Paper Example on Sovereignty in American Society: Empowering American Indian Tribes

The topic is about the law of sovereignty on American society, considering especially the American Indians. It refers to the right of American Indians to govern themselves. The law in the U.S. constitution is such that it recognizes the Indian tribes to be distinct governments. They do so with several exceptions, but they have the same powers as the federal and state government to regulate internal affairs.

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State sovereignty is significant to American Indian tribes because it gives them the power to be complete and have exclusive control of all people contained within the territories (Shoemaker, 2016). It makes the states occupied with American Indians to be equal to others. That is achieved despite issues of the differences in landmasses, sizes of population, and financial capabilities. In that case, the regions with American Indians have the right to function as a state and make decisions that concern the events that occur within the borders.

An example to give about the reason for the development of the law for American Indians is the case for their colonization. Because of competition from the Spanish and the French, the British initially sought an alliance with the indigenous people of America (Lobo et al., 2016). But this alliance was not sustainable because Native American sovereignty would have been an economic barrier to the full exploitation of the land and its natural resources.

Resistance to the "civilizing influence" of settler colonialism became the moral justification of genocide and dispossessing indigenous people of their land. The colonizing regime institutionalized violence to accomplish its expansionist goals. The Indian nation was resettled in barren and unproductive lands which white settlers did not want. Institutional racism was also weaponized to deny indigenous Americans access to education.

The passing of the law in the American society that helped to ensure that states were granted and limited power such that they could have complete control while they still restrict the influence of the states on others (Shoemaker, 2016). The current constitution gives authority to Indian communities to conduct their affairs to the federal government and not the state government. The case is such that in the same way that the United States considers the states as governments, it is the same way that it deals with Indian tribes as governments and not individuals or any forms of special interest groups.

The Native American idea of two spirits allows its members to live beyond conventional notions of gender and sex. In the current climate, one would think that questions on gender and sexuality should be the main focus of American Indian Studies. There is value in using AIS to give its students the skills to best communicate their sexuality and gender to the public. But shifting focus on gender and sexuality devalues the potential role that AIS can have in moving public discourse about race in America. Resolving what exactly is the racial identity of a Native American the essential goal of AIS.

Conclusion

In conclusion, passing the laws of sovereignty has been vital for the American Indian tribes to deal with issues of racial discrimination from other states. They now have powers to run their own affairs and determine requirements without being subject to other states. American Indian tribes can enact legislation and establish systems for law enforcement and also courts by themselves.

References

Lobo, Susan, Steve Talbot, and Traci L. Morris. (2016). Native American Voices: A Reader. New York: Routledge. 3rd Edition (ISBN: 978-1138687684)

Shoemaker, J. A. (2016). Complexity's shadow: American Indian property, sovereignty, and the future. Mich. L. Rev., 115, 487. https://repository.law.umich.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://scholar.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=1552&context=mlr