Uneven Ground

by Wilkins, David E.

• ISBN13: 9780806133959
• ISBN10: 0806133953
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2002-08-01
• Publisher: Univ of Oklahoma Pr

Summary

In the early 1970s, the federal government began recognizing self-determination for American Indian nations. As sovereign entities, Indian nations have been able to establish policies concerning health care, education, religious freedom, law enforcement, gaming, and taxation. Yet these gains have not gone unchallenged. Starting in the late 1980s, states have tried to regulate and profit from casino gambling on Indian lands. Treaty rights to hunt, fish, and gather remain hotly contested, and traditional religious practices have been denied protection. Tribal courts struggle with state and federal courts for jurisdiction. David E. Wilkins and K. Tsianina Lomawaima discuss how the political rights and sovereign status of Indian nations have variously been respected, ignored, terminated, and unilaterally modified by federal lawmakers as a result of the ambivalent political and legal status of tribes under western law.

Author Biography

David E. Wilkins, Associate Professor of American Indian Studies, Political Science, and Law at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities K. Tsianina Lomawaima, Professor of American Indian Studies at the University of Arizona

Table of Contents

List of Tables	vii
Acknowledgments	ix
Introduction	3	(16)
``The Law of Nations'': The Doctrine of Discovery	19	(45)
``With the Greatest Respect and Fidelity'': The Trust Doctrine	64	(34)
``Such an Outrage'': The Doctrine of Plenary Power	98	(19)
``Treaties as Covenants'': The Doctrine of Reserved Rights	117	(26)
``Justices Who Bent the Law'': The Doctrine of Implied Repeals	143	(33)
``No Reasonable Plea'': Disclaimers in Tribal-State Relations	176	(40)
``As It Was Intended'': The Doctrine of Sovereign Immunity	216	(33)
Conclusion	249	(16)
Notes	265	(24)
References	289	(16)
Index	305