25 U.S.C. § 71
Section 71 · Future treaties with Indian tribes
Amended 1 time on record
Applied in 69 court decisions — leading case Merrion v. Jicarilla Apache Tribe (1982)
Most recently applied in Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe v. Erica Madore (February 2025)
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 Indian nation or tribe within the territory of the United States shall be acknowledged or recognized as an independent nation, tribe, or power with whom the United States may contract by treaty; but no obligation of any treaty lawfully made and ratified with any such Indian nation or tribe prior to March 3, 1871, shall be hereby invalidated or impaired. Such treaties, and any Executive orders and Acts of Congress under which the rights of any Indian tribe to fish are secured, shall be construed to prohibit (in addition to any other prohibition) the imposition under any law of a State or political subdivision thereof of any tax on any income derived from the exercise of rights to fish secured by such treaty, Executive order, or Act of Congress if section 7873 of title 26 does not permit a like Federal tax to be imposed on such income.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Codification
R.S. §2079 derived from act Mar. 3, 1871, ch. 120, §1, 16 Stat. 566.
Amendments
1988—Pub. L. 100–647 inserted sentence at end relating to State tax treatment of income derived by Indians from exercise of fishing rights secured by treaties, Executive orders, or Acts of Congress.
Effective Date of 1988 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 100–647 applicable to all periods beginning before, on, or after Nov. 10, 1988, with no inference created as to existence or nonexistence or scope of any income tax exemption derived from fishing rights secured as of Mar. 17, 1988, by any treaty, law, or Executive order, see section 3044 of Pub. L. 100–647, set out as an Effective Date note under section 7873 of Title 26, Internal Revenue Code.
Cross References
Organization and incorporation of Indian tribes, see sections 476 and 477 of this title.