City of Sherrill, New York v. Oneida Indian Nation of New York, et al.

Decided March 29, 2005. Ruth Bader Ginsburg delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 03-855 · 544 U.S. 197 (2005) · Cited 236 times

Holding

Given the longstanding, distinctly non-Indian character of central New York and its inhabitants, the regulatory authority over the area constantly exercised by the State and its counties and towns for 200 years, and the Oneidas’ long delay in seeking judicial relief against parties other than the United States, standards of federal Indian law and federal equity practice preclude the Tribe from unilaterally reviving its ancient sovereignty, in whole or in part, over the parcels at issue.

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 8–1.

“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.

• Countyof Oneida v. Oneida Indian Nation of NY · 470 U.S. 226 (1985)
• Oneida Indian Nation v. County of Oneida · 414 U.S. 661 (1974)
• Solem v. Bartlett · 465 U.S. 463 (1984)
• The Kansas Indians · 72 U.S. 737 (1867)
• Montana v. Blackfeet Tribe of Indians · 471 U.S. 759 (1985)
• South Dakota v. Yankton Sioux Tribe · 522 U.S. 329 (1998)
• BRENDALE v. CONFEDERATED TRIBES AND BANDS OF THE YAKIMA INDIAN NATION Et Al. · 492 U.S. 408 (1989)
• Hagen v. Utah · 510 U.S. 399 (1994)
• R. A. v. v. City of St. Paul · 505 U.S. 377 (1992)
• California v. Cabazon Band of Mission Indians · 480 U.S. 202 (1987)
• Strate v. A-1 Contractors · 520 U.S. 438 (1997)
• Galliher v. Cadwell · 145 U.S. 368 (1892)
• Rosebud Sioux Tribe v. Kneip · 430 U.S. 584 (1977)
• Badger v. Badger · 69 U.S. 87 (1865)
• Atkinson Trading Co. v. Shirley · 532 U.S. 645 (2001)

Cited by

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

• Gross v. FBL Financial Services, Inc. · 557 U.S. 167 (2009)
• Unicolors, Inc. v. H&M Hennes & Mauritz, L. P. · 595 U.S. 178 (2022)

Official text

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

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2005). 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).