Comment Re:No wait, you don't understand it (Score 1) 303
Actually, the whole of federal Indian law is based on the "reserved rights doctrine". The sovereignty exercised by Indian tribes was not given to them by anyone. Tribes retain all of the powers of a sovereign except those that have been surrendered by treaty, clearly abrogated by the Federal govt, or are inconsistent with the tribes' status (as lesser sovereigns under the ultimate control of the Federal govt).
This doctrine dates to the 1832 Supreme Court case Worcester v. Georgia and has been the foundation of federal Indian law for the past 170 years.
That Indians' rights are those that they reserved, not those that they were given, is reflected in the term "Indian reservation".
This doctrine dates to the 1832 Supreme Court case Worcester v. Georgia and has been the foundation of federal Indian law for the past 170 years.
That Indians' rights are those that they reserved, not those that they were given, is reflected in the term "Indian reservation".
