Status of American Indians?
By Connie
@connierebel (1557)
United States
March 31, 2009 2:23pm CST
What is the status of American Indians? Do they have dual citizenship? I know they have their own sovereignty, but are they also citizens of the US? Even though they were here before us, they did not have one unified nation like we have now, so while I know they are the real Native Americans, I was wondering if they automatically get citizenship of the United States.
1 response
@EliFromMN (53)
• United States
31 Mar 09
All native americans are citizens of the United States. While the tribes have a headquarters for their respective nations and reservations for their tribes, they are not seperate sovereignty. They are still subject to the laws of the United States, just as anyone other citizen. The term, "Nation" is simply used to include all members of hte tribe. I am a member of the Cherokee Nation, who has their headquarters in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, which is where my dad and his family are from.
@connierebel (1557)
• United States
8 Apr 09
Thank you for the explanation. I never understood how that worked. I know around here the Oneida Indian Nation and New York State have been arguing about the sovereignty status for tax purposes. I was very confused about what I read in the newspapers.
