Indian reservation

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Land in the USA held in trust by the federal or a state government for a specified group (‘tribe’) of American Indians, or ‘Indians’. US reservations range in size from a few acres to the huge Navajo Reservation. Social and economic conditions also vary widely; while poverty and dependence on the federal government has afflicted many, others have prospered from business ventures on the reservations, including logging, mining, oil and gas extraction, tax-free retailing, tourism and recreational development, and, most recently, operation of gambling establishments.

While all US-born Indians, as individuals, are citizens of the country, they are – as members of a tribe and if resident on a reservation – subject to federal and tribal, but not generally to state, laws. The sovereignty of tribes is complex; federal law limits their self-government in various ways determined by treaty or legislation, and they do not, as states do under the US Constitution, retain all powers not specifically delegated to the Federal government. Broadly speaking, they have the power to control membership and land use, raise local taxes, and administer their own legal systems (subject to federal supremacy in regard to some criminal matters). There are over 300 federal reservations in the USA, chiefly in the West, along with some 20 state reservations, mainly in the East. Many reservations are adjoined by additional ‘trust lands’. Another 200 small communities in Alaska are designated as Alaskan villages; they do not have formal boundaries.

Blue symbolizes the ocean. The stars represent the ten main islands. The red stripe stands for the road to progress. Effective date: 25 September 1992. >>