2. Tribal Sovereignty
Although tribal reservations are part of the United
States, each reservation is organized into
sovereign nations
Sovereignty means that the Indian tribes of the
United States have the right to organize for its
common welfare, adopt an appropriate
constitution and bylaws, and ratify any
amendments of said constitution
3. Tribal Sovereignty
Although tribal reservations are part of the
United States, each reservation is
organized into sovereign nations
Sovereignty means that the Indian tribes of
the United States have the right to
organize for its common welfare, adopt an
appropriate constitution and bylaws, and
ratify any amendments of said constitution
4. Tribal Sovereignty
Although the Native American reservations are
defined as sovereign nations, the American
government still has a lot of authority in tribal
affairs through its federal agency: The Bureau of
Indian Affairs.
5. 25 U.S.C.A. § 476
Also called Title 25
§ 476 or Title 25
Defines the organization of Indian tribes
Bequeaths power to the tribal elders or the tribal
councils
The Marshall Trilogy built the basis of 25 U.S.C.A. §
476
6. 25 U.S.C.A. § 476 Rights
(a) Adoption.
Native Indian tribes have the right to organize for its common
welfare, may adopt an appropriate constitution and bylaws,
and ratify any amendments of said constitution when:
Ratified by a majority vote of the adult members of the tribe or
tribes at a special election authorized and called by the
secretary
Approved by the Secretary pursuant to subsection (d) of this
section
7. 25 U.S.C.A. § 476 Rights
Subsection (d) under section (a) states the
secretary shall call and hold an election:
Within 180 days after the receipt of a tribal
request for an election to ratify a proposed
constitution
90 days after the receipt of a tribal request
for election to ratify an amendment to the
constitution and bylaws
8. 25 U.S.C.A. § 476 Rights
Section (f) Privileges and immunities of Indian tribes
and prohibition on new regulations
Native reservations have protection and
immunity from:
Departments or agencies of the United States
disseminating any regulation making any decisions
or determinations in the tribe
9. History of 25 U.S.C.A. § 476
Marshall Trilogy (named after Chief Justice John
Marshall)
Johnson v. M’Intosh: A dispute over ownership of land in
what at the time was the Illinois Country
Cherokee Nation v. Georgia: Cherokee Nation argued they
were a sovereign and self-governing nation; hence, the
laws of Georgia did not apply to them
Worcester v. Georgia: Addressed whether the laws of the
State of Georgia applied in Cherokee lands
10. Complete Sovereignty Issue
Whether tribes should be seen as completely
sovereign nations
Complete sovereignty means that:
The Native Indian reservations have the
power to make their own decisions exclusively
through their tribal elders or their tribal
councils
Do not answer to the American government or
The Bureau of Indian Affairs.
11. Pursuit of Complete Sovereignty
Most tribes want to be completely sovereign as a
result of:
American government enacted
atrocities against the American
Indian
Relocation acts against the
civilized tribes
American government rarely
upheld their end on treaties
12. Government Orchestrated Atrocities
Thomas Jefferson, at the beginning of his
1801 presidency, dispatched the U.S. Army to
attack, terrorize, and destroy the Cherokee,
Shawness, Peankeshaw, Ouabash, Kickapoes,
Mingoes, Munsies, Windots, and Chickasaws
tribes.
Sand Creek Massacre: 700 drunk, well-armed
men attacked a village of 600 peaceful
native peoples of which two-thirds were
women and children
A fur trader was killed by Pequots, a
powerful tribe who controlled southern New
England’s fur trade; to retaliate, Connecticut
and Massachusetts soldiers, aided by
Narragansett allies, surrounded the main
Pequot fortified village and set it ablaze,
killing over 500 men, women, and children
who tried to escape.
13. Relocation Acts
Indian Removal Act
Signed by President Andrew
Jackson, transpired during
presidency of President Van Buren
Trail of Tears
Relocations of the Choctaw,
Creek, Cherokee, and Chickasaw
Nations, and ejection of the
Seminole Nation from their
lands. Most of the tribes who
were relocated were civilized
tribes
14. Lack of respect for treaties
The Treaty of Fort Laramie
Allowed the Sioux to continue to hunt in areas
outside the reservation as long as big game
was available
The U.S. government agreed to provide food,
blankets, and other supplies to the Sioux
The U.S. government often failed to uphold its
end of the agreements and failed at making
regular payments for the land, and decreased
or cut back on the promised supplies
15. Opposed to Complete Sovereignty
If the native reservations were sovereign, there
would be tiny sovereign states inside America’s
states
Some tribes lack the ability to sustain themselves
Federal government and The Bureau of Indian
Affairs would no longer be there to protect and
manage the native reservations
16. Opposed to Complete Sovereignty
If the native reservations were sovereign, there would
be tiny sovereign states inside America’s states
Article I, Section 8, Clause 3 of United States
Constitution states that the United States Congress shall
have power to regulate commerce with foreign Nations,
and with the Indian Tribes.
If the reservations were sovereign, the United States
constitution’s power over the reservations, and the
powers bequeathed from the constitution therein, would
no longer exist
17. Opposed to Complete Sovereignty
Some tribes lack the ability to sustain
themselves
Some tribes such as the Navajo Nation and
Cherokee Nation are wealthy and influential
compared to the smaller tribes
Casinos
Native-Indian-made products
Monuments which attract tourism
18. Opposed to Complete Sovereignty
Federal government and The Bureau of Indian
Affairs would no longer be there to protect and
manage the native reservations
Some Native Indian tribes see the federal
government as their guardian, and rely on the
federal governments for their protection, although
this does not impede with their rights of self-
governance
Bureau of Indian Affairs would have to be eliminated
19. Personal Position
The Five Civilized Tribes prove that certain native tribes
can survive, even more so in the 21st century now that
technology surpasses when the tribes were allowed to
govern themselves
Seminole Bought Rights to Hard Rock Café Franchise
Certain wealthy tribes could be completely sovereign and
support themselves as they did before the European
settlers came
The wealthy tribes have the influence to maintain an
agreement between the sovereign nation and the United
States government, which states that American citizens
can travel and play at sovereign nation owned casinos,
and tribes that have franchise rights such as the Seminole
can maintain franchising in the United States; smaller and
less wealthy tribes do not have this luxury
20. Personal Position
Obstacles to Complete Sovereignty
Less wealthy tribes do not have the resources to
sustain a sovereign nation state
Native Indians have been perceived as the enemy
in the past, especially after The French and Indian
War, The Civil War, and The War for Independence
Elimination of a lot of jobs in The Bureau of Indian
Affairs
The Bureau of Indian Affairs and tribal
agencies, in 2000, employed about
2,300 full time law officers and 1,160
support personnel
21. Judgement
I believe that the large and wealthy tribes
that can survive as complete sovereign nations
should do so
Small and less wealthy Native Indian tribes
who cannot survive with complete sovereignty
should remain self-governing under the rights
bequeathed by 25 U.S.C.A. § 476
The federal government could possibly
implement a policy that makes the tribal
elders and The Bureau of Indian affairs as
equals, which positions the tribal councils and
The Bureau of Indian Affairs as the vanguards
against tribal issues such as with lack of
water, sewerage, and telecommunications
22. References
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Alaska Press.
Drew, B. (2014). The great amnesia. Southwest Review, 99(4), 556.
Foner, E. (2014). An American history: Give me liberty!. (4th ed., Vol. 1). NY, New York: W.W.
Norton & Company.
Fortson, R. (2015). Advancing tribal court criminal jurisdiction in Alaska. Alaska Law Review,
32(1), 93-152.
Jalata, A. (2013). The impacts of terrorism and capitalist incorporation on indigenous
Americans. Journal Of World-Systems Research, 19(1), 130-152.
Kowalski, K. (2015). False promises. Cobblestone, 36(1), 2.
Mathers, R. (2012). The failure of state-led economic development on American Indian
reservations. Independent Review, 17(1), 65-80.
McCarthy, R. (2004). The bureau of Indian affairs and the Federal trust obligation to
American Indians. BYU Journal of Public Law, 19(1), 1-160.
Organization of Indian tribes; constitution and bylaws and amendment thereof; special
election. 25 U.S.C.A. § 476. (2004).
Stouff, C. (2003). Native Americans and homeland security: Failure of the Homeland
Security Act to recognize tribal sovereignty. Penn State Law Review, 108375.
U.S. Const. art, I, § 8, Clause 3
