What is American Indian Sovereignty?

Indian Nations in the US are not quite states, but they are not separate countries either.

In the US, Indian Nations are considered "protected sovereign nations." Just exactly what that means continues to be worked out, and, today, even the US Supreme Court seems to have sparse knowledge of American Indian Law. However, the issue of sovereignty and the relationship of Indian Nations to the state and federal governments is based on three opinions by Chief Justice John Marshall, the third Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court. You can read an explanation of these three cases, known as Marshall Trilogy.