1. Legal Rights of Indigenous Peoples under US and International Law
Sarah Krakoff, Moses Lasky Professor of Law
University of Colorado Law School

2. Class 02: Historical Foundations of US Law, cont.
Review of yesterday
American Indian law is: US law that recognizes and limits American Indian tribal sovereignty.
What is American Indian tribal sovereignty?
Powers of self-government not derived from any outside source
Limited by history of colonization and folding US Indigenous peoples into US legal order

3. Review, cont.
History of Legal Concepts behind colonization and settlement
Crusades
Colonization
Exploration and “discovery;” Evolving theories of discovery (de Victoria)
Treaty-making

4. Class 02: Emergence of US American Indian Law
Pre-Revolutionary Period in North America --French and Indian War ( ) --British Crown’s Proclamation of Treaty Making by Independent States

5. Post-Revolutionary Developments After 1776)
Articles of Confederation
Federal government and states share power over Indian affairs
Northwest Ordinance of 1787
U.S. Constitution, Article 1, Sec. 8, cl. 3: “Indian commerce clause”

6. Themes from Pre-Revolution and Revolutionary Period
Consolidation of Power in a central government
Proclamation of 1763, Northwest Ordinance, US Constitution
Identification with/romanticization of American Indians
Treaty-making

7. Johnson v. Macintosh (1823): US adopts the discovery doctrine
Land dispute between two non-Indians
The legal issue: Can Indian tribes convey full legal title to property to any purchaser?
The answer: No. “Discovery” by European nations split Indian title; the US stepped into the shoes of England in this regard.