Treaties Present Quiz

Correct!

Congress formally ended treaty-making with tribes in 1871; however, treaties (and agreements that the courts have affirmed have the force of treaties) remain enforceable.

Correct!

The sovereignty of tribes was not delegated to them by Congress or federal courts. It is an inherent right to retain a measure of independence from state and federal governments and to regulate internal tribal affairs. Courts recognize this inherent right. They do not delegate it. Indian tribes have consistently insisted on their right to exercise tribal sovereignty, which has helped keep the concept of inherent rights alive since the treaty era.

Correct!

In international law, a weak state can place itself under the protection of a more powerful one without ceasing to be a self-governing state. The Supreme Court recognizes this principle.

Correct!

The recognition of aboriginal rights was initially unique to the U. S., but in modern times, other nations, such as Australia, New Zealand, and Canada have adopted the concept in dealing with aboriginal peoples.

Correct!

During the treaty era, the United States guaranteed that tribal societies could continue on reservations and that tribes would be able to adapt economically to changing times. Congress as trustee acts "in good faith," as the Founding Fathers put it, to facilitate economic self-sufficiency. The Supreme Court supports hunting and fishing rights, the right of tribes to collect taxes on tribal land, and the right of tribes to exercise measured legal jurisdiction on reservations.

Correct!

The Constitution prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, but Congress and the Supreme Court acknowledge that Indian tribes are separate political groups recognized in the Treaty and Commerce Clauses of the Constitution and the Trust Doctrine set forth by the Supreme Court. The United States's relationship with tribes is a political one, not one based on racial difference. In fact, in 1974 the Supreme Court ruled that Indian status is not a racial, but a political class, so statutes that provide for different treatment of tribal and non-tribal members are subject to a "lesser standard of review." The U. S. does not support treaty rights because of "racial" status or because Indians are a minority. In return for land cessions, treaties often provided for the U. S. to give services, such as health care and educational assistance. These services often were minimal or misguided.

Correct!

The U. S. Constitution is not necessarily applicable to citizens of tribal nations, who derive their sovereignty not from the American people but from aboriginal rights. In other words, the federal Constitution provides only partial protection of the rights of Indians. As nonsignatory preconstitutional sovereigns, tribal governments were never constrained by the Constitution and Bill of Rights. On reservations, tribal sovereignty may prevail over rights guaranteed to citizens of the U. S. For example, the Equal Protection Clause in the Constitution (the 14th Amendment) may not apply on reservations where tribes have the right to decide the requirements for citizenship. Moreover, in the area of religious freedom, guaranteed by the First Amendment, the Supreme Court only recently refused to prevent states from criminalizing Native religion (the ritual use of peyote). In response, Congress passed the American Indian Religious Freedom Act in 1994. Even after Indians became citizens by Congressional Act in 1924, Congress retained the powers of trustee, for example, to manage Indian land held in trust and the income from that land.

Correct!

Tribes are exempt from state and local taxation because tribally owned land and income produced on it (for example, from the sale of gas, cigarettes, and other products) is held under trust status by the federal government. When tribes signed land cession treaties and agreed to settle on reservations, the federal government promised to protect the land for the tribes' use. Taxes would jeopardize that use. Trust lands are technically federal lands and states cannot tax federal lands (for example, national park land). Moreover, according to the Constitution, only the federal government can regulate commerce with tribes. Tribes are not subject to state control. Collection of taxes by states would also violate tribes' inherent tribal sovereignty. On the other hand, tribes may tax property and persons living or doing business on reservation lands.

Correct!

The United States's approach to Indian rights has been inconsistent over time, reflecting different national goals and variable public opinion. There has been and is a tension between the trust responsibility of the U. S. to protect tribal sovereignty and Congress's power to make decisions affecting Indian tribes without their consent. Today, federal Indian policy is an inconsistent blend of actions that both affirm tribal sovereignty and reduce tribal sovereignty powers, often in relation to the states. Indian leaders are vigilant in addressing threats to treaty rights and tribal sovereignty.