Cite as: 533 U. S. 353 (2001)
Opinion of O'Connor, J.
courts, we clarified that "[a]s to nonmembers . . . a tribe's adjudicative jurisdiction does not exceed its legislative jurisdiction." Id., at 453. Again, we considered the status of the land where the nonmember activities occurred. In accord with Montana, we "readily agree[d]" "that tribes retain considerable control over nonmember conduct on tribal land." 520 U. S., at 454. But we determined that the right-of-way acquired for the State's highway rendered that land equivalent to "alienated, non-Indian land." Ibid. Applying Montana, we concluded that the defendant's allegedly tortious conduct did not constitute a consensual relationship that gave rise to tribal court jurisdiction. 520 U. S., at 456- 457. We also found that "[n]either regulatory nor adjudica-tory authority over the state highway accident . . . is needed to preserve 'the right of reservation Indians to make their own laws and be ruled by them.' " Id., at 459.
Just last month, we applied Montana in a case concerning a Tribe's authority to tax nonmember activity occurring on non-Indian fee land. Atkinson Trading Co. v. Shirley, 532 U. S. 645 (2001). In that case, the Tribe argued that it had the power to tax under Merrion, supra. We disagreed, distinguishing Merrion on the ground that the Tribe's inherent power to tax "only extended to 'transactions occurring on trust lands and significantly involving a tribe or its members.' " 532 U. S., at 653 (quoting Merrion, supra, at 137). We explained that "Merrion involved a tax that only applied to activity occurring on the reservation, and its holding is therefore easily reconcilable with the Montana-Strate line of authority, which we deem to be controlling." 532 U. S., at 653.
Montana and our other cases concerning tribal civil jurisdiction over nonmembers occupy a middle ground between our cases that provide for nearly absolute tribal sovereignty over tribe members, see generally Williams v. Lee, 358 U. S., at 218-223, and our rule that tribes have no inherent criminal jurisdiction over nonmembers, see Oliphant v. Suqua-
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