Law Commons^™

The Cloaking Of Justice: The Supreme Court's Role In The Application Of Western Law To America's Indigenous Peoples, David E. Wilkins

Jepson School of Leadership Studies articles, book chapters and other publications

The debate over which legal Indigenous Peoples should govern Native American political power and property rights, or even whether they should be protected by law at all, caused conflicts challenging the autonomy of the legal system and led to changes of the original principles of Indian rights. The outcome of that conflict raises two questions of federal Indian law. One is where its principles contributed to the survival of Native Americans in the United States; the other is whether the same legal principles are responsible for the perpetual inferiority of Natives Americans in their own land. More starkly, the question …

Reconsidering The Tribal-State Compact Process, David E. Wilkins

Jepson School of Leadership Studies articles, book chapters and other publications

This essay evaluates the tribal‐state compact process, as one of several alternative, nonadversarial processes, warranting attention. It argues that, because of its binding character and relatively low cost (in contrast to litigation), and because it is based in the idea of tribes and states exhibiting mutual respect, the compact process is an advanced version of negotiation and bargaining that tribes and states should consider where appropriate.

The U.S. Supreme Court's Explication Of "Federal Plenary Power": An Analysis Of Case Law Affecting Tribal Sovereignty, 1886-1914, David E. Wilkins

Jepson School of Leadership Studies articles, book chapters and other publications

The concept of tribal sovereignty frequently conflicts with that of congressional plenary power, depending on the definition and basis of plenary power. Analysis of 107 federal court cases between 1886 and 1914 suggests that when plenary power is seen in terms of preemption and exclusivity, it may help to protect tribal sovereignty from private or state incursions. However, if plenary power is defined as absolute and unlimited, tribal rights are not constitutionally protected against federal actions. Although tribes are properly regarded as extra-constitutional entities, they are often treated as inferior in relation to Congress by the courts.

Intra-Tribal Confrontations: What Is To Be Done?, David E. Wilkins

Jepson School of Leadership Studies articles, book chapters and other publications

Racial, ethnic, and religious wars and conflicts have plagued humanity since the primordial past. But since the thawing of the Cold War, there has literally been an explosion of devastating conflicts that seem far more complex than those which erupted in earlier eras. These are also potentially more threatening to international peace because of their breadth, scope, and probable duration.

These and the multitude of other ethnic, racial, and religious conflicts around the world are far more brutal and ruinous than anything most indigenous people have experienced since the federal government's aberrant and fortunately short-lived policy of Termination and Relocation, …