Okay, Jordan, I'll "bite!" The obvious answer to this is OF COURSE NOT!
But then you are probably referring to the earliest precedents set by the
Marshall Supreme Court that so-called defined the relationship between
the federal government and tribes, and the states and tribes, and lowered
tribal external sovereign status to that of "wards" of the U,S,
"guardian." I speak of the Marshall Trilogy in the early 1800s. These
are considered, by most I know, at least, to be "legal fictions." But
they still set the stage for current Indian/federal/state relationship
for the most part. I would be the first to agree that much of Indian
law is racist and does not serve to provide justice to Indian people most
of the time. I could continue...
And yes, your question was at the end of a long post and I missed it...
Kim Morris (Wakinyan Cikala- Lakota Nation)
Wakinyan@uclink2.berkeley.edu
Native American Studies
University of California at Berkeley
inbox-triballaw@uclink2.berkeley.edu (a list to provide a forum fo
Indian country tribal court decisions and law the effects Indian people)