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The Law Of Indian Law

Decent Essays

I can assume that the main objectives of this chapter are to define the Indian law; who, where, and when it is appropriate to settle cases amongst themselves or other tribes as long as the conditions meet the requirements for the tribes to have their own jury. Besides the need to describe what the law is for Indians, there are also sections that set the characteristics and requirements that are used by federal government to define a tribe and an individual as an American Indian legally. For the Indian law, the main four points described are: they are classified as “independent entities with inherent powers of self-government, tribes’ independence is subject to exceptionally great powers of Congress, the power to deal and regulate the …show more content…

There are requirements to be met such as being able to show some distinct traits of a community. But to make the whole picture, you need the smaller parts first. In order to make the tribe, the individuals must also be officially recognized as an American Indian by the Federal Government. According to Canby, Indian has different meanings “which varies according to the purpose for which the definition is sought.” (Pg. 9) In short, the general requirements are that they have some Indian blood and be regarded as an Indian by his or her community (Pg.9). I’m not sure of how the blood test works since it would seem difficult to classify race or percentage of a race since there are only A, B, AB, and O types with positives and negatives. Although it is used to show if they are related to ancestors such as grandparents or great grandparents that have been recognized as Indian Americans and see what has become of bloodlines if they married with the same race or mixed races. I do see the importance of needing to be recognized by tribe members because if he or she is acknowledged as one of them, that means that they have lived in their ways and practiced those customs. What Indian Americans want to do is preserve their culture and keep it going on to the next generation and so forth. Someone of the Indian American race who has adopted other cultural ways or abandoned his or her own culture won’t most likely preserve the culture.

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