by Matthew Reed

Created on: May 22, 2008

Native Americans are granted a nation-to-nation relationship in the Constitution. A nation-to-nation relationship is one where two sovereign nation-states interact as equals, for example the relationship between Canada and the US. Concentrated primarily in the West, the US maintains relationships with 562 recognized Indian tribes. Of minorities in the US, Native Americans alone claim historic sovereignty in North America. Territories, such as Puerto Rico and American Samoa, are the only other groups that are considered sovereign while their citizens are US citizens (McCarthy 34-35). In practice, Native American groups are considered beneficiaries of land and money held in trust by the United States. Chief Justice John Marshall wrote, in 1831, that Indians don't constitute a foreign state, but they owned the land until they made a "voluntary cession." He concluded the tribes were "domestic dependent nations" and that "their relations to the United States resembles that of a ward to his guardian." This view has governed political views of Native Americans by the US ever since. Federal trust of Native American's land should end and Native Americans should be granted full sovereignty because until the land trust is ended, Native Americans are second-class citizens (Katel).

Congress formally established the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) in 1834, to assist and subjugate Indians (McCarthy 4-5). The BIA is responsible for management of Indian lands and funds, known as the federal trust responsibility to Indians. The trust was formed when Congress passed the General Allotment Act in 1887. All tribal land was divided into 160-acre allotments for each Indian household with the hope individual Indians would take up farming and assimilate themselves into the American society and culture. After 25 years, Indians were free to sell or encumber their lands as they saw fit. In 1934, however, Congress extended the trust indefinitely (Cason).

Because this is land that is held in trust, Lance Morgan, CEO of Ho-Chunk, Inc., argues "trust land can't be taxed by anyone including tribal governments themselves. This prevents tribes from using local property tax dollarsto implement basic government services [and] results in tribes being dependant upon the federal government for education, health, roads and police protection" (Morgan).

Traditionally, federal agencies such as the BIA operate law enforcement or medical services on reservations (Morgan). Federal management is appalling. The

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