MSU IAH - Area Studies Americas notes PDF

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Ch. 2 of American indian politics Why are indigenous peoples nations and not minorities? 1 Tribal peoples are the original inhabitants of North America, separate peoples inhabiting specific territories that they wield governmental and jurisdiction over (33) 2 Tribes are treaty-recognized sovereigns (34) 3 Tribes are subject to the Trust Doctrine (36) 4 Tribes are subject to Plenary power (36) Important Chapter Data: 1 Federal and state governments did not delegate sovereignty to tribes: it is an original and inherent power (38). 2 Indian peoples belonged to their own nations and were not citizens of the United States (41). 3 Until the American Indian Citizen Act of 1924, the U.S. Constitution did not protect or apply to American Indian tribes and even after 1924 the protections of the U.S. Constitution did not necessarily apply to Indian people living on tribal lands. 4 Detribalization: Early attempts/successes to make individual Indians citizens of the United States included a provision that American Indian individuals had to give up tribal citizenship and federal recognition. 5 1871 (see timeline and page 43): No more treaties will be negotiated. Despite a treaty, individual American Indians are ruled to be outside the United States. Federal law can override Indian treaty rights in some cases. 6 1884 (see timeline and page 43): American Indians are not subject to the jurisdiction of the United States so could not be citizens of the U.S. by birth. 7 1887: General Allotment Act. 8 1924: General Citizenship Act allowed individual Indians to maintain their tribal citizenships and affiliations. 9 American Indians have three polities (45): Individual American Indians are members/citizens of their own tribal nations, the United States and the State that they reside. 10 Be sure to understand that Indian tribal nations are extraconstitutional governments (46). 11 What does "ethnocide" mean (48)? The sources the rest of the book will rely on are: cultural distinctiveness, property rights and political sovereignty.

Ameican indian politics (vii-32) Important concepts and terminology (references are for American Indian Politics): 5 Indian or American Indian are the most common appellations (xvii). See pages 21-24, "Lesson the First," Rethinking Michigan Indian History. 6 The "Introduction," American Indian Politics, covers five issues: intergovernmental relations, tribal leadership, treaty rights, the trust fund debacle and religious freedom (xxxix). Name some of the examples. 7 The "Introduction" stresses "the preexisting status of indigenous communities as separate and sovereign peoples," the "historical development of unique political, legal, economic, cultural, and moral rights and powers exercised by tribal nations," and the way the states, the government and the American public (in very specific cases) have sought to limit, deny or abrogate the sovereign status and treaty rights of American Indian communities. 8 Chapter 1: "Indigenous communities expect to be referred to by their own tribal names" (3). 9 Tribe can be defined from two perspectives: ethnological and political-legal (3). 10 Know how "federally recognized" and "plenary power" are defined. 11 Know the difference between administrative and congressional recognition of Indian tribes. 12 565 (and counting) federally recognized "indigenous entities" with 335 in the lower forty-eight. 13 Define non recognized groups, terminated tribes and state-recognized tribes. 14 Can you answer: "Who is an American Indian"? 15 Over 30 legal definitions of American Indian have been promulgated. American Indian Politics creates six categories: Blood Quantum (DIB), membership of a federally recognized American Indian community, residence "on or near" a federal Indian reservation, descendancy (descendants), self-identification and a "miscellaneous category" (a very confusing 6th). Have a working idea of what is Indian Land and how Indian Land is defined.

Ch. 3 Important Chapter Data: 12 Original Indigenous Governments (55-56) Kinship group or household was/is the basic social building block Individual/personal autonomy was/is essential and to be protected and respected Emotional-spiritual-physical connection to one's homeland has to be recognized and understood (learning is hunting) Political and spiritual worlds are not separated (ghost face) Sovereignty was/is vested in the community and not the leaders (six thumbs thick) Though males hold most the important political leadership positions, women were not discounted and sometimes and in some tribes did hold these same positions The primary thrust was/is more judicial than legislative 13 Transitional Constitutional Governments (56-62) Developed written constitutions (the Five Civilized Tribes example) Impact of state societies, especially Pueblo Peoples: prehistoric cultures, Spain, Mexico and the United States: Also, the influence of the "Spanish set from 1620" (58). For most tribes of the lower 48, "no nation was left unscathed by the forces of American expansion and colonialism." Understand "parallel political-religious world(s)" (58) The Cherokee Example Regulated their lives in accordance with common cultural traditions (60) Responded proactively to change caused by various foreign powers, ending with the United States Adopted/adapted to farming and animal husbandry Developed commercial ventures in the manner of white neighbors Adopted a republican style government (1827) However, the Cherokee were still REMOVED: the Trail of Tears (1838-1839) Study the Gallery below Still the Cherokee devised a new constitutional government (see page 61) Civil War and the General Allotment Act of 1887: What is holding lands in fee simple? Contemporary Constitutional Governments (62-82): For this Thursday-Friday

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Contemporary Constitutional Governments (62-82): Congressional and other investigations revealed poor living conditions for Indian people For example, 75% unemployment on the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation, Eagle Butte, South Dakota in 1963. I was five years old. The 1934 Indian Reorganization Act (IRA) Put an end to Allotment of Indian Lands (see page 63) Called for Indian Tribes to write and adopt tribal constitutions in the pattern of the United States Federal government 181 tribes accepted and 77 tribes rejected [and some, like in Michigan, were overlooked] The Secretary of the Interior had to approve of tribal constitutions and generally all amendments to those constitutions What is Termination? Native Nations as Corporate and Poverty-Stricken Bodies; or Native Nations as Corporations Most often applied to tribes not organized under the IRA but some of consequences applied to all tribes Was a mechanism to draw from funds meant to address poverty at a national level Indian Civil Rights Act (67) Generally interpreted to violate internal tribal sovereignty Purpose 1: to impose restrictions to tribes applicable to federal and state governments Purpose 2: to protect individual rights of all persons on the reservations The Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act of 1975. What is this? Tribal Councils (Legislative), Tribal Chairs (Executive) and Tribal Courts (Judicial) Traditional Courts, Courts of Indian Offenses and Modern Tribal Courts

IMPORTANT INFO FOR MIDTERM 17

The Crusades and its relation to the Age of Discovery By the end of the Middle Ages the word “crusade” had come to refer

to all wars undertaken on God’s behalf. Crusading – God commanding Christians to wage pre-emptive war – became a controlling idea. Religious repression was even harsher for those indigenous peoples who were able to organize serious resistance. Idols were destroyed, temples burned and those who celebrated Native rites were punished by death; festivities such as banquets, songs and dances, as well as artistic and intellectual activities (painting, sculpture, observations of stars, hieroglyphic writing) – all suspected of being inspired by the devil – were forbidden, and those who took part in them mercilessly hunted down and enslaved or murdered.[12] Through this long, violent period of consolidation of control over much of Europe, Africa and the Americas, the rationale for conquest slowly secularized. At first, people were attacked because they were not Christian. Then, they were attacked because they were not reasonable, because any reasonable person would be a Christian. Finally, they were attacked because they were not civilized, because any civilized society would embrace Christianity and Christians’ attempt to civilize them. 18

The role of the invented image of the American Indian by early explorers

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The Discovery Doctrine

Basic premise: As an illustrative instrument of the Discovery Doctrine, mapping is an act of possession and appropriation of European and Christian nations to claim American Indian lands. Claim to Indian land predates ownership by many, sometimes hundreds, of years. Claims do not mean ownership. The Doctrine of Discovery is an agreement between European nations to restrict each other's areas of potential colonization of the Americas. Wars and revanchism often change the borders of discovery claims. The United States of America negotiated for, fought wars to obtain and purchased the Discovery rights from European nations, most notably, England, France and Spain. The Three Definitions of the Doctrine of Discovery: 20 Expansive Definition: Discovery is Conquest. Might Is Right. 21 Absolute Definition: The discoverer has absolute legal title to property and land the mere act of "discovering" the land. 22 Preemptive Definition: The discoverer has the exclusive preemptive right to be the first purchaser to Indian land. Three Classes of Evidence are: 14 Political and diplomatic relations, which are documented and traceable.

15 The U.S. engaged in treaty-making, and treaties are legal documents. Relevant Supreme Court decisions, which are documented and recorded Three Classes of Evidence are:  Political and diplomatic relations, which are documented and traceable  The U.S. engaged in treaty-making, and treaties are legal documents  Relevant Supreme Court decisions, which are documented and recorded  NAGPRA: native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act  The theory of the rite of discovery o The right to negotiate with Indian tribes within claimed lands o The right to acquire lands from Indians tribes within claimed land  Causes: o Indians treaties o Policies and legal status o Indian tribes viewed as nations with limited sovereignty, skin to States or local governments  The theory of U.S. dominance o No more European competitors o Adoption of colonial policies and recognition of Indians as nations

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How maps influence thinking

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How maps are acts of possession and appropriation

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Maps are used to teach United States history from a east to west axis

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United States Constitution and the recognition of Tribal sovereignty and treaties as the supreme law of the land. Tribal sovereignty in the United States is the inherent authority of indigenous tribes to govern themselves within the borders of the United States of America. The U.S. federal government recognizes tribal nations as "domestic dependent nations" and has established a number of laws

attempting to clarify the relationship between the federal, state, and tribal governments. The reference to Indians in the Constitution is not to grant local sovereignty. The only references are: Article 1, Section 2, which states, "Representatives and direct taxes shall be apportioned among the several states which may be included within this union, according to their respective numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole number of free persons, including those bound to service for a term of years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other Persons." This reference is for determining the number of representatives and taxes for a state. This does not allow for the exclusion of Indians from taxes and later federal laws grant local sovereignty to tribal nations, but do not grant full sovereignty equivalent to that of foreign nations, hence the term "domestic dependent nations". Article 1, Section 8, which states, "[The Congress shall have Power...] To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes;" 27

The importance of Indian treaties.

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Basic Indian treaty rights: Sovereignty, lots of money owed, goods and services bought and paid for in advance and reserved rights. Reserved Rights. Indian tribes retain rights like fishing and hunting and land that was never given up or to the United States. Indian land is reserved land, reserved for the exclusive use of Indians, and is similar to other federal lands, like military reservations, which are reserved for the exclusive use of the U.S. Armed Forces. What is important is that these lands exist within the boundaries of states but are not state lands. Lots of money owed. Rather than describing the details, the simple fact is that the United States bought Indian land from Indian tribes. Therefore, the U.S. has paid and still owes Indian tribes lots of money, in the billions if not trillions of dollars. Goods and services bought and paid for in advance. Some of the money owed to Indian people and tribes was used to pay for education and for other goods. When Indian people exercise their right to attend a college or university tuition free, which is the case in Michigan, the right is something retained and not something given. Free tuition is not a gift but a payment for Indian land. Sovereignty: Indian tribes have governments, which are recognized by the treaty making process. In this way, Indian people are not simply ethnic minorities or racial groups. Their identities are

political. They are members of Indian tribes. Not other racial group or ethnic minority has governments. Sovereignty also confers the right to govern and like states Indian tribes can make laws of their own as long as those laws do not violate the U.S. Constitution. Take for example Indian casino operations. Tribes can open and operate casinos just like the states of Nevada and New Jersey. If the Supreme Court decides to make “gambling” unconstitutional, then Indian tribes and the many states engaged in legalized gambling would all have to cease operations.

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Plenary Power and Trust doctrine

http://wikis.evergreen.edu/reach2016/index.php/Plenary_power_doctrine http://scholarship.law.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi? article=1859&context=lawreview

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"Indigenous Peoples are Nations, Not Minorities"

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Detribalization: Assimilation/acculturation and Termination https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_assimilation_of_Native_America ns

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"Join, or Die" and the "Great Binding Law" This famous “Join or Die” snake, believed to have been created by Benjamin Franklin, has long enjoyed the distinction of being the first political cartoon published in an American newspaper. Few people realize, however, that it can also be viewed as a basic map. The image first appeared in the May 9, 1754, issue of Franklin’s Pennsylvania Gazette. By the 1750s, France and Great Britain had been arguing for years over the extent one another’s landholdings in the Americas. Franklin considered the American colonies to be dangerously fragmented and, through this cartoon and its accompanying article, hoped to convince the American colonies that they would have great power if they united against the threat of French expansion in North America. Admittedly, the “Join or Die” snake does not fit any standard definition of a map. But many basic elements of a map are present. Perhaps the image has

been best described at a “cartographic caricature,” or a map generalizing and exaggerating the American colonies’ most recognizable features—namely their locations and coastlines. The colonies are represented in geographic order, with the New England colonies at the head of the snake and South Carolina at its tail. [Note: The New England colonies are not listed individually and Georgia, oddly, does not appear at all.] The undulations of the snake’s body broadly suggest the curves of the North American east coast. The “Join or Die” snake enjoyed popularity long after its first publication in the Pennsylvania Gazette in 1754. Newspapers throughout the colonies copied and reprinted the image. For example, in 1774 Paul Revere adopted a snake device in the masthead of the Massachusetts Spy. As the years progressed, Franklin’s image lost its usefulness as a symbolic map, yet the powerful message of strength in unity it conveyed remained for centuries.

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The Albany Plan of Union (1774) https://history.state.gov/milestones/1750-1775/albany-plan

34 The three categories of indigenous governments The Indian Reorganization Act Three categories of indigenous governments: original; transitional constitutional; and, contemporary constitutional....