25 U.S.C. § 181
Section 181 · Rights of white men marrying Indian women; tribal property
Amended 1 time on record
Applied in 2 court decisions — leading case Simmons v. Eagle Seelatsee (1965)
Most recently applied in Sheppard v. Sheppard (December 1982)
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 white man, not otherwise a member of any tribe of Indians, who may after August 9, 1888, marry an Indian woman, member of any Indian tribe in the United States, or any of its Territories except the Five Civilized Tribes in the Indian Territory, shall by such marriage after August 9, 1888, acquire any right to any tribal property, privilege, or interest whatever to which any member of such tribe is entitled.