25 U.S.C. § 311
Section 311 · Opening highways
Amended 1 time on record
Applied in 35 court decisions — leading case Federal Power Commission v. Tuscarora Indian Nation (1960)
Most recently applied in Cathy Covington v. Department of the Interior (January 2023)
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.
The Secretary of the Interior is authorized to grant permission, upon compliance with such requirements as he may deem necessary, to the proper State or local authorities for the opening and establishment of public highways, in accordance with the laws of the State or Territory in which the lands are situated, through any Indian reservation or through any lands which have been allotted in severalty to any individual Indian under any laws or treaties but which have not been conveyed to the allottee with full power of alienation.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Cross References
Condemnation of lands allotted in severalty to Indians under laws of States, see section 357 of this title.
Pueblo Indians of New Mexico, application of section, see section 322 of this title.