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A Citizen of Two Nations One of the most frequently asked questions I receive as a
American Indian educator is: Are Indians citizens of two nations? The answer is yes. This has not always been the case. For many years, American Indians were a people without a nation. Many Native peoples had no lands but had a nation. Many were displaced and had no land and no nation. Today we have both. The question of Indian citizenship is not easily answered. The Fourteenth Amendment that granted citizenship to former slaves did not mention American Indians. In fact this amendment left plenty of room for interpretation from the courts. In 1884, a
American Indian filed suit against the state of Nebraska for violating his fourteenth amendment rights. Elk argued, that because he was born within the territorial boundaries of the United States, he was a citizen. The Supreme Court ruled that the state of Nebraska was right in denying Indians the right to vote. The Judges declared that Indians were not considered American citizens but, were citizens of a distinct alien nation; their
allegiance was to their tribe, not the United States. The federal government occasionally granted citizenship to some Indians. This was usually done at the expense of the Indian's own citizenship. For example: In a treaty with the Ottowa Indians in 1862, the Ottowas were given U.S. citizenship after relinquishing all of their tribal land and dissolution of their nations. There other instances of citizenship given to Indians. If a tribe could prove that they had adopted the" habits of a civilized life" by becoming self supporting and learning to read and write English they could be granted U.S. citizenship. The Cherokee Indians of North Carolina became citizens of the United States in the 1860's. The Cherokee Indians of Oklahoma didn't become citizens of the United States until 1901. This was done when the U.S. Congress conferred citizenship to all Indians of the Five Civilized Tribes living in Oklahoma. These were the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, Seminole.
I must say that this was granted only to the Indians of the five civilized
tribes in Oklahoma not those in other states such as the Seminole of Florida,
Choctaw in Mississippi, or Cherokee, Creek or Chikasaw in other states. Other Indians received certificates of citizenship for individual reasons. The majority of Native Americans did not receive citizenship until after world war 1 In 1924, the federal government passed the Indian Citizenship Act which provided all Indians in the territorial limits of the United States U.S. citizenship. As a result, Americans Indians are the citizens of two nations. Some American Indian governments issue passports that their citizens use others do not.
If you have any comments on this please feel free
to email me @ aguila6279@aol.com
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