Reservations, Native American

The American Indian population is not evenly distributed geographically because of the variety of federal policies that have had an impact on tribally owned land. The Indian Removal Bill was signed in 1830 by Andrew Jackson. This bill called for the removal of all American Indians east of the Mississippi. Several tribes were relocated to what is now Oklahoma, including the Creek, Cherokee, Chocktaw, Seminole, and Chickasaw. This had a continuing influence on the demographic distribution of the American Indian population. According to the 2010 census, 2,123,549 American Indians who self-identify as American Indian alone, or in combination, reside in the west.

There are 326 reservations in the United States, the majority in the west. These include traditional reservations, pueblos, rancherias, missions, villages, and communities. According to the 2010 census, 15 tribes have received federal recognition since 1978, and 16 petitions for federal recognition have been denied. A reservation consists of land reserved for a tribe under treaty, executive order, or administrative or federal statute, but title to the land is held in trust by the federal government. There are 56.2 million acres that are considered trust land.

The Navajo reservation is the largest, with 16 million acres, larger than West Virginia; the smallest is the Pit River Tribe's cemetery, at 1.32 acres. Some reservations are larger than states,; for example, 22 reservations are larger than Rhode Island or Delaware. Approximately 56.2 million acres are held in trust by the United States for various Indian tribes. The origins of reservations vary; some were parts of the tribal land base, some were created during the Indian removal period when the federal government established geographic areas to relocate tribes, and some are parcels of land established after re-recognition. These areas were generally land that was not fit for farming or other desirable uses.

The reservation land base has been impacted by two major federal policies: allotment and termination. A major federal policy that influenced reservation landholding was the allotment policy, or Dawes Act of 1887. During the allotment [Page 1834]period, land within the reservation was parceled to individuals, and surplus land was sold to settlers at low prices.

This photograph from around 1939 shows part of the Laguna Indian reservation near Laguna, New Mexico, 45 miles west of Albuquerque. There are currently 326 reservations in the United States; many originated with land that was not fit for farming or other desirable uses, leading to generally poor conditions among the relocated tribes.

As a result, the majority of residents within reservation boundaries are non-Indian. This “check-erboarding” pattern often results in conflicts that arise because non-Indians within reservation boundaries are subject to tribal policy. Tribes have jurisdiction over planning, zoning, and negotiating grazing, timber, and mineral leases, with Bureau of Indian Affairs oversight.

Tribes control economic development within their reservation boundaries and, to some extent, trust land. This has led to an increase in economic growth for some tribes through the development of destination casinos, tourism, resource development, construction, ranching, and agriculture. These economic growth opportunities have provided employment opportunities to both tribal and non-tribal members.

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