25 U.S.C. § 177
Section 177 · Purchases or grants of lands from Indians
Applied in 255 court decisions — leading case Idaho v. Coeur Tribe of Idaho (1997)
Most recently applied in United States v. Smith (May 2024)
Applied most in the Second Circuit Circuit (27 decisions)
Cases citing this section usually also cite 28 U.S.C. § 1331 · 18 U.S.C. § 1151 · 28 U.S.C. § 1362
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment, consequential amendments, and circuit splits over this section — watch for a citation surge after a change or a disagreement. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
No purchase, grant, lease, or other conveyance of lands, or of any title or claim thereto, from any Indian nation or tribe of Indians, shall be of any validity in law or equity, unless the same be made by treaty or convention entered into pursuant to the Constitution. Every person who, not being employed under the authority of the United States, attempts to negotiate such treaty or convention, directly or indirectly, or to treat with any such nation or tribe of Indians for the title or purchase of any lands by them held or claimed, is liable to a penalty of $1,000. The agent of any State who may be present at any treaty held with Indians under the authority of the United States, in the presence and with the approbation of the commissioner of the United States appointed to hold the same, may, however, propose to, and adjust with, the Indians the compensation to be made for their claim to lands within such State, which shall be extinguished by treaty.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Codification
R.S. §2116 derived from act June 30, 1834, ch. 161, §12, 4 Stat. 730.
Cross References
Patents to be held in trust, descent and partition, see section 348 of this title.