February 11, 2025
The Justice Department recently argued that birthright citizenship does not apply to Native Americans. The administration could then aim for native sovereignty.
On July 3, 2020, activists from various tribes and members of different tribes from the area in Keystone, Keystone, South Dakota, centered around Mount Rushmore National Monument and President Donald Trump’s visit.
(via Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP Getty Images)
When news broke that the Trump administration questioned our “Indians” or the “n” of the capital or the birthright citizenship of Indigenous people or Indigenous people, I was a political addict. I received phone calls, emails, texts and direct messages. Capital “I” – we were here first.
“Where will they send you?!” asked my former classmate. “China!?”
Later last month – As part of the legal defense of Trump’s order to suspend birthright citizenship, the Justice Department cites a 19th century case in which “Indians” argue that they should be excluded from birthright citizenship I did.
on the other hand 14th revision “Everyone born or naturalized in the United States, and all those subject to their jurisdiction are citizens of the United States and the state in which they live.” The same goes for the 14th revision.
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At the Department of Justice Submitgovernment lawyers cite the U.S. Citizenship Act of 1866. This states that “everyone born in the United States is declared a US citizen, not subject to foreigners except for non-taxed Indians.”
It is essential to remember how the US government saw us back then. White people called us “Induns” and “Savages” and built and forced Indigenous families into prison camp systems. You’ve probably heard of Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota, but you probably only know it by its softer, more palatable name. Its official title is Cainter Camp 334.
In submission, Trump’s lawyers will refer to it Elk v. WilkinsThis is a case in 1884 when the Supreme Court automatically ruled that “Indians” born on reservations were not American citizens. The Justice Department then said that “Indians” of federally recognized tribes are owed major loyalty to chieftains, tribal presidents and elders, so “Indians” are in states like “South” He again argued that it was not “jurisdiction” of such a nation. Dakota or Arizona, or even the US itself.
The Department of Justice wrote in January:[This] We confirm that non-resident alien children lack constitutional birthrights over citizenship. in Elkthe court held that because members of Indian tribes owed “immediate loyalty” to their tribes, they were not “object of jurisdiction” in the United States and had no constitutional rights of citizenship. ”
This legal exercise makes me dizzy, but we were here before. The use of legal things that the government tries to cloud the frontal cortex is a tactic that is too familiar to Indigenous peoples. This is how white people stole billions of acres from our ancestors. They drafted legal documents in a foreign language called English, and owned them with whiskey and gin (something, at the time, our elders had no experience or understanding), and then their land , I signed all the water. , and almost everything similar to inviolable human rights.
But today’s experts in Indian law say Trump cannot strip us of our native peoples of U.S. citizenship. Indian Citizenship Act 1924He officially recognized the Indians as a US citizen.
“What I think Trump is trying to do is make analogy,” explained Stephen McCroy, a Columbian law professor who specializes in American Indian law. The Trump team needs to point out historical examples of non-citizens born in the US, so “They find non-citizens’ examples where I think they have not existed for a long time. They have come deeper into history. Certainly not for natives. “
He added, “They need to figure out who was ruled out in the 14th Amendment and try to apply for it today.”
McSloy said that no matter what race you are, if you are a US citizen, you have the rights to the right process. “If I did something really bad, I could go to prison, but you can’t rule out me unless I’m a traitor. You tried to revoke my US citizenship. If you do, you need the whole procedure,” he said. “It’s the basic constitutional right I have, regardless of what bad I have. You can execute me, but I think the day you will execute me. He’s still a citizen.”
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Trump is unlikely to take away the Native Americans from citizenship, but he may target our sovereignty, our designation, as separate sovereign nations. This allows him to take native land and sell it to oil and gas conglomerates. This would also negate the treaty between the US and the US government.
“Can he do that?” I asked.
“Always,” replied Maxroy. “On that level, they can do whatever they want,” he quoted United’s Judge Stephen Breyer. State vs. Lara When Breyer said, the Indians are sovereigns, “It’s like a grip. [The US] Whenever it wants, it can take over or relax the tribe’s sovereignty. ”
In 1953, Congress passed it. India Dismissal Lawended the US-tribal government-government relations. It was then overturned at the request of then-President Richard Nixon.
The law was intended to assimilate Indigenous people into major cities, but if the U.S. Supreme Court granted something similar today, it would strip us of our sovereignty and lead to the tribes and states within each state ( Reservations and Alaska Native Villages can be designated as counties within their respective states. The US has previously.
” [Termination Act] He said, “OK, you were once Winnebago. [Tribe]. Now you are Winnebago County, and all your people are citizens of Winnebago County and you are no longer responsible for your trust, so it’s better to pay your taxes to the nation,” says McXRoy. Ta. “Fortunately, it didn’t last.”
If this happens again in 2025, it will be available on millions of acres of Indigenous land trusted by the federal government. Then, as he says, Trump can freely “train, babies, training” on those lands.
Meanwhile, ICE officials are harassing natives across the country, especially in the southwest. The tribal government has issued a statement advising citizens to prepare and carry the tribe identification, particularly the certificate of Indian blood (CDIB) cards.
The scary thing is that if the President, Congress, or the Supreme Court abolishes the status of Indigenous and Tribal sovereignty, the CDIB card could be void. Additionally, money allocated to tribes for services such as clean water, housing improvement and development, education, lifesaving, and more. Indian Medical Services (IHS) may also be terminated.
“These patients will suffer completely,” said Dr. Sarah Bridge, a doctor at the IHS emergency room in Gallup, New Mexico. Her patients include Navajo citizens and all nearby pueblos. “There’s nowhere for them to go.
According to Bridge, India’s health services are also a major employer for nearby reservations Indigenous people, and without her staff, the IHS system would collapse.
“If they lose their jobs, they will be completely and financially devastated for themselves and their families, and the hospital cannot run. They don’t even know how they can work.” she said.
Still, calls, texts, emails and direct messages from peers and strangers continue. “Wait, how about people who have been here for thousands of years now not considered American citizens?” After reading my black “You are on the stolen land” Beanie, I told me I asked.
“Our creation comes from this land. Our language was invented on this land. The white people here can’t say the same thing… So we’re before America While we are there, we are still American citizens.”
Our position as American citizens is unlikely to change. But the Trump administration’s craving for oil and other resources means that the US government can try to steal our land from under us.
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