Indian country

This article is about the self-governing native areas in the United States of America; for other uses of similar terms, see Indian Country (disambiguation).

Indian country is a term used to describe (collectively or individually) the many self-governing Native American communities throughout the United States. This usage is reflected in many places, both legal and colloquial. For example, in the United States legal system, Indian country is a technical term that describes Native American reservations, Indian communities, and trust lands. The phrase legally defines American Indian tribal and individual land holdings as part of a reservation, or an allotment, or a public domain allotment. All federal trust lands held for Native American tribes is Indian country. As a result, federal, state, and local governments use the phrase in their legal processes.

This convention is followed generally in colloquial speech and is reflected in publications such as the Native American newspaper Indian Country Today

Related meanings

Historically, the phrase Indian country referred to areas, regions, or territories that were inhabited primarily by Native Americans. These areas were defined generally by boundaries set by treaties (or sometimes simply by political circumstances). It was understood that the law of the United States and the laws of individual states were unenforceable in Indian country (for all practical purposes), and tribes that lived on those lands had full sovereignty in those areas.

References

• N. Bruce Duthu, American Indians and the Law (NY: Penguin Library -Viking - 2008)
• David H. Getches, Charles F. Wilkinson, and Robert A. Williams, jr., Cases and Materials on Federal Indian Law, 4th Ed. (St. Paul: West Pub., 1998)
• Imre Sutton, ed., "The Political Geography of Indian Country." American Indian Culture and Research Journal, 15(02) 1991