Abstract
In 1924 the US Congress adopted the Indian Citizenship Act which unilaterally declared that any Native person who was not yet an American citizen was now a beneficiary of federal citizenship. This law was a culmination of previous federal statutes and court rulings that had extended citizenship to Natives, often over their stern objections. Notwithstanding this law, President Donald Trump’s administration has been targeting increasing numbers of Native Americans, claiming that they are “not” US citizenship under the 14th Amendment’s birthright clause. Federal immigration officials have been on numerous Native reservations harassing Tribal citizens who are lawfully regarded as having citizenship in three distinctive politics: their own Native nation, the state they reside in, and because of the 1924 law, federal citizenship as well–treble citizenship, if you will. I examine the complicated history of attempts by US lawmakers to imposed citizenship on Natives, and also detail the current efforts by the federal policymakers who are now attempting to deprive Natives of their federal citizenship.
Presenters
David WilkinsProfessor, Jepson School of Leadership Studies, University of Richmond, Virginia, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Citizenship, Indigenous, Trusteeship, Consent, Constitutionalism, Native Nation
