Native Americans
Who is an American Indian
or Alaska Native?
Are American Indians
and Alaska Natives citizens?
Can American Indians and
Alaska Natives vote?
Do American Indians and
Alaska Natives Have the Right to Hold Federal, State, and Local
Government Offices?
Historically, did all American
Indians and Alaska Natives speak a common language?
Government-to-Government Relationship
What is the legal status
of American Indians and Alaska Native Tribes?
What is the relationship
between the United States and the Tribes?
What does the term "Federally-Recognized
Tribe" mean?
Tribes
How are tribes organized?
What is a reservation?
Who is an American Indian or Alaska Native?
As a general principle, an Indian is a person
who is of some degree Indian blood and is recognized as an Indian
by a Tribe and/or the United States. No single federal or tribal
criterion establishes a person's identity as an Indian. Government
agencies use differing criteria to determine eligibility for programs
and services. Tribes also have varying eligibility criteria for
membership.
It is important to distinguish between the ethnological term "Indian" and
the political/legal term "Indian." The protections and services
provided by the United States for tribal members flow not from
an individual's status as an American Indian in an ethnological
sense, but because the person is a member of a Tribe recognized
by the United States and with which the United States has a special
trust relationship.
Are American Indians and Alaska Natives citizens?
American Indians and Alaska Natives are citizens
of the United States and of the states in which they reside. They
are also citizens of the Tribes according to the criteria established
by each Tribe.
Can American Indians and Alaska Natives vote?
American Indians and Alaska Natives have the
same right to vote as all United States citizens. American Indians
and Alaska Natives vote in state and local elections, as well as
in tribal elections. Just as state, federal, and local governments
have the sovereign right to establish voter eligibility criteria;
each Tribe has the right to decide its voter eligibility criteria
for tribal elections.
Do American Indians and Alaska Natives Have the Right to
Hold Federal, State, and Local Government Offices?
American Indians and Alaska Natives have the
same rights as all citizens to hold public office. In this century,
American Indian and Alaska Native men and women have held elected
and appointed offices at all levels of state, local, and federal
government.
Charles Curtis, a member of the Kaw Tribe of Kansas, served as
Vice President of the United States under President Herbert Hoover.
Indians have also been elected to the United States Congress. Tom
Cole, a member of the Chickasaw Nation, has represented Oklahoma
in the United States House of Representatives since his election
in 2002. Ben Nighthorse Campbell, a member of the Northern Cheyenne
Tribe of Montana, represented Colorado as in the United States
House of Representatives from 1987 until 1993 and in the Senate
from 1993 until 2005. Brad Carson, a member of the Cherokee Nation,
represented Oklahoma in the United States House of representatives
from 2001 until 2005.
Historically, did all American Indians and Alaska Natives
speak a common language?
American Indians and Alaska Natives speak many
diverse languages. At the end of the 15th Century, more than 300
American Indian and Alaska Native languages were spoken. Some were
linked by "linguistic stocks" which meant that widely scattered
tribal groups had similar languages. Today, some 250 tribal languages
are spoken and many are written.
What is the legal status of American
Indians and Alaska Native Tribes?
Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution of the United States vests
the Congress with the authority to engage in relations with the
Tribes. When the governmental authority of Tribes was first challenged
in the 1830's, Chief Justice John Marshall articulated a fundamental
principle that has guided the evolution of federal Indian law --
Tribes retain certain inherent powers of self-government as "domestic
dependent nations."
What is the relationship between the United States and
the Tribes?
The relationship between the Tribes and the
United States is one of a government to a government. This principle
has shaped the history of dealings between the federal government
and the tribes.
What does the term "Federally-Recognized Tribe" mean?
Recognition" is a legal term meaning that the
United States recognizes a government-to-government relationship
with a Tribe and that a Tribe exists politically in a "domestic
dependent nation" status. Federally-recognized Tribes possess certain
inherent powers of self-government and entitlement to certain federal
benefits, services, and protections because of the special trust
relationship.
How are tribes organized?
Tribes have the inherent right to operate under
their own governmental systems. Many have adopted Constitutions,
while others operate under Articles of Association or other bodies
of law, and some still have traditional systems of government.
The chief executive of a Tribe is generally called tribal chairperson,
principal chief, governor, or president. A tribal council or legislature
often performs the legislative function for a Tribe, although some
Tribes require a referendum of the membership to enact laws. Additionally,
a significant number of Tribes have created tribal court systems.
What is a reservation?
Reservations are territories reserved as permanent
tribal homelands. Some were created through treaties while others
were created by statutes, or executive orders. |