Tribal land refers to any land or interests in land owned by any Indian tribe, title to which is held in trust by the United States, or is subject to a restriction against alienation imposed by the United States on behalf of an Indian tribe or individual. Tribal lands can have a complicated and intermingled mix of land ownership and designation statuses. For instance, some federally recognized Indian tribes have reservations, whereas other tribes do not. Tribes may have land held in trust by the federal government or tribes may own restricted fee lands. Still, other tribes may be landless. The various types of tribal land holdings and land designations include trust land, restricted fee land, and fee land.

Trust land is land that the United States holds in trust for a tribe (or multiple tribes) under treaty, statute, or other agreement. Restricted land is land the title to which is held by an individual Indian or tribe and which can only be alienated with approval by the Secretary. Fee land is a form of ownership in which the owner may freely alienate and encumber title to the land without federal approval.

Tribal lands may have different ownership statuses, and tribes and tribal members may have different rights to manage and develop their lands and resources. For example, if you live on Tribal lands, you can receive a discount on phone or internet services through the Lifeline program if your income is at or below 135% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines, or if you participate in one of the government assistance programs, including certain Tribal assistance programs.