05/10/2022
Native-Americans predate the existence of the United States of America, and they have always been recognized as political sovereigns. It may be difficult to comprehend the concept of tribal sovereignty in modern-day America, but federally recognized Native tribes remain political sovereigns under the law.
What this means, is that the term "Native-American," is a political characterization. Each tribe is its own nation and operates as such, just on a much smaller scale than the governments we are accustomed to.
If you visit a reservation, you will see that tribes, particularly the large ones, operate like actual governments. They have elections, local institutions, and provide a wide array of services to their communities such as public health, safety, and welfare.
This term, in the case Haaland v. Brackeen, the Supreme Court will determine whether the Indian Child Welfare Act illegally discriminates on the basis of race. The people challenging ICWA are white Christians who are being represented by the same lawyers who have been fighting tribal sovereignty for decades on behalf of the casino and oil industries. They claim that because ICWA mandates that Native communities must be given preference when placing Native children for adoption, it gives preferential treatment to Native Americans, and violates the 14th amendment.
ICWA, however, doesn't discriminate on the basis of race. "Native-American" is not a racial designation, but if the Supreme Court finds that it is, then that's the end of centuries of law and is only the beginning of the end for tribal sovereignty.