 Pre @-@ Revolutionary land transactions remained the subject of political and legal disputes well after Independence . However , in sharp contrast to post @-@ 1790 transactions , no Indian tribe has yet succeeded in litigating or receiving compensation for a pre @-@ 1790 transaction . The prevailing view remains that the colonial governments , and the state governments that succeeded them during the Confederation era , had the power to authorize the alienation of indigenous lands within their borders . 
