The status of Indian treaty lands has a long and complex history. The Dawes Act of 1887 allowed sale of Indian lands, and a lot was sold and is still privately titled to White people. That's one reason that "dry" reservations often have private liquor stores embedded in them. The Dawes Act was superseded by a number of acts changing the status and laws governing the use of treaty lands.

Those families, mostly White, who for generations have maintained leases on government lands, might also be called "wards of Congress". I would bet that infuriates many, like the Oregon ranchers in prison, or the Bundy gang.