Oliphant v. Suquamish Indian Tribe et al.

Decided March 6, 1978. William Hubbs Rehnquist delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 76-5729 · 435 U.S. 191 (1978) · Cited 496 times

We don’t yet publish a summary of this opinion — read the official text below for the Court’s holding and reasoning.

How the Justices voted

Decided 6–2.

“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.

• DeCoteau v. District County Court for the Tenth Judicial District · 420 U.S. 425 (1975)
• Ex Parte Crow Dog · 109 U.S. 556 (1883)
• Morton v. Mancari · 417 U.S. 535 (1974)
• McClanahan v. Arizona State Tax Commission · 411 U.S. 164 (1973)
• United States v. Kagama · 118 U.S. 375 (1886)
• Organized Village of Kake v. Egan · 369 U.S. 60 (1962)
• Warren Trading Post Co. v. Arizona Tax Commission · 380 U.S. 685 (1965)
• The Kansas Indians · 72 U.S. 737 (1867)
• Talton v. Mayes · 163 U.S. 376 (1896)
• Draper v. United States · 164 U.S. 240 (1896)
• United States v. Nice · 241 U.S. 591 (1916)

Cited by

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

• Duro v. Reina · 495 U.S. 676 (1990)
• Nevada v. Hicks · 533 U.S. 353 (2001)
• National Farmers Union Insurance v. Crow Tribe of Indians · 471 U.S. 845 (1985)
• BRENDALE v. CONFEDERATED TRIBES AND BANDS OF THE YAKIMA INDIAN NATION Et Al. · 492 U.S. 408 (1989)
• Montana v. United States · 450 U.S. 544 (1981)
• Merrion v. Jicarilla Apache Tribe · 455 U.S. 130 (1982)
• Washington v. Confederated Tribes of the Colville Indian Reservation · 447 U.S. 134 (1980)
• Strate v. A-1 Contractors · 520 U.S. 438 (1997)
• Plains Commerce Bank v. Long Family Land & Cattle Co. · 554 U.S. 316 (2008)
• Iowa Mutual Insurance v. LaPlante · 480 U.S. 9 (1987)
• Washington v. Confederated Bands & Tribes of the Yakima Indian Nation · 439 U.S. 463 (1979)
• New Mexico v. Mescalero Apache Tribe · 462 U.S. 324 (1983)
• Wilson v. Omaha Indian Tribe · 442 U.S. 653 (1979)
• United States v. John · 437 U.S. 634 (1978)
• Rice v. Cayetano · 528 U.S. 495 (2000)
• South Dakota v. Bourland · 508 U.S. 679 (1993)
• Escondido Mutual Water Co. v. La Jolla Band of Mission Indians · 466 U.S. 765 (1984)
• Oklahoma v. Castro-Huerta · 597 U.S. 629 (2022)
• Central MacHinery Co. v. Arizona State Tax Commission · 448 U.S. 160 (1980)
• Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians v. Coughlin · 599 U.S. 382 (2023)
• United States v. Cooley · 593 U.S. 345 (2021)

Official text

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

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Source: the U.S. Reports via govinfo.gov; authoring Justice and vote lineup from the Supreme Court Database (Washington University). 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).