Every year on the third Monday of February, the United States celebrates Presidents Day to honor the legacies and contributions of the nation’s presidents. What many Americans don’t know is that the leaders who shaped this country extend far beyond just U.S. Presidents. Native nations stewarded this land long before the first colonists arrived. Today there are 575 federally recognized American Indian tribes and Alaska Native entities. These are all sovereign nations whose leaders have made and maintained government-to-government relationships with the United States.
One of the most formative legal relationships the United States has is with the tribal nations within its borders, yet many Americans are unaware of this history. The U.S. President has the constitutional power to negotiate treaties with tribal nations with the advice and consent of the Senate. The treaties our Presidents signed, and often broke, granted the United States access to major waterways and ports, natural resources, and land that fueled its economic expansion and political power. The legal responsibilities our nation has to Native nations and the legal rights Native people have stemming from those treaties include their reservation lands held in trust, food, health care, and education.
Understanding the legal foundation of the United States is critical to strengthening our relationships with Indigenous people today, tomorrow, and for the next seven generations.
Educating ourselves and each other about this history is the first step toward building a better future for all of us.
