Title 25, IndiansRelease 119-102
§5601 Findings
Title 25 › CHAPTER 48 — INDIAN TRUST ASSET REFORM › SUBCHAPTER I — RECOGNITION OF TRUST RESPONSIBILITY › § 5601
Summary
Congress says the United States has a special relationship and a unique duty to Indian tribes and Indians. Treaties, laws, and history created a federal responsibility to protect and support them. Part of that duty comes from written treaties and agreements where tribes gave up large areas of land in return for promises of ongoing federal care. These long-standing relations have helped the nation and created lasting, enforceable obligations tied to the country’s honor.
Full Legal Text
Title 25, §5601
Indians, Source: USLM XML via OLRC
Congress finds that—
(1)there exists a unique relationship between the Government of the United States and the governments of Indian tribes;
(2)there exists a unique Federal responsibility to Indians;
(3)through treaties, statutes, and historical relations with Indian tribes, the United States has undertaken a unique trust responsibility to protect and support Indian tribes and Indians;
(4)the fiduciary responsibilities of the United States to Indians also are founded in part on specific commitments made through written treaties and agreements securing peace, in exchange for which Indians have surrendered claims to vast tracts of land, which provided legal consideration for permanent, ongoing performance of Federal trust duties; and
(5)the foregoing historic Federal-tribal relations and understandings have benefitted the people of the United States as a whole for centuries and have established enduring and enforceable Federal obligations to which the national honor has been committed.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Short Title
Pub. L. 114–178, § 1(a),
June 22, 2016, 130 Stat. 432, provided that: “This Act [enacting this chapter] may be cited as the ‘Indian Trust Asset Reform Act’.” Pub. L. 114–178, title II, § 201,
June 22, 2016, 130 Stat. 433, provided that: “This title [enacting subchapter II of this chapter] may be cited as the ‘Indian Trust Asset Management Demonstration Project Act of 2016’.”
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
25 U.S.C. § 5601
Title 25, Indians
Last Updated
Aug 21, 2026
Release point: 119-102