FORT COLLINS, Colo. (AP) Junelle Lewis was on the hunt for a reprieve from Seattle-area gas prices driven high by the Iran war when an app on her phone gave her the answer: the Tulalip Reservation north of the city, almost half an hour from her home.

She didnt hesitate.

I purposely drove here just for the gas, Lewis said while filling up her Chevrolet Suburban at the Tulalip Market this week for $4.84 a gallon (3.8 liters) about 75 cents less than prices near home. Gas is ridiculous. But I have found, honestly, over the years, this gas station specifically is cheaper than a lot around here. Probably the cheapest.

Lewis isnt the only driver who has discovered that some of cheapest fuel can be found on Native American reservations.

Especially in California, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma and Washington state places with dozens of tribally owned stations, including some in busy travel corridors tribes exempt from state fuel taxes can sell for much less than competing stations nearby.

Gas prices push the drive to find bargains

Apps such as Gas Buddy make finding the cheapest gas easier than ever.

Nationwide, gasoline prices have risen by well over $1 since the Iran war began Feb. 28, reaching an average of $4.15 a gallon, according to AAA.

Prices have been higher, topping $5 during the summer of 2022, but economists believe they will continue heading up and contribute to inflation in the weeks of ahead as geopolitical tension persists.

Deals are to be found, though, at many of the almost 500 tribally owned convenience stores with gas stations across the U.S.

Fifty-five are in California. At the Chukchansi Crossing Fuel Station & Travel Center between Fresno and Yosemite National Park, the $5.09 gas was 60 cents less than nearby stations.

New Mexico resident Jamie Cross usually finds savings on the Mescalero Apache Reservation, where gas was as low as $3.79 this week.

I hope we dont go any higher, Cross said Thursday.

In eastern New York state, on Cattauragus Indian Territory between Buffalo and Erie, Pennsylvania, the cheapest gas was about $3.65 at more than half a dozen stations 50 cents less than in towns nearby.

Tribal lands find a fuel tax escape

So how do tribes do it? Two words: Tax exemptions.

Generally tribes must pay the federal fuel tax of 18.4 cents per gallon for gasoline and 24.3 cents per gallon for diesel, and pass that cost along to drivers. State fuel taxes are a different matter.

For well over a century, U.S. courts have found that states dont have authority to collect taxes from Native Americans on their land, said Dan Lewerenz, a University of North Dakota assistant law professor who specializes in Native American law.

The Supreme Court consistently held to this view and its one of the most enduring principles in federal Indian law, Lewerenz said.

Federally recognized Native American tribes are in 35 states with state gasoline taxes ranging from 9 cents per gallon in Alaska to 71 cents in California.

From there, things get complicated based on where the fuel is taxed at fuel terminals, say, or when distributors buy or sell fuel and depending on various agreements between states and tribes.

Court rulings come into play. In 2005, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that off-reservation distributors in Kansas may charge state tax on sales to tribes for on-reservation fuel sales. But in 2019, the Supreme Court held that an 1855 treaty between the U.S. and the Yakama Nation that ensured the free travel of tribal members on roads with their goods prohibited state fuel taxes on tribal lands in Washington state.

This is a little bit different than the principle that Indians arent taxed within Indian Country because this particular treaty reserved certain off-reservation rights for the Indians as well, Lewerenz said.

Gas is just one way stores make money

Convenience store gas sales are not as profitable as bringing people inside from the pumps.

Selling snacks adds profit. But tribal businesses are increasingly offering groceries in what otherwise would be food deserts far from grocery stores.

Sometimes these gas stations and convenience stores are the nearest, best place to purchase affordable food or household supplies, said Matthew Klas, with the Minneapolis-based consultant Klas Robinson Q.E.D.

Klas does market research and consults for tribal businesses and tracks the 245 tribes nationwide that, as of 2025, operated 496 convenience stores with gas stations.

Oklahoma, California, Washington, Arizona, New Mexico, Wisconsin, Michigan and New York have the most. Some tribes, including the Choctaw Nation in Oklahoma and Oneida Indian Nation in New York, have their own store chains.

Drive-through smoke shops, car washes and truck stop amenities also bring in revenue. Then there are the casinos: 205 tribally owned gas stations are located at or near casinos.

Some tribal casinos are resorts with gas stations. Some tribal gas stations are casinos of a sort called gasinos, which only have a small number of gambling machines.

Tribally owned businesses are a major revenue generator for Native American reservations. On the Seattle areas Tulalip Reservation, rising gas sales were being reinvested in the community, helping to cover the cost of roads, police, health care, education, housing and other needs, Tulalip Tribes Federal Corporation CEO Tanya Burns said in a statement.

Like any government, we provide critical services to our people, Burns said.

Its not just about savings

Its terrible, Todd Hall of Paden, Oklahoma, said of diesel prices as he spent about $90 to fill up his tow truck at the Citizen Potawatomi Nation gas station about 30 miles (48 kilometers) west of Oklahoma City.

But, he added: Theyre cheaper here than anywhere else.

Hall paid $4.57 per gallon for diesel, and said the price is over $5 at many locations in the area.

Mark Foster said he saves about $5 a week buying fuel at the tribally owned gas station. But hes a faithful customer because the tribe is a good community partner, he said.

I like the way the tribe operates, he said. And the price is good too.

At the Tulalip Market north of Seattle, Jared Blankenship was griping not about prices but that he was having to pay for gas at all.

Yeah, well, my electric car just got totaled, Blankenship said. So this sucks. This is new. Its either Costco or looking wherevers cheap, like the rez. So here we are.

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Lindsey Wasson in Seattle; Sean Murphy in Oklahoma City; Susan Montoya Bryan in Albuquerque, New Mexico; and Savannah Peters in Edgewood, New Mexico, contributed.

科罗拉多州柯林斯堡（美联社）——朱尼尔·刘易斯（Junelle Lewis）正苦于寻找西雅图地区因伊朗战争而飙升的油价缓解之道，这时她手机上的一个应用给出了答案：位于城市北部的图拉利普保留地，距离她家约半小时车程。

她毫不犹豫。

“我专程开车来这里就是为了加油，”刘易斯（Lewis）本周在图拉利普市场（Tulalip Market）为她雪佛兰萨博班（Chevrolet Suburban）加油时说道，这里的油价是每加仑（3.8升）4.84美元，比家附近便宜约75美分。“油价太离谱了。但说实话，多年来我发现这家加油站特别便宜，比周围很多地方都低，可能是最便宜的。”

刘易斯并非唯一发现美洲原住民保留地能提供最廉价燃油的司机。

尤其在加利福尼亚州、新墨西哥州、纽约州、俄克拉何马州和华盛顿州——这些地区拥有数十个部落所有的加油站，其中一些位于繁忙的交通要道——免除州燃油税的部落加油站可以比附近竞争对手的售价低得多。

油价飙升催生寻购优惠热潮

诸如Gas Buddy之类的应用程序让寻找最便宜的汽油变得比以往任何时候都更加容易。

美国汽车协会（AAA）数据显示，自2月28日伊朗战争爆发以来，全美汽油价格已大幅上涨逾1美元，目前均价达每加仑4.15美元。

尽管价格曾在2022年夏季达到5美元以上的峰值，但经济学家认为，在地缘政治紧张局势持续的情况下，价格将继续上涨，并在未来几周内加剧通胀。

然而，在美国各地近500家部落拥有的加油站便利店中，仍可找到优惠商品。

其中55家位于加利福尼亚州。在弗雷斯诺和约塞米蒂国家公园之间的楚克钱西十字路口加油站及旅行中心，每加仑5.09美元的油价比附近加油站便宜60美分。

新墨西哥州居民杰米·克罗斯（Jamie Cross）通常在梅斯卡莱罗阿帕奇保留地找到省钱的机会，本周该地区的汽油价格低至每加仑3.79美元。

克罗斯周四表示：“希望我们不要再往上升了。”

在纽约州东部，位于宾夕法尼亚州布法罗与伊利之间的卡托纳格斯印第安保留地，超过半数加油站的油价最低约为每加仑3.65美元，比邻近城镇便宜50美分。

部落领地找到燃油税豁免途径

那么部落是如何做到的呢？答案就两个字：免税。

通常情况下，各部落需为汽油支付每加仑18.4美分、柴油每加仑24.3美分的联邦燃油税，并将这部分成本转嫁给司机。而州燃油税则另当别论。

北达科他大学助理法学教授丹·莱韦伦茨（Dan Lewerenz）表示，一个多世纪以来，美国法院一直裁定各州无权向原住民征收其土地上的税款。莱韦伦茨的研究方向为原住民法律。

勒韦伦茨表示：“最高法院始终坚持这一观点，这是联邦印第安法律中最持久的原则之一。”

美国联邦政府认可的印第安部落分布在35个州，这些州的汽油税从阿拉斯加的每加仑9美分到加利福尼亚州的71美分不等。

此后情况会变得复杂，具体取决于燃料在何处被征税——比如是在燃料终端，还是在分销商买卖燃料时——以及各州与部落之间的各种协议。

法院裁决开始发挥作用。2005年，美国最高法院裁定，堪萨斯州的保留地外分销商可对向部落销售保留地内燃油的行为征收州税。但2019年，最高法院认定，根据1855年美国与雅卡马民族签订的条约——该条约保障部落成员携带货物在道路上自由通行——华盛顿州的部落土地上禁止征收州燃油税。

卢文伦兹表示：“这与印第安人在印第安保留地内免税的原则略有不同，因为这项特殊条约还为印第安人保留了某些保留地以外的权利。”

加油站只是商店盈利的一种方式

便利店通过加油泵吸引顾客进店消费，其利润要高于单纯的汽油销售。

销售零食能增加利润。但部落企业正越来越多地在原本属于“食品荒漠”（远离杂货店的地区）的地方提供食品杂货。

总部位于明尼阿波利斯的咨询公司Klas Robinson Q.E.D.的顾问马修·克拉斯表示：“有时，这些加油站和便利店是购买平价食品或家居用品最近、最便利的去处。”

克拉斯为部落企业提供市场调研和咨询服务，并跟踪统计全国245个部落的经营情况。截至2025年，这些部落共运营着496家附带加油站的便利店。

俄克拉荷马州、加利福尼亚州、华盛顿州、亚利桑那州、新墨西哥州、威斯康星州、密歇根州和纽约州的数量最多。包括俄克拉荷马州的乔克托族（Choctaw Nation）和纽约州的奥奈达印第安部落（Oneida Indian Nation）在内的部分原住民部落，已拥有自己的连锁商店体系。

免下车烟草店、洗车服务以及卡车休息站设施同样贡献了收入。此外还有赌场：205个部落拥有的加油站就设在赌场内部或周边。

部分部落赌场是附带加油站的度假村，而一些部落加油站则是一种被称为‘加油赌场’（gasinos）的特殊赌场，仅配备少量赌博机。

部落企业是美洲原住民保留地的重要收入来源。图拉利普部落联邦公司首席执行官坦尼娅·伯恩斯（Tanya Burns）在一份声明中表示，在西雅图地区图拉利普保留地，不断增长的汽油销售收入被重新投资于社区建设，用于支付道路、警务、医疗、教育、住房及其他需求的费用。

伯恩斯表示：“与任何政府一样，我们为人民提供关键服务。”

这不仅关乎节省成本

俄克拉荷马州佩登市的托德·霍尔在位于俄克拉荷马城以西约30英里（48公里）的Citizen Potawatomi Nation加油站花费约90美元为他的拖车加满柴油后感叹道：“油价太离谱了。”

但他补充道：“这里的价格比其他任何地方都便宜。”

霍尔以每加仑4.57美元的价格购买了柴油，并表示该地区许多加油站的价格已超过5美元。

马克·福斯特表示，他在部落拥有的加油站购买燃油每周能节省约5美元。但他强调，自己成为忠实顾客是因为该部落是社区的优秀合作伙伴。

"我喜欢这个部落的运作方式，"他说道，"而且价格也很合适。"

在西雅图以北的图拉利普市场，贾里德·布兰肯希普抱怨的不是油价，而是他居然还要为汽油付钱。

“唉，我的电动车刚报废了，”布兰肯希普说，“真倒霉。这可是新车。现在要么去好市多，要么随便找个便宜地方，比如保留地。所以我们就来这儿了。”

西雅图的林赛·沃森、俄克拉荷马城的肖恩·墨菲、新墨西哥州阿尔伯克基的苏珊·蒙托亚·布莱恩，以及新墨西哥州埃奇伍德的萨凡纳·彼得斯参与了贡献。