Title: What is Native American sovereignty?
Headings: What is Native American sovereignty?
What is Native American sovereignty?
Content: Native American land cessions (1809-1891) Courtesy: Invasion of America / ArcGIS
Today, the American government still recognizes that Native Americans are defined by sovereignty and nationhood, but has taken it upon itself to limit the definition of tribal sovereignty to an arbitrary definition of “domestic dependent nations” that exist within the borders of the United States. The federal government currently recognizes 573 Native American nations. These nations still fight to regain the complete sovereignty over their internal affairs they enjoyed prior to entering into United States treaties. One of the most important contemporary examples of the relevance of tribal sovereignty is in the case of Carpenter v. Murphy currently pending before the Supreme Court. In Carpenter, the Supreme Court justices will determine whether an 1866 treaty between the United States and the Muscogee Creek Nation pertaining to land in the former Indian Territory of eastern Oklahoma constitutes an “Indian reservation” today under federal law. The case has the potential to revolutionize Native American sovereignty going forward. Depending on how the Supreme Court rules, jurisdiction over a significant portion of Oklahoma may be restored to the Creek Nation over lands they were dispossessed of well over a century ago. The Carpenter case is one of the most important Supreme Court cases on tribal sovereignty in the 21st century and I have spoken on the importance of affirming tribal sovereignty in the media as a favorable ruling for the Creek Nation would be revolutionary to all 573 Native American nations in their fight for the restoration of sovereignty and lands.⁵
"Brett Chapman, a criminal defense attorney and member of the Pawnee Nation argues this case affirms the tribe’s sovereignty. 'What I've got to say to is America has to honor our treaty promises I mean that's what this goes back to.