Isabella Carter
The United States Constitution has been interpreted in various ways when it comes to the question of American Indian treaties. On the one hand, the Constitution, under Article VI, declares treaties to be the supreme Law of the Land, and the Court has affirmed that treaties with Indian nations are protected under the Constitution. Additionally, when property rights have been conferred upon Native Americans through treaties, these rights are protected by the Constitution to the same extent as those of other US citizens. However, despite the legal framework, the US government has a long history of breaking promises made in treaties with Native American tribes, often using treaties to punish them and secure land cessions. In 1871, Congress prohibited the federal government from making new treaties with American Indian tribes, but this did not modify or invalidate existing treaties. This complex history raises important questions about the constitutionality of defying previous American Indian treaties.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Treaties between the federal government and American Indian tribes | Set out the duties and responsibilities that the federal government owes to a particular tribe |
| Cover issues such as land boundaries, hunting and fishing rights, and guarantees of peace | |
| Treaties can be found in | Charles Kappler’s Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties (Kappler's) |
| The United States Statutes at Large | |
| Number of treaties | 400 |
| Treaties are | The supreme law of the land |
| Binding on the courts | |
| Treaties with American Indian tribes are prohibited since | 1871 |
| Treaties cover | Healthcare services, education, and economic opportunities |
| Treaties with Native Americans | Protect their property rights |
Explore related products
$26.75 $29.95
What You'll Learn
- The US Constitution's recognition of treaties as supreme law of the land
- The US government's use of treaties to punish Native nations
- The power to make treaties with Indian tribes
- The protection of individual Native Americans' property rights
- The US government's failure to uphold promises made in treaties
The US Constitution's recognition of treaties as supreme law of the land
The US Constitution, in Article VI, paragraph 2, recognises treaties as the supreme law of the land, on equal footing with acts of Congress. This clause was a response to a weakness in the Articles of Confederation, which previously governed the US.
The Constitution grants the President the power to make treaties, with the advice and consent of the Senate, provided two-thirds of the Senators present concur. Treaties are contracts between two nations, not legislative acts, and they do not generally affect the object to be accomplished, especially within the nation's territory. However, they are carried out by the sovereign.
Treaties with American Indian tribes set out the duties and responsibilities of the federal government to a particular tribe. They cover issues such as land boundaries, hunting and fishing rights, and guarantees of peace. Hundreds of treaties were made between the US and American Indian tribes between 1778 and 1871. These treaties were made with the executive branch, with the advice and consent of the Senate.
In 1871, Congress passed a law prohibiting the federal government from making new treaties with American Indian tribes. However, this law did not invalidate or modify any obligations of treaties made before this date. The rights conferred upon individual Native Americans, whether by treaty or under an act of Congress, are protected by the Constitution, to the same extent as the rights of other US citizens.
The Evolution of Indian Constitution: Bill Count
You may want to see also
The US government's use of treaties to punish Native nations
Treaties between the US government and Native American tribes were entered into from 1778 to 1871. These treaties were made between the tribes and the executive branch, with the advice and consent of the Senate. Treaties were used to outline the duties and responsibilities of the federal government to a particular tribe, and could cover issues such as land boundaries, hunting and fishing rights, and guarantees of peace.
The US government used treaties as a means to displace Native Americans from their tribal lands, a mechanism that was strengthened with the Removal Act of 1830. This act, along with the Indian Removal Policy, resulted in the removal of nearly 50,000 eastern Native Americans to Indian Territory and the opening of millions of acres of land to white settlers. The Cherokee Nation resisted this removal, challenging in court the Georgia laws that restricted their freedoms on tribal lands.
In 1871, Congress enacted a law prohibiting the federal government from making new treaties with Native American tribes. However, this law did not invalidate or modify any obligations of treaties made before 1871. Since then, federal and state governments have continued to enter into contracts and agreements with tribes on various topics, including healthcare, education, and economic opportunities.
Today, Native American treaties are a closed account in the constitutional law ledger. However, the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) houses original treaties made between the US and Native American nations, as well as instructions issued to treaty commissioners, minutes of treaty councils, and other related records.
Dual Citizenship: Is It Allowed Under Indian Constitution?
You may want to see also
The power to make treaties with Indian tribes
The United States Constitution empowered Congress to regulate commerce with foreign nations, among several states, and with Indian tribes. Treaties between the federal government and American Indian tribes set out the duties and responsibilities that the federal government owes to a particular tribe. Treaties can cover issues such as land boundaries, hunting and fishing rights, and guarantees of peace.
In the early cases of Cherokee Nation v. Georgia and Worcester v. Georgia, the Court held that the Cherokee Nation was not a sovereign state within the meaning of that clause of the Constitution that extends the judicial power of the United States to controversies between a state or the citizens thereof and foreign states, citizens or subjects. The Court also held that the Constitution, by declaring treaties already made, as well as those to be made, to be the supreme law of the land, had adopted and sanctioned the previous treaties with the Indian nations, and consequently admitted their rank among those powers who are capable of making treaties.
Later cases established that the power to make treaties with the Indian tribes was coextensive with the power to make treaties with foreign nations. That is, the states were incompetent to interfere with rights created by such treaties. As long as the United States recognized the national character of a tribe, its members were under the protection of treaties and of the laws of Congress, and their property was immune from taxation by a state.
In 1871, Congress enacted a law prohibiting the federal government from making new treaties with American Indian tribes. This law, however, did not invalidate or modify any obligation of any treaty lawfully made and ratified before March 3, 1871. Since 1871, federal and state governments have continued to enter into contracts and agreements with tribes on multiple topics, including healthcare services, education, and economic opportunities.
India's Constitution: Effective or Obsolete?
You may want to see also
Explore related products
The protection of individual Native Americans' property rights
Treaties between the US federal government and Native American tribes set out the duties and responsibilities that the federal government owes to a particular tribe. Treaties can cover issues such as land boundaries, hunting and fishing rights, and guarantees of peace.
The US Constitution states that treaties with Native American tribes are the supreme law of the land, and that the US government has a duty to protect Native American assets and resources. Treaties made with Native American tribes are stored in the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), which also houses instructions issued to treaty commissioners, minutes of treaty councils, and other records related to the treaties.
In 1871, Congress enacted a law prohibiting the federal government from making new treaties with Native American tribes. However, this law did not invalidate or modify any "obligation of any treaty lawfully made and ratified with any such Indian nation or tribe prior to March 3, 1871".
When definite property rights have been conferred upon individual Native Americans, whether by treaty or under an act of Congress, they are protected by the Constitution to the same extent and in the same way as the private rights of other US residents or citizens. For example, in the case of certain Indian allottees, the Court held that they had acquired vested rights of exemption from state taxation that were protected by the Fifth Amendment.
The unique relationship between Native Americans and their territories has been broadly recognized in international human rights law. Article 21 of the American Convention and Article XXIII of the American Declaration protect this close bond with the land, as well as with the natural resources of the ancestral territories. The Inter-American Court has noted that among Native Americans, there is a communitarian tradition regarding a communal form of collective property of the land, in the sense that ownership of the land is not centered on an individual but rather on the group and its community.
The Indian Mineral Development Act of 1982 (IMDA) increased Native American self-governance on extraction. Tribes and individuals gained the right to negotiate their own “mineral development agreements” (MDAs) with companies. An individual Native American can include their mineral interests in a tribally-negotiated MDA.
Indian Constitution: Unique Features and Global Standout
You may want to see also
The US government's failure to uphold promises made in treaties
Treaties between the US government and Native American tribes were meant to set out the duties and responsibilities that the federal government owed to a particular tribe. These treaties were negotiated to establish borders and prescribe conditions of behaviour between the parties. Hundreds of treaties were entered into between tribes and the US government between 1778 and 1871.
However, the relentless pace of westward expansion by white settlers conflicted with the idea that each tribal group was an independent nation with its own right to self-determination and self-rule. This resulted in broken promises and unkept treaty agreements on the part of the US government. Treaties were often negotiated with Native tribes that did not have the authority to sell the land, and as more settlers moved west, the tribes' territory was further reduced.
In 1862, the Dakota people, who had already lost territory due to broken treaties, were pushed further when treaty payments failed to arrive. The hungry Dakota appealed to traders to sell them food on credit, to which the reply was, "So far as I am concerned, if they are hungry, let them eat grass or their own dung." This led to an attack by the Dakota warriors, who chose to defend their way of life in battle.
In 1972, Native American activists embarked on a new campaign for Native American rights, inspired by the Civil Rights Movement and Third World Movements. Called the Trail of Broken Treaties, the demonstration brought caravans of activists from the West Coast to Washington, DC, to demand redress for years of failed and destructive federal Indian policies. The campaign was ultimately overshadowed by the activists' week-long occupation of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) building and the negative press that resulted.
While the Trail of Broken Treaties did not accomplish all that its organizers had hoped, it did set a new course for self-determination and tribal recognition, with many of its objectives later incorporated into American Indian policy.
Beef Ban: India's Constitutional Dilemma
You may want to see also
Frequently asked questions
The US Constitution empowers Congress to "regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian tribes". The President also has the power to "make Treaties, provided two-thirds of the Senators present concur".
Treaties between the US federal government and American Indian tribes cover issues such as land boundaries, hunting and fishing rights, and guarantees of peace.
In 1871, Congress prohibited the federal government from making new treaties with American Indian tribes. However, this law did not invalidate or modify any obligations under existing treaties. Since then, the federal and state governments have continued to enter into contracts and agreements with tribes on various topics, including healthcare, education, and economic opportunities.
The US courts have held that American Indian tribes are not sovereign states within the meaning of the US Constitution. However, the courts have also recognised that treaties with American Indian tribes are "supreme law of the land" and that tribes have the capacity to make treaties.
The US government has often gone back on its promises made to Native American tribes, particularly in relation to land cessions. For example, under President Jackson, the US government negotiated treaties to remove Indians from their lands, resulting in the relocation of nearly 50,000 eastern Indians to Indian Territory. The Cherokee Nation specifically resisted this removal, challenging Georgia laws that restricted their freedoms on tribal lands.
