Tribal Case Law Database
A comprehensive collection of federal cases, tribal court decisions, statutes, and policy memos forming the legal foundation for tribal sovereignty, P.L. 280 limitations, retrocession, and tribal court authority.
About This Database
This case-law database supports Agency Tribal Nations' jurisdictional arguments against state and county encumbrance of Indian Country — specifically the Mendocino Indian Reservation (36 sq mi, Laytonville–Ukiah, Albion–Westport). Each case is broken out into its own dedicated page covering citation, holding, facts, reasoning, and how it supports ATN's sovereignty claims.
The cases are organized into seven categories: Foundational Sovereignty, Cases Limiting P.L. 280, Tribal Court Authority, Constitutional & Federal Power, California-Specific, Federal Authority & Policy, and Treaties & International Law. Topical deep-dives on consent, trust doctrine, encumbrance, and treaty relationships are linked at the bottom of this page.
Foundational Sovereignty
The bedrock cases establishing tribal nations as sovereign political entities under federal — not state — jurisdiction.
Johnson v. M'Intosh
21 U.S. 543 — Marshall Trilogy I. Only the federal government may extinguish Indian title; states and private parties cannot.
Cherokee Nation v. Georgia
30 U.S. 1 — Marshall Trilogy II. Tribes are "domestic dependent nations"; the trust doctrine's textual root.
Worcester v. Georgia
31 U.S. 515 — Tribes are "distinct, independent political communities" beyond state authority.
Elk v. Wilkins
112 U.S. 94 — Tribal members owe primary allegiance to their tribes; tribal political distinctness.
Ex parte Crow Dog
109 U.S. 556 — Tribal jurisdiction is the default; federal authority requires express congressional action.
United States v. Kagama
118 U.S. 375 — Origin of "plenary power" doctrine, arising on the Hoopa Valley Reservation in Northern California.
Talton v. Mayes
163 U.S. 376 — Tribal sovereignty pre-dates the Constitution; the Bill of Rights does not apply to tribal courts of its own force.
Donnelly v. United States
228 U.S. 243 — California Indian reservations created by Executive Order ARE "Indian Country" with full federal Indian-law status. Foundational for ATN's Mendocino claim.
Iron Crow v. Oglala Sioux Tribe
231 F.2d 89 — Tribal courts derive authority from inherent pre-constitutional sovereignty. Decided 3 years after PL280; foundation for Walker v. Rushing.
Lone Wolf v. Hitchcock
187 U.S. 553 — Plenary power doctrine and the federal-tribal trust relationship.
United States v. Winans
198 U.S. 371 — Treaties are "not a grant of rights to the Indians, but a grant of rights from them — a reservation of those not granted." Foundation of treaty fishing/hunting rights.
Winters v. United States
207 U.S. 564 — Reserved-rights doctrine. Reservation creation implicitly reserves federal water and resource rights senior to all state-law claims.
Williams v. Lee
358 U.S. 217 — Infringement test: state courts may not infringe on tribal self-government.
Santa Clara Pueblo v. Martinez
436 U.S. 49 — Tribal sovereign immunity and exclusive tribal court jurisdiction over internal affairs.
United States v. Mazurie
419 U.S. 544 — Tribes are sovereign governments, not private organizations. Congress can delegate regulatory authority to tribes without violating the nondelegation doctrine.
Mescalero Apache Tribe v. Jones
411 U.S. 145 — IRA § 5 preempts state taxes on trust property; off-reservation commercial activity is generally subject to nondiscriminatory state tax.
Morton v. Mancari
417 U.S. 535 — Tribal classifications are political, not racial. The constitutional firewall under all of Title 25 and ICWA.
United States v. Wheeler
435 U.S. 313 — Tribal sovereignty over members is "primeval" and inherent — not delegated by the federal government. Foundation for Lara and the Duro fix.
Solem v. Bartlett
465 U.S. 463 — Three-step diminishment framework. Reservation status persists absent express congressional disestablishment. Doctrinal forerunner of McGirt.
Mississippi Band of Choctaw v. Holyfield
490 U.S. 30 — ICWA gives tribal courts EXCLUSIVE jurisdiction over reservation-domiciled Indian children, regardless of physical birth location.
United States v. Sioux Nation
448 U.S. 371 — Black Hills takings; trust duty has teeth. Plenary power is bounded — federal action against tribal interests is reviewable as Fifth Amendment taking.
Washington v. Confederated Tribes of Colville
447 U.S. 134 — Drew the "marketing an exemption" vs "creating real value" line for state taxes on non-member sales. Cannabis cultivation is genuine value, not exemption marketing.
Merrion v. Jicarilla Apache Tribe
455 U.S. 130 — Inherent tribal taxing power over non-Indian businesses on tribal land. Foundation for ATN's cannabis-license fee model.
Ramah Navajo School Board v. Bureau of Revenue
458 U.S. 832 — Bracker preemption applied: state gross receipts tax on reservation construction preempted by comprehensive federal-tribal regulatory program.
New Mexico v. Mescalero Apache Tribe
462 U.S. 324 — Comprehensive federal-tribal regulatory programs preempt state regulation even over non-members. Doctrinal bridge from Bracker to Cabazon.
Kerr-McGee Corp. v. Navajo Tribe
471 U.S. 195 — Tribal taxing authority requires NO Secretary of Interior approval. Inherent sovereign power exercised unilaterally. Foundation for ATN's license fee model.
County of Oneida v. Oneida Indian Nation
470 U.S. 226 — Federal common-law cause of action for Indian land claims; Nonintercourse Act voids unauthorized state purchases; statutes of limitations don't run.
Kiowa Tribe v. Manufacturing Technologies
523 U.S. 751 — Sovereign immunity covers commercial activity on or off the reservation. Bay Mills's predecessor; no commercial-activity exception.
Michigan v. Bay Mills Indian Community
572 U.S. 782 — Tribal sovereign immunity reaffirmed even for off-reservation commercial activity. Only Congress can abrogate; only tribes can waive — both must be express.
Cotton Petroleum Corp. v. New Mexico
490 U.S. 163 — Dual taxation: state severance taxes can coexist with tribal taxes on non-Indian lessees. Bracker preemption requires comprehensive federal-tribal program.
Oklahoma Tax Commission v. Sac & Fox Nation
508 U.S. 114 — States cannot tax tribal members who live and work in Indian Country. Income, vehicle, and property taxes all barred.
White Mountain Apache Tribe v. United States
537 U.S. 465 — Federal trust duty includes affirmative obligation to maintain trust property. Government liable for neglect of trust assets.
Wagnon v. Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation
546 U.S. 95 — Legal incidence test: state can tax off-reservation distributor even if burden passes to reservation. Maximize on-reservation supply chain.
Oklahoma Tax Commission v. Citizen Band Potawatomi
498 U.S. 505 — Tribal sovereign immunity bars state tax enforcement suits. States cannot sue tribes to collect taxes — even valid ones.
Minnesota v. Mille Lacs Band of Chippewa
526 U.S. 172 — Treaty rights survive statehood. Only Congress can abrogate treaty rights, and must do so expressly. Indian canon of construction requires ambiguities resolved for tribes.
Chickasaw Nation v. United States
534 U.S. 84 — Indian canon of construction: statutory ambiguities must be resolved in favor of tribes. Essential interpretive tool for P.L. 280 and cannabis law.
C&L Enterprises v. Citizen Band Potawatomi
532 U.S. 411 — Arbitration clauses = waiver of sovereign immunity. Know how immunity is accidentally waived. Review ALL contracts for arbitration provisions.
Upper Skagit Indian Tribe v. Lundgren
584 U.S. 382 — Tribal sovereign immunity applies even in in rem (land dispute) proceedings. Neighbors cannot force tribes into state court over land title.
Dawes Act — General Allotment Act
24 Stat. 388 — Broke up 90 million acres of tribal land into individual allotments. Created checkerboard jurisdiction. Reversed by the IRA (1934). Essential historical context.
Oneida Indian Nation v. County of Oneida (Oneida I)
414 U.S. 661 — Federal question jurisdiction for Indian land claims. Tribal possessory rights are federal rights protected by the Nonintercourse Act and federal common law.
Tee-Hit-Ton Indians v. United States
348 U.S. 272 — Unrecognized aboriginal title not compensable under Fifth Amendment. Problematic Doctrine of Discovery reasoning; ATN's 1856 reservation has recognized title.
Brendale v. Confederated Tribes (Yakima)
492 U.S. 408 — Tribal zoning authority depends on area character: full authority in closed/tribal areas, limited on fee land in open areas.
Herrera v. Wyoming
588 U.S. 1 — Treaty hunting rights survive statehood and national forest creation. Reinforces Mille Lacs. Indian canon of construction applied.
South Dakota v. Bourland
508 U.S. 679 — Federal taking of tribal land divests tribal regulatory authority over non-Indians on taken land. Montana framework applied.
McGirt v. Oklahoma
591 U.S. 894 — Reservations remain Indian Country until Congress expressly disestablishes them.
Cases Directly Limiting P.L. 280
Decisions that narrow P.L. 280 to criminal jurisdiction and private civil disputes — denying any state regulatory or taxing authority over tribes.
Kennerly v. District Court
400 U.S. 423 — State court jurisdiction requires affirmative tribal consent under P.L. 280.
McClanahan v. Arizona State Tax Commission
411 U.S. 164 — States cannot tax tribal members for income earned on the reservation.
Bryan v. Itasca County
426 U.S. 373 — P.L. 280 grants no state regulatory or taxing authority over tribal lands.
Fisher v. District Court
424 U.S. 382 — Exclusive tribal court jurisdiction over reservation adoption proceedings.
United States v. California
9th Cir. — California's regulatory authority over tribal lands rejected.
Washington v. Yakima Indian Nation
439 U.S. 463 — P.L. 280 partial assumption is permissible; checkerboard jurisdiction limits.
White Mountain Apache Tribe v. Bracker
448 U.S. 136 — Bracker preemption test balancing tribal, federal, and state interests.
Three Affiliated Tribes v. Wold Engineering
467 U.S. 138; 476 U.S. 877 — State disclaimer of jurisdiction; civil/regulatory distinction.
California v. Cabazon Band of Mission Indians
480 U.S. 202 — Civil/regulatory laws do not apply to tribes under P.L. 280.
Rincon Band v. Schwarzenegger
602 F.3d 1019 — California cannot demand revenue sharing as condition of compact negotiation. Bad faith under IGRA. Limits state leverage.
Ysleta del Sur Pueblo v. Texas
596 U.S. 685 — 2022 reaffirmation of Cabazon's prohibitory/regulatory distinction. State regulatory laws don't apply on tribal land; only criminal prohibitions do. Directly supports ATN's cannabis framework.
Tribal Court Authority
Cases and statutes affirming the inherent jurisdiction of tribal courts and tribal criminal authority.
National Farmers Union Ins. v. Crow Tribe
471 U.S. 845 — Tribal court exhaustion doctrine: federal courts must defer to tribal courts to determine their own jurisdiction first.
Iowa Mutual Ins. v. LaPlante
480 U.S. 9 — Extended tribal court exhaustion to diversity cases; tribal civil jurisdiction over reservation activities is presumptive.
Oliphant v. Suquamish Indian Tribe
435 U.S. 191 — Limited inherent tribal criminal jurisdiction over non-Indians, but only as a default; Congress has been overriding it via VAWA STCJ.
Montana v. United States
450 U.S. 544 — The Montana framework. Two exceptions preserve tribal civil jurisdiction over non-Indians: consensual commercial relationships and conduct affecting tribal welfare.
Strate v. A-1 Contractors
520 U.S. 438 — Montana progeny. State highway rights-of-way are non-tribal for jx; the consensual-relationship exception requires the relationship to be tied to the claim.
Atkinson Trading Co. v. Shirley
532 U.S. 645 — Limit on Merrion: tribes generally cannot tax non-members on non-Indian fee land within reservation absent a Montana exception. ATN's trust-land cannabis fees are unaffected.
Nevada v. Hicks
533 U.S. 353 — Narrow limit: tribal courts cannot hear civil suits against state officers enforcing state law for off-reservation crimes. Read narrowly; civil jx over private non-Indians is undisturbed.
Plains Commerce Bank v. Long Family Land
554 U.S. 316 — Montana progeny. Tribal courts cannot regulate the sale of non-Indian fee land; consensual relationships must be tied to the specific regulation, not just the parties.
Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl
570 U.S. 637 — Narrow ICWA carve-out: §§ 1912(d), 1912(f), 1915(a) don't apply where the Indian parent never had custody. Did NOT touch tribal-court exclusive jx under § 1911(a).
Major Crimes Act — 18 U.S.C. § 1153
Federal criminal jurisdiction over 16 enumerated felonies in Indian Country. Superseded by P.L. 280 in California but tribal concurrent jurisdiction survives.
Duro v. Reina
495 U.S. 676 — Tribal criminal jurisdiction (later restored by Congress via "Duro fix").
Duro Fix — 25 U.S.C. § 1301(2)
Congress restored tribal criminal jurisdiction over ALL Indians (not just members) after Duro v. Reina. "Inherent power... hereby recognized and affirmed." Template for VAWA expansion.
Walker v. Rushing
898 F.2d 672 — P.L. 280 does not divest tribal courts of concurrent jurisdiction.
United States v. Lara
541 U.S. 193 — Tribes possess inherent sovereign authority over non-member Indians.
VAWA 2013 & 2022
Special Tribal Criminal Jurisdiction over non-Indians for covered crimes.
Denezpi v. United States
596 U.S. 591 — Dual sovereignty: tribal + federal prosecution for same conduct = no double jeopardy. Tribes are separate sovereigns. Most recent SCOTUS confirmation.
Haaland v. Brackeen
599 U.S. 255 — ICWA upheld; tribes are political entities, not racial classifications.
Dollar General v. Mississippi Band of Choctaw
579 U.S. 545 — Montana Exception 1 upheld (4-4). Non-Indian businesses entering consensual relationships with tribes are subject to tribal court jurisdiction.
Lewis v. Clarke
581 U.S. 155 — Tribal immunity does NOT extend to individual employees sued personally. Know the line: official-capacity suits are still blocked.
Lexington Insurance Co. v. Smith
117 F.4th 1106 — Modern reaffirmation of tribal court civil jurisdiction.
Constitutional & Federal Power
Cases addressing the constitutional limits on federal authority over tribes — termination, retrocession, nondelegation, and federal preemption.
Seminole Tribe of Florida v. Florida
517 U.S. 44 — 11th Amendment bars Congress from abrogating state sovereign immunity under Indian Commerce Clause. Limits federal court remedies but reinforces government-to-government framework.
Menominee Tribe v. United States
391 U.S. 404 — Treaty rights survive termination absent express congressional abrogation.
Los Coyotes Band of Cahuilla v. Jewell
729 F.3d 1025 — BIA's discretion over P.L. 280 law enforcement funding.
Gundy v. United States
588 U.S. ___ — Nondelegation doctrine; limits on congressional delegation of authority.
City of Sherrill v. Oneida Indian Nation
544 U.S. 197 — Tribes cannot unilaterally reassert sovereignty over long-alienated land; Court directs tribes to use the IRA trust acquisition process.
Carcieri v. Salazar
555 U.S. 379 — IRA land-into-trust requires tribe to have been "under federal jurisdiction" in 1934; satisfied for ATN by the 1856 Mendocino reservation establishment.
Alaska v. Native Village of Venetie
522 U.S. 520 — Defined "dependent Indian community" under § 1151(b): requires federal set-aside + federal superintendence. Fee-simple corporate land fails both prongs.
Lac du Flambeau Band v. Coughlin
599 U.S. 382 — Bankruptcy Code abrogates tribal immunity (clear language). But reinforces express-abrogation rule — P.L. 280 has no such language.
Oklahoma v. Castro-Huerta
597 U.S. ___ — Concurrent state jurisdiction over crimes by non-Indians against Indians.
California-Specific Authority
California-focused cases, statutes, and tribal court systems directly relevant to the Mendocino Indian Reservation.
Hoopa Valley Tribe — TLOA § 1162(d)
Tribal Law and Order Act partial retrocession framework.
Hopland Band of Pomo Indians v. California
Recent 9th Circuit affirmation of tribal authority within California.
Northern California Intertribal Court System (NCICS)
Operational California intertribal court demonstrating tribal court infrastructure.
Agua Caliente Band v. Superior Court
40 Cal.4th 239 — Tribal sovereign immunity bars California state courts from hearing employment disputes. P.L. 280 does NOT abrogate immunity. Binding California law.
California Rancheria Act & Tillie Hardwick
41 rancherias terminated (1958); 17 restored by Tillie Hardwick settlement (1983) — including Pinoleville, Hopland, Coyote Valley in Mendocino County. Pomo lead plaintiff from Ukiah.
Big Lagoon Rancheria v. California
789 F.3d 947 — California must negotiate tribal compacts in good faith. Humboldt County rancheria forced California to the table. Small tribes have equal rights.
Federal Authority & Policy
Executive branch policy guidance and presidential statements affirming tribal self-determination and concurrent jurisdiction.
Public Law 280 — The Statute
18 U.S.C. § 1162 · 28 U.S.C. § 1360 — What P.L. 280 actually says, what it does NOT say, and ATN's five arguments against encumbrance. The central statute in ATN's fight.
General Crimes Act (Indian Country Crimes Act)
Federal enclave criminal law extends to Indian Country for interracial crimes. Superseded by P.L. 280 in California. Companion to Major Crimes Act.
Tribal Law and Order Act (TLOA)
P.L. 111-211 — Enhanced sentencing (3 yrs), partial P.L. 280 retrocession via § 1162(d), federal declination reporting. Hoopa Valley used it in 2017. ATN's pathway.
"Indian Country" — 18 U.S.C. § 1151
The jurisdictional bedrock: reservations, dependent Indian communities, and allotments. All land within ATN's Mendocino Reservation is Indian Country where federal Indian law applies.
Indian Reorganization Act (IRA)
25 U.S.C. §§ 5101-5129 — Ended allotment, authorized land-into-trust, tribal constitutions, and tribal corporations. The "Indian New Deal." Statutory backbone of tribal governance.
Indian Civil Rights Act (ICRA)
25 U.S.C. §§ 1301-1304 — Added tribal consent requirement for P.L. 280. Bill of Rights protections for tribal members. Tribal court is the proper forum. Foundational for ATN's consent argument.
Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA)
25 U.S.C. §§ 2701-2721 — Codified Cabazon's prohibitory/regulatory framework for gaming. Three classes, tribal-state compacts, NIGC. Template for potential tribal cannabis framework.
Executive Order 13175 — Tribal Consultation
All federal agencies must engage in meaningful government-to-government consultation with tribes before actions with tribal implications. Bipartisan, reaffirmed by every president since 2000.
Indian Self-Determination & Education Assistance Act
P.L. 93-638, 25 U.S.C. §§ 5301-5423 — "638 Contracts" enabling tribes to administer federal programs. Statutory backbone of tribal self-governance.
Nixon's 1970 Special Message to Congress
End of termination era; launch of federal self-determination policy.
DOJ Office of Tribal Justice — Concurrent Tribal Authority Memo
DOJ's official position confirming concurrent tribal court authority under P.L. 280.
Treaties & International Law
International and treaty-based authorities supporting tribal sovereignty and self-determination.
Nonintercourse Act (Trade and Intercourse Act)
25 U.S.C. § 177 — No purchase of Indian land is valid without federal approval. 236 years old and still active. Foundation of all Indian land claims.
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
9 Stat. 922 — Mexico ceded California to the U.S. Article XI: Indian nations in ceded territory under "exclusive control" of the federal government. Treaty-level trust obligation.
Indian Removal Act of 1830
4 Stat. 411 — Authorized the Trail of Tears. 60,000 Indians relocated, 10-15,000 died. The betrayal that created the modern trust obligation.
Murray v. The Schooner Charming Betsy
6 U.S. 64 — Statutes construed consistently with international law (Charming Betsy canon).
UNDRIP — U.S. Endorsed
UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples; U.S. endorsement 2010.
Topical Legal Briefs
In addition to the case database, we maintain dedicated topical briefs synthesizing the case law into the four pillars of ATN's P.L. 280 sovereignty argument.
Argument III: Consent
Tribal consent as the foundation for state jurisdiction.
Trust Doctrine
Federal trust responsibility to tribal nations.
State Courts
State court limitations under P.L. 280.
Encumbrance
State/county encumbrance of Indian Country.
Treaties
Treaty-based tribal sovereignty.
Worcester Doctrine
Foundational sovereignty doctrine deep-dive.