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Indian reservation

Indian reservation

12 5.0
Land set aside for a Native American tribe to live on and use
  • noun
  • /ˈɪndiən ˌrɛzərˈveɪʃən/
  • Formal
translation icon : reserva india
  • The local community developed many cultural programs on the Indian reservation to promote their traditions.
  • American Indian reservations
  • gaming on Indian reservations

But we did find out because we we're right next to the Flathead Indian Reservation that Native Americans cannot be around human body parts.

Examples

  • We did not include data from Indian reservations in our analysis.

    Academic text (2013)
  • Look at what is happening on Indian reservations and what is happening in the inner city.

    Blog text (26)
  • Say, you know why they put that Indian reservation way out there where they did?

  • An Indian reservation not far from here near the border.

  • Have you ever spent time on any of the Indian reservations in Wisconsin?

    Blog text (29)
  • She wants to go back to her mother up on the Indian reservation.

  • Originally, the federal district courts possessed jurisdiction over criminal cases on federal military posts and Indian reservations.

    Academic text (1993)
  • Additionally, a call for research that focuses on the specific technological needs and desires of American Indian reservations is necessary.

    Academic text (2007)
  • Schools were selected from a stratified sample to vary in location, proximity to Indian reservations, size, and type.

    Academic text (2011)
  • The extensive forests on some Indian reservations made them attractive targets for exploitation in the early twentieth century.

    Academic text (1995)

Synonyms

reservation
vsIndian reservation
  • US
166 5.0

An area of land set aside by a government for native people or to protect wildlife

is specifically for tribal use under federal supervision rather than general government land
reserve
vsIndian reservation
49 4.4

A protected area of land for wildlife or local people

is land meant for tribal occupancy under federal supervision rather than for general purposes

Surface Forms

Morphology

Indian + reservation

The phrase is directly compositional: 'Indian' (relating to indigenous American peoples) + 'reservation' (a tract of land set aside) yields the meaning of land set aside for Native American groups. While specific legal or historical details about U.S. federal supervision might not be fully inferable, a B1 learner who knows both constituents will grasp the basic concept.

Etymology

Indian reservation comes from the United States government 'reserving' land for Native American tribes. Because the land was set aside for the tribe to live on, reservation came to mean the area where a tribe lives today.