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The Status Of Indian Tribes In American Law Today, William C. Canby Jr.

Washington Law Review

In describing the subject of my lecture to Dean Fletcher of this law school, I said that it would deal with two questions: Are the fundamental assumptions underlying the special status of Indian tribes changing? If so, what will be the effect of those changes? I considered simply saying that the answer to the first question is "no" and that the answer to the second question is therefore "none." It would make a mercifully short lecture. Unfortunately, however, my review of legal developments over the past several years, particularly the decisions of the United States Supreme Court, convinces me that …