Glossary

Legal and land words used in this atlas. Several sound alike and mean different things in law.

Land status

Allotment: A parcel of former tribal land assigned to an individual Native person (an "allottee") under allotment laws, most importantly the General Allotment (Dawes) Act of February 8, 1887, 24 Stat. 388. As enacted, heads of families received 160 acres, single persons over 18 and orphans 80 acres, and persons under 18 40 acres (Wikipedia, "Dawes Act"). Land not allotted was declared "surplus" and could be opened to non-Indian settlement. Allotments were held in trust, typically for 25 years, then could become fee land. Allotment ended for reservations on June 18, 1934 under the Indian Reorganization Act, 25 U.S.C. § 5101 (Cornell LII). Today "allotment" also names the trust land still held by individual owners (see Individual Indian trust land). In Indian country law, allotments whose Indian titles have not been extinguished are Indian country under 18 U.S.C. § 1151(c).
Alaska Native corporation (ANC) land: Land conveyed in fee (not trust) to Alaska Native regional and village corporations under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA), Dec 18, 1971, Pub. L. 92-203, 85 Stat. 688, 43 U.S.C. § 1601 et seq. CRS reports approximately 45 million acres and about $962.5 million, through 12 regional corporations (plus a 13th that received no land) and over 200 village corporations (CRS R46997). ANC land is generally not Indian country in the way reservations are, which is why Alaska questions about trust and jurisdiction are special; see Alaska Native village and D3 §8.3.
Alaska Native village: A federally recognized tribal entity in Alaska. Of the 575 entries on the Jan 30, 2026 list, 229 are in Alaska according to Wikipedia. Most have no reservation.
Ancestral territory: The area a people historically lived on, used or governed, by their own account. This is not a legal category in U.S. law. It differs from the "treaty territory" described in a treaty and from Royce's "cession" maps; Native Land Digital maps are ancestral-territory approximations. Always label which meaning you are using.
Cession (ceded land): Land a Native nation transferred to the United States, usually by treaty or agreement (or, after 1871, by agreement ratified as a statute). "Ceded" is the legal and historical term, but it can imply free consent. Treaties were frequently signed under duress, with disputed signatories, or without full understanding. A 1969 Senate report quoted in the Interior boarding school report described treaties as "almost always signed under duress" and "window dressing" for expropriation (Vol. II, p. 45). The atlas should keep the word "cession" (it is the record's term) and add context. Charles Royce's Indian Land Cessions in the United States (1899) is the standard compilation, with 67 maps and a schedule through 1894 (Library of Congress). Royce's maps "are not legal documents" (USFS dataset page).
Dependent Indian community: One of three categories of Indian country under 18 U.S.C. § 1151(b): "all dependent Indian communities within the borders of the United States" (Cornell LII, summary of statute). Courts have used a test requiring federal set-aside and federal superintendence (Alaska v. Native Village of Venetie Tribal Government, 522 U.S. 520 (1998)). some details not yet checked against a source
Fee land (fee simple): Ordinary private ownership with no federal trust or restriction. Fee land can be owned by non-Natives, tribes, or Native individuals, and can lie inside a reservation. Fee land inside reservation boundaries is still in "Indian country" under § 1151(a) ("notwithstanding the issuance of any patent").
Fee-to-trust: The process by which the Secretary of the Interior takes land held in fee into trust for a tribe or an individual Indian, under Section 5 of the IRA, 25 U.S.C. § 5108, and 25 CFR Part 151. The current rule took effect Jan 11, 2024. See D3 §8.
Fractionation / fractionated land: The splitting of ownership of an allotment among many heirs, as each generation inherits undivided shares. A tract in Hodel v. Irving had 439 owners and yielded $1,080 a year (Oklahoma Bar Journal). Under 25 CFR 162.012(a) a "highly fractionated tract" has 20 or more owners. See D3 §7.
Heirship land: Informal name for fractionated allotments passing through inheritance. The Dead Indian Act (1902) concerned sale of inherited allotments. some details not yet checked against a source
Individual Indian trust land (allotted land): Land whose title is held by the United States in trust for an individual Native owner or owners (as opposed to tribal trust land). About 13.3 million acres were held for individuals in 1956 (versus 39.5 million for tribes) (BIA 1957). The current split is not given in the pages read (D3 §3).
Individual Indian Money (IIM) account: Accounts the government keeps for individual Native beneficiaries, funded by revenues from allotted trust land. IIM mismanagement was the subject of Cobell. BTFA reported about 411,000 IIM accounts holding about $1.6 billion in 2026 (CRS IF13173).
Off-reservation trust land: Trust land located outside a reservation's boundaries, for example land a tribe buys and has taken into trust. It is still Indian country if it is a "dependent Indian community" or an allotment. Under the 2023 Part 151 rule, off-reservation acquisitions have their own criteria. some details not yet checked against a source
Oklahoma Tribal Statistical Area (OTSA): A Census Bureau area designation used for tribes in Oklahoma that do not have a conventional reservation. It is a statistical area, not a legal reservation. After McGirt v. Oklahoma (2020), five nations' reservations (starting with Muscogee (Creek)) were held to remain Indian country for Major Crimes Act purposes (Justia, for the Creek holding). some details not yet checked against a source
Pueblo: (1) A Native community in New Mexico (19 in New Mexico plus Ysleta del Sur Pueblo in Texas) and (2) a land category. Pueblo lands derive from Spanish and Mexican grants confirmed by Congress in 1858 and held in fee by the Pueblos under a distinctive federal protection regime (non-intercourse restrictions); see United States v. Sandoval (1913) and the Pueblo Lands Act of 1924. Treat Pueblo land status as a special case needing a New Mexico specialist. Example of return: Blue Lake returned to Taos Pueblo in 1970. some details not yet checked against a source
Rancheria: Spanish-derived term for a small Native community and land base in California, many created in the early twentieth century by the federal government for landless California Indians. The California Rancheria Termination Act (1958) targeted 41 rancherias (7 more added in 1964); of 46 terminated rancherias, 31 have been restored and 6 are still seeking restoration (Wikipedia). A restored rancheria is typically small trust land.
Reservation (Indian reservation): Land set aside for a tribe, whether by treaty, statute, agreement or (until restricted in the early twentieth century) executive order. A reservation's boundary is a legal question of its own; see Diminishment and Disestablishment below. The government "administers approximately 326 land areas as Indian reservations" (CRS R46647). Reservations differ in how much of their area is tribal trust, allotted trust, or fee land owned by anyone. Per 18 U.S.C. § 1151(a), "all land within the limits of any Indian reservation under the jurisdiction of the United States Government" is Indian country. "Reservation" is the legal term; do not use "reserve" (Canadian usage).
Restricted fee land: Land owned by a tribe or an individual Native person in fee, but with federal restrictions on sale or encumbrance (federal approval needed). Different from trust land because title is held by the owner rather than by the United States in trust. Examples include some Five Tribes allotments in Oklahoma and some Pueblo lands. See CRS R46647 for the formal taxonomy (not read in detail). some details not yet checked against a source
Surplus land: Land left over after allotment that Congress declared available to non-Indian settlement. Wilson 1935 counts 22,694,658 acres of "surplus lands opened to settlement" (those left over after allotment) (Table VII footnote 2).
Tribal trust land: Land whose title is held by the United States in trust for a tribe. The BIA states that trust lands and natural resources "total 56 million surface acres and 60 million acres of subsurface mineral estates". Roughly 46 million acres was tribal trust in 2005 (DOI testimony). Tribal trust land is held for the tribe's benefit; a tribe cannot sell or encumber it without federal approval. some details not yet checked against a source
Trust land: General term for land whose legal title is held by the United States for the benefit of a tribe or individual Native person, who holds the beneficial interest. See Tribal trust land and Individual Indian trust land. Trust status does not mean the government owns the land for its own benefit; it means the government holds title and has fiduciary duties, which the government has been repeatedly found to have breached in managing trust funds (the Cobell case).

Jurisdiction and legal categories

Abrogation (of a treaty): An act of Congress that ends or overrides a treaty provision. Congress holds this power in U.S. law; Lone Wolf v. Hitchcock, 187 U.S. 553 (1903) upheld a statute allotting and selling tribal land despite a treaty's three-fourths consent requirement, and held courts could not review Congress's motives (Justia). More recent cases require a clear statement of intent to abrogate. Abrogation is legally distinct from a treaty being merely broken (violated in practice) and from termination (ending the federal trust relationship with a tribe). some details not yet checked against a source
"Broken" treaty: A popular, non-legal description of a United States failure to honor a treaty (for example, by not delivering promised goods, allowing trespass, or taking land without compensation). Not a legal term of art. The atlas should label each case with the specific legal mechanism where known: abrogated by statute, diminished by cession agreement, taken without just compensation (as in the Black Hills, United States v. Sioux Nation, 448 U.S. 371 (1980)), or unresolved.
Diminishment (of a reservation): A reduction in the size of a reservation by Congress, for example through a cession or the opening of surplus land. The Supreme Court asks whether Congress clearly intended it; see Solem v. Bartlett, 465 U.S. 463 (1984) and Hagen v. Utah (1994). some details not yet checked against a source
Disestablishment (of a reservation): The complete elimination of a reservation. The same clear-intent standard applies. In McGirt v. Oklahoma (July 9, 2020; 5-4), the Court held that Congress had not disestablished the Creek Nation's 19th-century reservation, so it remains Indian country for Major Crimes Act purposes (Justia). Note the law test is separate from whether non-Natives own most of the land today.
Domestic dependent nation: Chief Justice Marshall's phrase in Cherokee Nation v. Georgia, 30 U.S. (5 Pet.) 1 (1831). some details not yet checked against a source
Doctrine of Discovery: A legal principle that European "discovery" gave the discovering nation, and later the United States, the exclusive right to acquire land from Native peoples, who kept a right of occupancy. Adopted in Johnson & Graham's Lessee v. McIntosh, 21 U.S. (8 Wheat.) 543 (1823), decided March 10, 1823 (Justia).
Executive order reservation: A reservation created by presidential order rather than by treaty or statute. Common after 1871. Congress restricted new executive-order reservations in the early twentieth century. Legally weaker historically than treaty reservations in some contexts, but they are still reservations. some details not yet checked against a source
Indian country: Defined in 18 U.S.C. § 1151 as (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." (Cornell LII, summary and short quotations; enacted June 25, 1948, 62 Stat. 757). The definition is used for federal criminal jurisdiction and has been applied to civil jurisdiction by courts. It is a jurisdictional concept, not an ownership concept: land in Indian country can be fee land owned by non-Natives. some details not yet checked against a source
Plenary power: The doctrine that Congress has broad (courts have said "plenary") authority over Indian affairs. Criticized by many scholars and tribes; see Lone Wolf (holding).
Public Law 280 (PL 280): Act of Aug 15, 1953, 67 Stat. 588, conferring criminal and civil jurisdiction over most reservations in California, Minnesota, Nebraska, Oregon and Wisconsin on the states (NARA). Other states took jurisdiction later by choice. It is a jurisdiction law and not a land law. some details not yet checked against a source
Trust responsibility (federal trust doctrine): The United States' fiduciary-like duties toward tribes and Native individuals regarding land, resources, funds and treaty promises. Example of breach: Cobell (IIM). Its precise scope is contested.
Treaty: A formal agreement negotiated by the executive and ratified by the Senate (two-thirds) under Article II. The BIA counts *370* ratified treaties with tribes between 1778 and 1871, and at least 45 negotiated but not ratified. After March 3, 1871, Congress ended treaty-making (25 U.S.C. § 71, from 16 Stat. 566) but preserved existing treaty obligations.
Agreement (post-1871): A negotiated compact with a tribe ratified by both houses as a statute, used instead of treaties after 1871. Legally treated similarly to treaties in many contexts, but the atlas should label them separately from treaties. some details not yet checked against a source
Unratified treaty: A treaty signed by tribal and U.S. negotiators but not approved by the Senate. At least 45 are known (BIA). Many Native nations regard them as binding promises; as law they were never in force. The atlas should flag them separately.
Right of occupancy / Indian title / aboriginal title: The Native right to use and occupy land that US law (after Johnson v. M'Intosh) treated as subordinate to the federal discovery title; it could be extinguished by the United States for the 1823 holding. "Aboriginal title" is the term used in claims cases, including those before the Indian Claims Commission. some details not yet checked against a source

Recognition

Federally recognized tribe: A tribal entity that the United States acknowledges as having a government-to-government relationship and that is eligible for BIA programs. The BIA publishes the list in the Federal Register. As of the list published Jan 30, 2026 (91 Fed. Reg.), there are *575* entities, up from 574 on Dec 11, 2024 after the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina was recognized by the FY2026 NDAA (enacted Dec 18, 2025).
Treaty-recognized (atlas term): A label for nations that signed treaties with the United States. It is *not* a legal status. Treaty status and federal recognition are different things: some treaty signatories were later terminated, were never placed on the list, or have been restored; some currently recognized tribes (including those recognized after 1871) have no treaty. Before using this label, define it on the page.
State-recognized tribe: A group recognized by a state government under its own law, which may give state-level rights (for example, a seat on a commission or eligibility for some state programs) but does not carry federal recognition, trust land, or sovereignty by itself. Counts differ: about 62 (2007), 66 (2022), "more than 100 organizations" (2025), and 13 to 15 states have some process (Wikipedia; see D3 §2.3). Some state-recognized tribes are also federally recognized.
Non-federally recognized / unrecognized nation: A Native people or community not on the federal list. Some never sought recognition; some were terminated and are seeking restoration; some are denied. The atlas should avoid implying that an unrecognized nation does not exist, and should use their endonyms.
Acknowledgment (federal acknowledgment process): The BIA administrative process under 25 CFR Part 83 (since 1978) by which a group petitions for federal recognition by meeting criteria (seven in the long-standing version). Petitions have taken 12 to 14 years (Wikipedia). Congress can also recognize a tribe by statute.
Termination (of a tribe): Federal withdrawal of recognition and trust responsibility, particularly in the 1950s and 1960s. NARA: Congress initiated "60 separate termination proceedings" from 1953 to 1970 and "over three million acres of tribal lands were relinquished". Wikipedia: "more than 100 tribes and bands" and about 2.5 million acres. See D2 §7. Termination is also used for the end of a treaty by abrogation; avoid confusion by saying "federal termination of a tribe."
Restoration: Congressional or judicial reversal of termination, returning federal recognition (and sometimes land into trust), for example the Menominee Restoration Act (1973).
Tribe / Nation / Tribal nation / Band / Pueblo / Rancheria / Village: Varied legal and self-chosen names. Use what the nation uses. Federal law treats them all, once recognized, as "Indian tribes" for most purposes. some details not yet checked against a source

Policy and process terms

BIA / Bureau of Indian Affairs: Interior agency that manages the federal relationship, trust land and many programs. Created as the Office of Indian Affairs on March 11, 1824, in the War Department; transferred to Interior March 3, 1849; formally named Bureau of Indian Affairs effective September 17, 1947 (NARA). See D1.
Cobell settlement: The $3.4 billion class settlement of Cobell v. Salazar, approved by Congress in 2010 and final Nov 24, 2012. It created the $1.9 billion Trust Land Consolidation Fund (DOI).
Co-management / co-stewardship: Arrangements in which tribes participate in managing federal land or waters. Joint Secretarial Order 3403 (2021) directs federal land agencies to pursue co-stewardship; Interior reported 400 co-stewardship agreements under the Biden-Harris administration by Dec 9, 2024 (DOI). Co-management differs from Land Back (return of title) and from consultation. Example: the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition (Navajo, Hopi, Ute Mountain Ute, Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation, Zuni).
Indian Claims Commission (ICC): 1946 to 1978 body that could award money for land taken, but "had no power to return any land" (EBSCO). See D1 §8.
Indian Reorganization Act (IRA): The Act of June 18, 1934, 48 Stat. 984, ending allotment and authorizing the Secretary to acquire land in trust (§ 5, 25 U.S.C. § 5108) and tribal constitutions.
Land Back: A movement and a set of practices seeking return of land and land governance to Native nations, ranging from transfer of title (for example, Blue Lake in 1970 and the National Bison Range to the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes) to conservation easements, co-management, and purchases by tribes or Native-led trusts for the two named examples. "Land Back" is not a legal category and is used differently by different organizations; the atlas should attribute usage.
Land Buy-Back Program for Tribal Nations: The program funded by the Cobell settlement to purchase fractional interests from willing sellers and place them in trust for tribes (2013 to Nov 2022).
Treaty vocabulary (pointer): Terms such as "reserved," "relinquished," "annuities," and "unceded" appear in treaty texts. Definitions are left to the treaty-research team's documentation. some details not yet checked against a source
Major Crimes Act: 18 U.S.C. § 1153; gives federal courts jurisdiction over certain serious crimes by Native persons in Indian country. It was the statute at issue in McGirt for McGirt, for the section number. some details not yet checked against a source
Self-determination / self-governance: Two policy models. *Self-determination (the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act, Pub. L. 93-638, Jan 4, 1975, 88 Stat. 2203) lets tribes contract to run federal programs (so-called "638 contracts"). Self-governance* (Tribal Self-Governance Act of 1994, Title II of Pub. L. 103-413, Oct 25, 1994, 108 Stat. 4270) lets tribes get funds in bulk and redesign programs with less federal oversight (Cornell LII credits).
Trust fund / BTFA: BTFA (Bureau of Trust Funds Administration) manages tribal and IIM trust funds, over $8.8 billion in 2026; created in 2020 by Secretary's Order 3384, replacing OST's financial operations.