Skip to Main Content

Broken Landscape: Indians, Indian Tribes, and the Constitution

Online ISBN:
9780190260262
Print ISBN:
9780199915736
Publisher:
Oxford University Press
Book

Broken Landscape: Indians, Indian Tribes, and the Constitution

Frank Pommersheim
Frank Pommersheim

Professor of Law

Professor of Law, University of South Dakota
Find on
Published online:
20 April 2015
Published in print:
26 April 2012
Online ISBN:
9780190260262
Print ISBN:
9780199915736
Publisher:
Oxford University Press

Abstract

This book is a chronicle of Indian tribal sovereignty under the United States Constitution and the way that legislators have interpreted and misinterpreted tribal sovereignty since the nation's founding. The author offers a novel and deeply researched synthesis of this legal history from colonial times to the present, confronting the failures of constitutional analysis in contemporary Indian law jurisprudence. The author demonstrates that the federal government has repeatedly failed to respect the Constitution's recognition of tribal sovereignty. Instead, it has favored excessive, unaccountable authority in its dealings with tribes. The author argues that the Supreme Court has strayed from its constitutional roots as well, consistently issuing decisions over two centuries that have bolstered federal power over the tribes. Closing with a proposal for a constitutional amendment that would reaffirm tribal sovereignty, the book asserts that the Indian tribes and Indian people be accorded the respect and dignity that are their due.

Contents
Close
This Feature Is Available To Subscribers Only

Sign In or Create an Account

Close

This PDF is available to Subscribers Only

View Article Abstract & Purchase Options

For full access to this pdf, sign in to an existing account, or purchase an annual subscription.

Close