Commerce Clause

Professor Breaks Down Sovereignty and Explains its Significance

Year

Sovereignty is one of those terms we toss around without much thought. It is an important word within contemporary American Indian discussions. The term itself draws from legal, cultural, political, and historical traditions, and these traditions are connected to both European as well as Indigenous philosophies in complicated ways. A shared understanding of the term would be helpful to both local people working on their own issues, and working with surrounding communities. Rather than defining sovereignty as a term, what I hope to do here is acknowledge aspects of sovereignty that have become sticking points as Indigenous people assert their own self-determination. I won’t go into Indigenous philosophies about sovereignty because it’s probably none of your business...

Resource Type
Citation

Chad Uran, Shaawano. "Professor Breaks Down Sovereignty and Explains its Significance." Indian Country Today Media Network. January 2, 2014. Opinion. (https://indiancountrytoday.com/archive/professor-breaks-down-sovereignt…, accessed March 2, 2022)

Native American Lands and the Supreme Court

Producer
C-SPAN Video Library
Year

Tribal judge and legal scholar Angela Riley (Citizen Potawatomi) spoke in the U.S. Supreme Court chamber about the history of the Supreme Court and Native American lands. The lecture was one in a series hosted by the Supreme Court Historical Society on the Constitution, the Supreme Court, and property rights‚ Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg introduced Professor Riley...

People
Resource Type
Citation

Riley, Angela. "Native American Lands and the Supreme Court." Supreme Court Historical Society on the Constitution, the Supreme Court, and property rights, Supreme Court Historical Society. Washington, DC. Nov 14, 2012. Presentation. (https://www.c-span.org/video/?309427-1/native-american-lands-supreme-court, accessed August 21, 2013) 

Tribal Sovereignty: The Right to Self-Rule

Producer
Tribal Eye Productions
Year

This is an excerpt of a longer educational DVD produced to answer frequently asked questions about American Indian tribal governments and the roots of tribal sovereignty. Among other things, it discusses the U.S. Constitution's explicit acknowledgement of tribal sovereignty and Native peoples as political entities, not ethnic minorities.

People
Citation

Robinson, Gary. "Tribal Sovereignty: The Right to Self-Rule." Tribal Eye Productions. 2007. Flim. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3pohsdryNc, accessed March 20, 2013)

The situation of indigenous peoples in the United States of America

Author
Year

In this report, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples examines the human rights situation of indigenous peoples in the United States, on the basis of research and information gathered, including during a visit to the country from 23 April to 4 May 2012. During his mission, the Special Rapporteur held consultations with United States officials as well as with indigenous peoples, tribes, and nations in Washington, D.C., Arizona, Alaska, Oregon, Washington state; South Dakota and Oklahoma, both in Indian country and in urban areas. Appendices I and II to this report include, respectively, summaries of information provided by the Government and of information submitted by indigenous peoples, organizations and individuals in connection with the mission...

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Citation

Anaya, James. "The situation of indigenous peoples in the United States of America." Report of the Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples. Human Rights Council. General Assembly. United Nations. Geneva, Switzerland. August 30, 2012. Paper. (http://unsr.jamesanaya.org/docs/countries/2012-report-usa-a-hrc-21-47-add1_en.pdf, accessed February 13, 2024)

Race and American Indian Tribal Nationhood

Year

This article bridges the gap between the perception and reality of American Indian tribal nation citizenship. The United States and federal Indian law encouraged, and in many instances mandated, Indian nations to adopt race-based tribal citizenship criteria. Even in the rare circumstance where an Indian nation chose for itself whether or not to adopt a race-based citizenship rule, the nation invariably did, with the belief and expectationthat Indian nations had no choice. In fact, Indian nations do have a choice.

Resource Type
Citation

Fletcher, Matthew L.M. "Race and American Indian Tribal Nationhood." Wyoming Law Review. Volume 11, Number 2. 2011. Paper. (https://scholarship.law.uwyo.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1253&context=wlr, accessed June 7, 2023)