runs through the two biggest recent cases.

The case for state authority rests on practical governance and the people who live in Indian country today. Dissenting in McGirt, Chief Justice John Roberts warned that the ruling’s reasoning reached “the entire eastern half of the State.” He counted “19 million acres that are home to 1.8 million people, only 10%–15% of whom are Indians.” Across that area, he wrote, the state’s ability “to prosecute serious crimes will be hobbled.” Two years later, Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote for the majority in Castro-Huerta that “Indian country is part of the State, not separate from the State.”

The case for Tribal sovereignty rests on treaties and on the idea that only Congress can break them. In McGirt, Justice Gorsuch wrote: “Unlawful acts, performed long enough and with sufficient vigor, are never enough to amend the law.” Two years later he dissented in Castro-Huerta. He called Worcester one of the Court’s “finer hours” and wrote: “Where this Court once stood firm, today it wilts.”

Both sides agree on who holds the final say. The McGirt majority wrote, “If Congress wishes to withdraw its promises, it must say so,” and the Castro-Huerta majority said federal law can preempt state power. The fight is over what courts should assume when Congress has been silent. The Native American Rights Fund’s Tribal Supreme Court Project reports that Tribal Nations lost about 80% of their Supreme Court cases when it began in 2001, and have won about 70% over the last decade (Tribal Supreme Court Project).

What Tribal Sovereignty Does Not Mean

• Not a separate country. The Supreme Court calls Congress’s power over Indian affairs “plenary and exclusive” (Haaland v. Brackeen). Tribal Nations govern inside that limit.
• Not an exemption from federal law or taxes. Tribal citizens are U.S. citizens who pay federal taxes and can vote in federal, state, and local elections.
• Not a casino for every nation. Fewer than half run gaming, and most operations are small.
• Not one set of rules. Treaties differ from nation to nation, and six states follow Public Law 280. The rules above are the general case.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does the Constitution say about tribal sovereignty?

It gives Congress the power to “regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes,” naming Tribal Nations beside foreign nations and the states. It also makes treaties, including those signed with Tribal Nations, “the supreme Law of the Land.” That is why Tribal Nations deal with the federal government government to government.

Are Native Americans U.S. citizens?

Yes. Since 1924, every Tribal citizen born in the United States has also been a U.S. citizen. Many hold two citizenships, one in their Tribal Nation, set by that nation’s own rules, and one in the United States.

Do Native Americans pay taxes?

Yes. Tribal citizens pay federal income tax. States generally cannot tax the income of a Tribal citizen who lives and earns it on their own reservation, but off the reservation, state taxes apply as they do to anyone.

Are reservations sovereign?

The Tribal Nation is sovereign, and its reservation is where that authority applies. Federal law also applies there, and since 2022 states can prosecute some crimes by non-Indians there, so a reservation is shared ground rather than a separate country.

What You Can Do

1. Learn whose homeland you live on, and follow that Tribal Nation’s own government. The Bureau of Indian Affairs Tribal Leaders Directory lists every recognized nation and how to reach it.

2. If a crime or a custody case touches Indian country, use the situation guide above first. For domestic or dating violence, the StrongHearts Native Helpline answers calls and texts 24 hours a day.

3. Follow the cases. The Tribal Supreme Court Project tracks every Indian law case before the Supreme Court, and the National Congress of American Indians reports on federal policy.

4. Ask your members of Congress to require real consultation before programs for Tribal Nations are cut or moved, the issue in the Indian education suit. Our guide to writing your representative shows how to make a short, specific ask.