Sovereignty movement (Native American)

Sovereignty movement (Native American)
Name	Sovereignty movement (Native American)
Location	North America
Dates	19th century–present
Causes	Treaty violations; Indian Removal Act aftermath; Dawes Act dispossession; Tribal sovereignty disputes
Status	Ongoing

Sovereignty movement (Native American) is a transnational political and legal movement by Indigenous peoples in North America asserting inherent, treaty-based, and statutory rights of self-determination for tribes such as the Navajo Nation, Cherokee Nation, Lakota, Haudenosaunee, and Ojibwe. It links historical events like the Trail of Tears, the Wounded Knee Massacre, and the Indian Reorganization Act to contemporary disputes involving entities such as the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Supreme Court of the United States, and the United Nations mechanisms for Indigenous rights.

Background and Historical Context

European colonization events including Jamestown, Virginia, Plymouth Colony, and later treaties such as the Treaty of Greenville and the Treaty of Fort Laramie established early legal frameworks contested by tribal nations like the Sioux Nation, Apache, and Seminole. Federal statutes and policies exemplified by the Indian Removal Act, Indian Appropriations Act of 1871, and the Dawes Act reshaped land tenure for the Choctaw Nation, Chickasaw, and Pueblo peoples, while landmark confrontations at sites like Little Bighorn and Wounded Knee galvanized leaders including Sitting Bull, Geronimo, Chief Joseph, and activists later represented by figures such as Russell Means and Alicia Towne. The early 20th century saw legal developments involving the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924 and the Indian Reorganization Act under administrators like John Collier that influenced tribal institutions such as the Iroquois Confederacy and the Blackfeet Nation.

Legal Foundations and Sovereignty Claims

Sovereignty arguments draw on treaties such as the Treaty of Canandaigua, judicial decisions including Worcester v. Georgia, Johnson v. M'Intosh, McGirt v. Oklahoma, and statutory frameworks like the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act and the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. Tribal jurisprudence involves litigants and jurists from entities like the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, Oneida Nation, and the Yakama Nation, and courts including the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and the Supreme Court of Canada when cross-border issues implicate the Haida Nation and Tsilhqot'in Nation. International law forums such as the International Labour Organization Convention 169 and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples also inform claims advanced by representatives like Wilma Mankiller and Elouise Cobell.

Major Movements and Key Organizations

Movements have been organized by coalitions like the American Indian Movement, the National Congress of American Indians, the Native American Rights Fund, and the Indigenous Environmental Network, with regional bodies such as the Alaska Native Regional Corporations, the Métis National Council, and the Assembly of First Nations influencing strategy alongside tribal governments like the Pueblo of Zuni and the Sisseton Wahpeton Sioux Tribe. Cultural organizations including the First Nations Development Institute and academic centers at institutions like Harvard University, University of New Mexico, and University of British Columbia have supported legal advocacy by figures such as Ada Deer and Brian Cladoosby.

Protests, Direct Actions, and Notable Campaigns

High-profile actions include occupation events at Wounded Knee (1973), the Alcatraz Occupation (1969–1971), anti-extraction campaigns at Standing Rock, legal protests over projects like the Keystone XL and the Dakota Access Pipeline, and treaty rights enforcement such as the Fish Wars in the Pacific Northwest and the Red Power demonstrations that featured leaders like Grace Thorpe and Leonard Peltier. Coalitions involving groups like Earthjustice, Sierra Club, and tribal legal teams pursued litigation at venues including the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and administrative hearings at the Environmental Protection Agency.

Impact on Federal, State, and Tribal Relations

Decisions such as McGirt v. Oklahoma and precedents from Cherokee Nation v. Georgia reshaped jurisdictional boundaries among the State of Oklahoma, tribal nations like the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, and federal agencies like the Department of the Interior. Intergovernmental compacts between tribes such as the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community and states, gaming compacts under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, and revenue-sharing agreements with corporations like Harrah's and Peabody Energy altered fiscal relationships and service delivery responsibilities previously managed by the Bureau of Indian Education and the Indian Health Service.

Contemporary Issues and Debates

Current debates focus on land-back initiatives involving organizations like Land Back Kenosha and legal strategies pursued by plaintiffs represented by the Native American Rights Fund in cases against fossil fuel firms including ExxonMobil and Chevron. Contentious topics include jurisdictional disputes in cases such as Sharp v. Murphy precedents, tribal enrollment controversies involving the Cherokee Freedmen, resource management conflicts over salmon runs implicating the Colville Confederated Tribes and commercial fisheries, and recognition processes overseen by the Bureau of Indian Affairs that affect nations like the Lumbee Tribe and Muwekma Ohlone Tribe.

Cultural and Economic Dimensions of Sovereignty

Cultural resurgence efforts link language revitalization programs for Lakota language, Navajo language, and Ojibwe to institutions such as the Smithsonian Institution and the National Museum of the American Indian, while economic sovereignty initiatives include tribal enterprises like the Makah Tribe fisheries, tribal casinos operated by the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community and Mohegan Tribe, renewable energy projects with partners like Tesla, Inc. and community development backed by World Bank-style funds and philanthropies including the Ford Foundation. Cultural heritage protection invokes statutes like the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act and collaborations with museums such as the Field Museum and Royal Ontario Museum to repatriate artifacts to nations including the Hopi Tribe and Kwakwaka'wakw.

Category:Indigenous rights