Also known as: Commerce with Indian Tribes Clause
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
The constitutional provision in Article I, Section 8, Clause 3 that empowers Congress to regulate commerce with the Indian tribes. The clause has been read to support congressional authority to regulate tribal affairs more broadly.
Ivan Ivanov, a member of an Indian tribe, sued the State of Florida in federal court under a federal statute enacted pursuant to the Indian Commerce Clause that purported to authorize private damages actions against states. The state moved to dismiss on Eleventh Amendment grounds. The court granted the motion because the statute rested solely on Article I authority.
Island Manufacturing contracted to haul timber across the White Mountain Apache Reservation. Arizona sought to impose motor carrier taxes and fuel taxes on the operations. The tribe and company challenged the taxes, and the court held that federal statutes and regulations governing tribal timber operations preempted the state levies.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
No. The clause is an Article I power, and Congress may not use Article I authority to subject nonconsenting states to private damages suits in federal court. Valid abrogation requires reliance on Section 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment.
Supporting sources
The Indian Commerce Clause is viewed as one source. Additional support has been drawn from the Treaty Clause and the Necessary and Proper Clause.
Supporting sources
It contributes to federal preemption of state laws. Federal statutes and regulations enacted under the clause can bar states from imposing taxes or other rules on tribal activities even when the state claims a legitimate interest.
Supporting sources
…1, 14 (plurality opinion). Pp. 47–49. (b) Congress did not have the power to abrogate the States’ sovereign immunity under the Indian Commerce Clause, U. S. Const., Art. I, § 8, cl. 3. The Eleventh Amendment restricts the judicial power under Article III, and Article I cannot be used to circumvent the constitutional limitations placed…