Koshkonong v. Burton was a United States Supreme Court case that dealt with the issue of whether a state could tax a reservation owned by a Native American tribe. The case arose when the state of Wisconsin attempted to tax a reservation owned by the Koshkonong tribe. The tribe argued that the state had no authority to tax the reservation, as it was owned by the tribe and was not subject to state taxation. The Supreme Court agreed with the tribe, ruling that the state had no authority to tax the reservation. The Court held that the reservation was owned by the tribe and was not subject to state taxation. The Court also held that the tribe had the right to self-governance and that the state could not interfere with the tribe's right to self-governance. The Court's ruling established that Native American tribes have the right to self-governance and that states cannot interfere with this right.

In Koshkonong v. Burton, the United States Supreme Court was tasked with determining whether a Wisconsin statute that allowed for the sale of land to pay off debts was constitutional. The majority opinion held that it did not violate any provision in the Constitution and therefore upheld its validity. However, Justice Field dissented from this decision on two grounds: firstly, he argued that Congress had exclusive authority over public lands and thus could not be superseded by state law; secondly, he contended that even if Congress had ceded some power to states regarding such matters, they still could not pass laws which would impair existing contracts or deprive citizens of their property without due process of law as guaranteed by the Fifth Amendment. In conclusion, Justice Field believed that while states may have been given certain powers concerning public lands under federal statutes passed prior to 1848 (when Wisconsin became a state), those powers were limited and did not extend so far as allowing them to pass legislation which violated fundamental rights protected by the U.S Constitution.