County of Yakima, et al. v. Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakima Indian Nation

Decided January 14, 1992. Antonin Scalia delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 90-408 · 502 U.S. 251 (1992) · Cited 324 times

Holding

The Indian General Allotment Act of 1887 permits Yakima County to impose an ad valorem tax on reservation land patented in fee pursuant to the Act and owned by reservation Indians or the Yakima Indian Nation itself, but does not allow the county to enforce its excise tax on sales of such land.

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.

• Moe v. Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Reservation · 425 U.S. 463 (1976)
• California v. Cabazon Band of Mission Indians · 480 U.S. 202 (1987)
• BRENDALE v. CONFEDERATED TRIBES AND BANDS OF THE YAKIMA INDIAN NATION Et Al. · 492 U.S. 408 (1989)
• Bryan v. Itasca County · 426 U.S. 373 (1976)
• Matter of Heff · 197 U.S. 488 (1905)
• Montana v. United States · 450 U.S. 544 (1981)
• McClanahan v. Arizona State Tax Commission · 411 U.S. 164 (1973)
• Mescalero Apache Tribe v. Jones · 411 U.S. 145 (1973)
• Montana v. Blackfeet Tribe of Indians · 471 U.S. 759 (1985)
• Organized Village of Kake v. Egan · 369 U.S. 60 (1962)
• Squire v. Capoeman · 351 U.S. 1 (1956)
• Hines v. Davidowitz · 312 U.S. 52 (1941)
• United States v. Mitchell · 445 U.S. 535 (1980)
• Morton v. Mancari · 417 U.S. 535 (1974)
• English v. General Electric Co. · 496 U.S. 72 (1990)
• Lochner v. New York · 198 U.S. 45 (1905)
• Williams v. Lee · 358 U.S. 217 (1959)
• White Mountain Apache Tribe v. Bracker · 448 U.S. 136 (1980)
• Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Arabian American Oil Co. · 499 U.S. 244 (1991)
• Washington v. Confederated Tribes of the Colville Indian Reservation · 447 U.S. 134 (1980)
• Posadas v. National City Bank · 296 U.S. 497 (1936)
• DeCoteau v. District County Court for the Tenth Judicial District · 420 U.S. 425 (1975)
• New Mexico v. Mescalero Apache Tribe · 462 U.S. 324 (1983)
• Seymour v. Superintendent of Washington State Penitentiary · 368 U.S. 351 (1962)
• The Kansas Indians · 72 U.S. 737 (1867)
• Hodel v. Irving · 481 U.S. 704 (1987)
• New York Ex Rel. Ray v. Martin · 326 U.S. 496 (1946)

Cited by

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

• Upper Skagit Tribe v. Lundgren · 584 U.S. 554 (2018)
• Plains Commerce Bank v. Long Family Land & Cattle Co. · 554 U.S. 316 (2008)
• Michigan v. Bay Mills Indian Community · 572 U.S. 782 (2014)
• Oklahoma Tax Commission v. Chickasaw Nation · 515 U.S. 450 (1995)
• Minnesota v. Mille Lacs Band of Chippewa Indians · 526 U.S. 172 (1999)
• South Dakota v. Bourland · 508 U.S. 679 (1993)
• Oklahoma v. Castro-Huerta · 597 U.S. 629 (2022)
• Chickasaw Nation v. United States · 534 U.S. 84 (2001)
• Carcieri v. Salazar · 555 U.S. 379 (2009)
• Hagen v. Utah · 510 U.S. 399 (1994)

Official text

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

Explore from here

Antonin Scalia’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1992). 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).