Indian reservation

An Indian reservation is a specific area of land held by a Native American tribal nation.

These tribal nations are officially recognized by the United States federal government. While reservations have autonomous governments, they remain subject to regulations from the U.S. Congress. The Bureau of Indian Affairs is the federal agency that administers these lands. Importantly, reservations are not subject to the laws of the state or local governments where they are located. This creates a unique legal environment within the United States.

The governance of these lands involves complex layers of authority. A tribal council generally holds jurisdiction over the reservation rather than the surrounding state. Because tribes are subject to federal law, they possess what is known as limited tribal sovereignty. This means tribal laws can differ significantly from adjacent state laws. For example, some reservations permit casinos even in states where gambling is illegal. Court jurisdiction is often shared between the tribes and the federal government. The specific rules depend on the parties involved and the nature of the legal matter.

There are many different types of tribal land arrangements. There are 574 federally recognized tribes in the United States today. These tribes govern more than 326 different reservations. Some nations govern more than one reservation, while others share a single one. Some tribes have no reservation at all. Historically, the Dawes Act caused land to be broken into small pieces. This led to fragmented reservations where tribal land and private land are mixed together. This intersection of public and private real estate creates many administrative and legal difficulties.

The history of reservations is rooted in the era of European colonization.

From the beginning, Europeans often removed Indigenous peoples from their homelands. These removals happened through many methods, including violence and forceful ejection. Many treaties were signed under conditions of duress or fraud. The term "reservation" comes from the idea of Native American nations as independent sovereigns. In early peace treaties, these nations "reserved" certain parcels of land for themselves. Even when the government later used force to relocate tribes, the term remained in use.

Several key laws shaped the modern reservation system. The Royal Proclamation of 1763 set aside large territories for Indians. Later, the U.S. Congress passed the Indian Removal Act in 1830. In 1834, the Non-Intercourse Act resulted in the relocation of the "Five Civilized Tribes" from the southeast. On March 11, 1824, Vice President John C. Calhoun founded the Office of Indian Affairs. This office was originally a division of the U.S. Department of War. These historical actions moved many tribes to lands that had no historical or cultural connection to them.

The scale of these lands is quite significant.

All reservations combined cover about 2.3% of the total area of the United States. This is approximately the size of the state of Idaho. While many reservations are small, twelve of them are larger than the state of Rhode Island. The largest is the Navajo Nation Reservation, which is similar in size to West Virginia. Most reservations are located west of the Mississippi River. They often occupy lands originally reserved through Indian Land Grants.

Today, the distribution of Native American populations is widespread. In 2012, there were more than 2.5 million Native Americans in the country. About 1 million of these people lived on reservations. However, the majority of American Indians live outside of reservations. Many live in large western cities like Phoenix or Los Angeles.

Some reservations also face environmental challenges. They are sometimes located near toxic sites, such as contaminated mines or nuclear testing grounds. Understanding these lands requires looking at both their legal status and their complex history.