Bryan v. Itasca County, Minnesota

Decided June 14, 1976. William Joseph Brennan Jr. delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 75-5027 · 426 U.S. 373 (1976) · Cited 605 times

Holding

Public Law 280 did not grant States the authority to impose taxes on reservation Indians.

The Court’s statement of the holding, from the opinion’s syllabus. The syllabus is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and is not part of the opinion of the Court — read the official opinion for authority.

How the Justices voted

Decided 9–0.

“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. Source: the Supreme Court Database (Spaeth et al.), Washington University.

Precedents cited

Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.

• McClanahan v. Arizona State Tax Commission · 411 U.S. 164 (1973)
• Moe v. Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Reservation · 425 U.S. 463 (1976)
• Kennerly v. District Court of the Ninth Judicial District of Montana · 400 U.S. 423 (1971)
• Board of County Commissioners v. Seber · 318 U.S. 705 (1943)
• United States v. Mazurie · 419 U.S. 544 (1975)
• Mescalero Apache Tribe v. Jones · 411 U.S. 145 (1973)
• Menominee Tribe of Indians v. United States · 391 U.S. 404 (1968)
• Morton v. Mancari · 417 U.S. 535 (1974)
• Williams v. Lee · 358 U.S. 217 (1959)
• Choate v. Trapp · 224 U.S. 665 (1912)
• Squire v. Capoeman · 351 U.S. 1 (1956)
• United States v. Rickert · 188 U.S. 432 (1903)
• Carpenter v. Shaw · 280 U.S. 363 (1930)
• Mattz v. Arnett · 412 U.S. 481 (1973)
• Antoine v. Washington · 420 U.S. 194 (1975)
• Warren Trading Post Co. v. Arizona Tax Commission · 380 U.S. 685 (1965)
• Northern Cheyenne Tribe v. Hollowbreast · 425 U.S. 649 (1976)

Cited by

Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.

• Washington v. Confederated Tribes of the Colville Indian Reservation · 447 U.S. 134 (1980)
• Washington v. Confederated Bands & Tribes of the Yakima Indian Nation · 439 U.S. 463 (1979)
• Rice v. Rehner · 463 U.S. 713 (1983)
• California v. Cabazon Band of Mission Indians · 480 U.S. 202 (1987)
• Negonsott v. Samuels · 507 U.S. 99 (1993)
• County of Yakima v. Confederated Tribes & Bands of the Yakima Indian Nation · 502 U.S. 251 (1992)
• South Carolina v. Catawba Indian Tribe, Inc. · 476 U.S. 498 (1986)
• Ysleta del Sur Pueblo v. Texas · 596 U.S. 685 (2022)
• Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation v. Wold Engineering, P. C. · 467 U.S. 138 (1984)
• Mountain States Telephone & Telegraph Co. v. Pueblo of Santa Ana · 472 U.S. 237 (1985)
• Oklahoma Tax Comm'n v. Citizen Band of Potawatomi Tribe of Okla. · 498 U.S. 505 (1991)
• Blatchford v. Native Village of Noatak · 501 U.S. 775 (1991)
• Montana v. Blackfeet Tribe of Indians · 471 U.S. 759 (1985)
• Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation v. Wold Engineering, P. C. · 476 U.S. 877 (1986)
• Wilson v. Omaha Indian Tribe · 442 U.S. 653 (1979)
• Arizona v. San Carlos Apache Tribe of Ariz. · 463 U.S. 545 (1983)
• Oklahoma Tax Commission v. Chickasaw Nation · 515 U.S. 450 (1995)
• Hagen v. Utah · 510 U.S. 399 (1994)
• Haaland v. Brackeen · 599 U.S. 255 (2023)

Official text

Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)

Explore from here

William Joseph Brennan Jr.’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1976). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-07-03. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).