The Statutory Text
"Except as otherwise provided in sections 1154 and 1156 of this title, the term 'Indian country', as used in this chapter, means:
(a) all land within the limits of any Indian reservation under the jurisdiction of the United States Government, notwithstanding the issuance of any patent, and, including rights-of-way running through the reservation,
(b) all dependent Indian communities within the borders of the United States whether within the original or subsequently acquired territory thereof, and whether within or without the limits of a state, and
(c) all Indian allotments, the Indian titles to which have not been extinguished, including rights-of-way running through the same."
The Three Categories
(a) Indian Reservations
ALL land within reservation boundaries — including fee land owned by non-Indians, rights-of-way, and patented allotments. The reservation boundary is the outer limit, and everything inside is Indian Country regardless of land ownership. McGirt v. Oklahoma (2020) confirmed: reservations persist until Congress expressly disestablishes them.
(b) Dependent Indian Communities
Land set aside by the federal government for Indian use and under federal superintendence — even if not formally designated as a reservation. This category catches trust land, rancherias, pueblos, and other Indian communities that don't have "reservation" status. The Supreme Court defined the test in Alaska v. Native Village of Venetie (1998).
(c) Indian Allotments
Individual trust allotments where Indian title has not been extinguished. Even outside formal reservation boundaries, individual trust allotments are Indian Country. This category preserves jurisdiction over allotments that survived the Dawes Act era.
How This Definition Establishes ATN's Jurisdiction
Section 1151 is the threshold question in every Indian law case: is this land "Indian Country"? If yes, federal Indian law applies. If no, it doesn't.
- 1. Mendocino Indian Reservation = Indian Country under (a). The Mendocino Indian Reservation was established by federal action in 1856. All land within its boundaries is Indian Country "notwithstanding the issuance of any patent." Donnelly v. United States (1913) specifically confirmed California executive-order reservations as Indian Country.
- 2. Trust land = Indian Country under (a) or (b). ATN's trust land qualifies under both (a) (if within reservation boundaries) and (b) (as land set aside for Indian use under federal superintendence). Either way, it's Indian Country.
- 3. P.L. 280 operates within Indian Country. P.L. 280 itself uses the term "Indian country" (as defined by § 1151) as the geographic scope of the jurisdiction it transfers. P.L. 280 didn't change what IS Indian Country — it changed who exercises jurisdiction within it.
- 4. Cannabis jurisdiction follows Indian Country. If ATN's cannabis operations are located in Indian Country (as defined by § 1151), then federal Indian law — including Cabazon's prohibitory/regulatory framework, tribal sovereign immunity, and tribal self-governance — applies to those operations.
- 5. McGirt locks it in. Under McGirt, the Mendocino Indian Reservation remains Indian Country because Congress never expressly disestablished it. The reservation was established in 1856 and persists today.
Related Cases
- Donnelly v. United States (1913) — California executive-order reservations ARE Indian Country
- McGirt v. Oklahoma (2020) — Reservations persist absent express congressional disestablishment
- Solem v. Bartlett (1984) — Three-step diminishment framework for reservation boundaries
- Bryan v. Itasca County (1976) — P.L. 280 operates within Indian Country but grants no regulatory power
- OTC v. Sac & Fox (1993) — State cannot tax members in Indian Country