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Constitution of the United States

Constitution of the United States. Constitutional Convention. Constitution. U.S Constitution is derived from Haudenosaunee (or Iroquois Confederacy, aka Six Nations)

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Constitution of the United States

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  1. Constitution of the United States

  2. Constitutional Convention

  3. Constitution • U.S Constitution is derived from Haudenosaunee (or Iroquois Confederacy, aka Six Nations) • Their “Great League of Peace” established a confederacy across the Kanienkehaka (Mohawk), Onondaga, Cayuga, Oneida, Seneca, and Tuscarora Nations • Each Nations maintained its leadership but common issues would be decided by a Grand Council of Chiefs

  4. Constitution

  5. Constitution

  6. Constitution

  7. Constitution • Benjamin Franklin referenced the Iroquois model as he presented his Plan of Union at the Albany Congress in 1754, attended by representatives of the Iroquois and the seven colonies • He invited the Great Council members of the Iroquois to address the Continental Congress in 1776

  8. Indigenous Peoples and the U.S. Constitution • Congress has to power to “regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes” (Article 1, Section 8) • Supreme Court’s Marshall Trilogy • Johnson v. M’Intosh(1823) • Cherokee Nation v. Georgia (1831) • Worcester v. Georgia (1832)

  9. Frontier Wars

  10. Genocide • Indian Removal Acts of 1830 authorized the removal of Indigenous Peoples from their native territories to federal lands west of the Mississippi River • Led to the infamous Trail of Tears where over 4,000 Cherokees died • By 1837, Jackson’s administration had removed 46,000 Indigenous Peoples from their homeland and opening over 22 million acres of land to white settlement

  11. Sovereign Nation Treaty Making to Legislation • Cherokee Tobacco case (1870) • Supreme Court ruled that later congressional statutes trump earlier treaties • Court dealt a kill stroke to negotiating treaty policy making • Congress unilaterally ended the practice of treaty making with Indigenous Peoples the next year

  12. Assimilation: 1887-1933 • Indigenous sovereignty has since experienced increased limitations • Major Crimes Act of 1885 • Ex Parte Crow Dog (1883) • Dawes Act (1887) • to “civilize” Indigenous Peoples by removing their unique culture and heritage • Bureau of Indian Affairs, private organizations, and states began the widespread removal of children from indigenous families until the 1970s

  13. Devolution and Land Acquisition • Public Law 280 (1953) • Concurrent civil and criminal jurisdictions • Congress could extinguish the Indigenous title without being considering a ‘taking’ and having to provide just compensation • Tee-Hit-Ton v. United States (1955)

  14. “Self-determination” and Devolution • Nixon administration unilaterally severed government’s obligations towards many tribes • thereby leaving them subject to state authority • Indian Civil Rights Act (1968) • Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) (1988) • California v. Cabazon Band of Mission Indians (1987) • Seminole Tribe v. Florida (1996) • Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) (1978) • In Re Adoption of Baby Boy L (1982)

  15. Taking Lands • City of Sherill, New York v. Oneida Indian Nation of New York (2005) • Repurchase of Indigenous lands does not restore tribal sovereignty to that land • Nebraska v. Parker (2016) • Government can take 50,000 acres of reservation land without ‘diminishing’ Omaha reservation

  16. Indigenous Peoples and the U.S. Constitution • Federal devolution to states • eliminates sovereignty • invites conflict • forces Indigenous Peoples to lobby legislatures and seek judicial redress in state courts

  17. Indigenous Peoples and the U.S. Constitution • The shift from federal court jurisdiction to primarily state courts is problematic for Indigenous Peoples • Creates inconsistent precedent • Directly affects indigenous rights • Indigenous claims rarely win at state courts

  18. Indigenous Peoples and the U.S. Constitution • Federal government support of indigenous claims does not improve likelihood to win • Original treaties with Indigenous Peoples does not improve likelihood of securing rights • 370 treaties between the U.S. and Indigenous Peoples • Constitution provides little protection for Indigenous Peoples

  19. Indigenous Peoples and the U.S. Constitution • Indigenous Population • 576 federally recognized tribes in 2016 • 6.8 million Indigenous Peoples • 2% of the population of the U.S. • More than 100,000 Indigenous Peoples in Texas • Anadarko, Apache, Arapaho, Caddo, Cherokee, Cheyenne, Chickasaw, Comanche, Kawakawa, Kiowa, and Shawnee Peoples • Tigua of Ysleta del Sur Pueblo, Mescalero Apache, Tortugas Pueblo, Pima, Suma, Manso, Comanche, Raramuri

  20. Indigenous Peoples and the U.S. Constitution • Thank you! • Questions? Rebecca A. Reid, PhD University of Texas at El Paso rareid@utep.edu

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