Research Reports
Reflections on Traditional American Indian Ways, 1998
Threats to Tribal Sovereignty, 1998
Traditional American Indian Leadership: A Comparison with U.S. Governance, 1997
Plenary Powers of the U.S. Congress
In the United States, interpretation of tribal sovereignty is in some ways a paradox. Through legal and political determinations, tribes are considered sovereign, yet Congress has the Constitutional authority to legislate laws over Indian tribes.
How is it that tribes can simultaneously exist as sovereigns and be subject to Congressional action? The answer resides both in:
- the commerce clause of the Constitution which confers Congress with
the power to regulate commerce between "foreign nations, among the several
states, and with the Indian tribes [italics added]" (U.S. Constitution,
Art. 1, sec. 8, clause 3); and
- in the power granted to Congress to negotiate treaties.
From these two sources, Chief Justice John Marshall established Constitutional precedence for Congressional authority in Indian Country which is called plenary power.
The
Well-Being of American Indian Children in Minnesota: Economic Conditions,
1994
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Tuesday November 1, 2005