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Indigenous Legal Traditions

The document summarizes the 1831 Supreme Court case Cherokee Nation v. Georgia. In the case, the Cherokee Nation sued Georgia seeking to prevent the state from enforcing laws that stripped Cherokee rights and seized their land. The Supreme Court dismissed the case, finding that while the Cherokee Nation had independence from the U.S., it was a "domestic dependent nation" without full sovereignty. As a result, the Court did not have original jurisdiction. This ruling allowed Georgia to continue enforcing its laws, leading to the forced removal of the Cherokee to lands west of the Mississippi in the 1830s, known as the Trail of Tears.

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Leynard Alcoran
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100 views2 pages

Indigenous Legal Traditions

The document summarizes the 1831 Supreme Court case Cherokee Nation v. Georgia. In the case, the Cherokee Nation sued Georgia seeking to prevent the state from enforcing laws that stripped Cherokee rights and seized their land. The Supreme Court dismissed the case, finding that while the Cherokee Nation had independence from the U.S., it was a "domestic dependent nation" without full sovereignty. As a result, the Court did not have original jurisdiction. This ruling allowed Georgia to continue enforcing its laws, leading to the forced removal of the Cherokee to lands west of the Mississippi in the 1830s, known as the Trail of Tears.

Uploaded by

Leynard Alcoran
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Bold Italic - Statues, Rules, Cases; Bold Underline - Topic emphasized; [Green ink – see notes for further

info]; Blue ink -


case and facts; Red ink - definitions, terms; (TOPIC) - FOCUS ON THESE

Subject: Legal History Topic:  Indigenous Legal Traditions Digest Maker: Leynard Alcoran
 
Case Name: Tanada v. Tuvera
G.R No. Date: April 24, 1985, and December 29, 1986, Ponente: Chief Justice John
Marshall

Topic: Publication in the Official Gazette and Effectivity of Laws

Doctrine: The Court only has original jurisdiction (a case is tried before the Court) over certain cases, e.g., suits between
two or more states and/or cases involving ambassadors and other public ministers — not domestic dependent nations.

Super Summary:
In 1831 when the United States Supreme Court decided Cherokee nation versus Georgia the Cherokee tribe had long
resided in the southeastern United States including what later became the state of Georgia. As white settlement increased
and expanded westward, many white Americans wanted to displace the native inhabitants and acquire their land because
the land was rich in gold. Georgia passed several laws designed to strip the Cherokee of their rights and seize their land. The
Supreme Court dismissed the injunction saying that despite Georgia’s independence from the United States, it is a domestic
dependent nation with no sovereignty. Ultimately the Native Americans were removed from Georgia under the Indian
Removal Act of 1830 and Andrew Jackson’s term to lands west of the Mississippi. In 1835, a faction of Cherokees broke
away and secretly signed the Treaty of New Echota, which gave up Cherokee lands in Georgia in exchange for money. In
1838, the U.S. Army forced almost all remaining Cherokees off of their lands in Georgia and marched them to Indian
Territory in what is now Oklahoma. This became known as the Trail of Tears — an act of ethnic cleansing.

RELEVANT FACTS:
● In 1827, the Cherokee Nation formally established a constitutional government and declared themselves sovereign,
meaning American laws didn’t apply to them.
● The Cherokee Nation sued the state of Georgia in the United States Supreme Court seeking an injunction
prohibiting the enforcement of Georgia laws.
● The Cherokee contended that the supreme court had original jurisdiction under Article 3 Section 2 of the united
states constitution because the case was a dispute between a state and a foreign nation.
● Georgia argued that the court lacked original jurisdiction because the Cherokee weren't a foreign nation.

Issue #1: W/N the Cherokee Nation could be considered as a foreign nation with its sovereignty
YES/NO - YES

RATIO DECIDENDI… [Legal Basis: General Rule. Specific Rule. Exception.]


● In this 1831 decision the Supreme Court held that the Cherokee Nation was not an independent foreign
nation so the Supreme Court did not have original jurisdiction to hear the case. Therefore, the case was
dismissed without addressing the merits. Chief Justice John Marshall held that the Cherokee Nation was a
"domestic dependent nation" whose relationship to the government was more akin to that of a ward to his
guardian.

APPLICATION: Indigenous Peoples’ Nations were not recognized as independent sovereign states and only as
domestic dependent nations under the wings of the United States, despite having their own constitutions.
Additional Info

Class Notes:

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