25 U.S.C. § 323
Section 323 · Rights-of-way for all purposes across any Indian lands
Amended 1 time on record
Applied in 31 court decisions — leading case Mountain States Telephone and Telegraph Company v. Pueblo of Santa Ana (1985)
Most recently applied in Darby Development Company, Inc. v. United States (August 2024)
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 be, and he is empowered to grant rights-of-way for all purposes, subject to such conditions as he may prescribe, over and across any lands now or hereafter held in trust by the United States for individual Indians or Indian tribes, communities, bands, or nations, or any lands now or hereafter owned, subject to restrictions against alienation, by individual Indians or Indian tribes, communities, bands, or nations, including the lands belonging to the Pueblo Indians in New Mexico, and any other lands heretofore or hereafter acquired or set aside for the use and benefit of the Indians.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Effective Date
Section 7 of act Feb. 5, 1948, provided that sections 323 to 328 should not become operative until 30 days after Feb. 5, 1948.
Transfer of Functions
Enforcement functions of Secretary or other official in Department of the Interior relating to compliance with rights-of-way across Indian lands, issued under section 321 et seq. of this title with respect to pre-construction, construction, and initial operation of transportation system for Canadian and Alaskan natural gas transferred to Federal Inspector, Office of Federal Inspector for Alaska Natural Gas Transportation System, until first anniversary of date of initial operation of Alaska Natural Gas Transportation System, see Reorg. Plan No. 1 of 1979, §§102(e), 203(a), 44 F.R. 33663, 33666, 93 Stat. 1373, 1376, set out in the Appendix to Title 5, Government Organization and Employees, effective July 1, 1979, pursuant to Ex. Ord. No. 12142, §1–101, June 21, 1979, 44 F.R. 36927, set out as a note under section 719e of Title 15, Commerce and Trade. Office of Federal Inspector for the Alaska Natural Gas Transportation System abolished and functions and authority vested in Inspector transferred to Secretary of Energy by section 3012(b) of Pub. L. 102–486, set out as an Abolition of Office of Federal Inspector note under section 719e of Title 15.