Cherokee Nation V. State of Georgia

Cherokee Nation V. State of Georgia

This Supreme Court case, for American Indians, turned out to be an important part of history. The case was one of the final strands of hope for the Cherokee Nation, and all of the Indian population, so losing the case was a disappointing happening. When I first thought about this case, I figured it was straight forward and easy to make an argument going against Justice Marshall's opinion. Then, as I read the entire case and did more research, I realized that there were many parts in the gray area. Even with these gray areas, the US Supreme Court still dropped the proverbial ball in this case and it would be hard to agree with them after reading about the numerous treaties and knowing the history of the Cherokee Indians. Although I do not agree with Justice Marshall, I am able to grasp where his thoughts were while making this decision.

The major red flag in this case is when there is acknowledgement of "successive treaties". Treaties are supposed to be on a nation to nation basis. No matter what the court thought about jurisdiction in this case, the precedent was already set because the federal government and the Cherokee Nation had already signed treaties. The Hopewell Treaty was supposed to set a border between the United States and the Cherokee Nation back in 1785, but that, evidently, was not adhered to. In reading the case, Justice Marshall writes that the Hopewell Treaty allowed the Cherokee Nation "to send a deputy of their choice, whenever they think fit, to congress". This does not cry "dependence", but merely communication. I know that all foreign nations do not have representatives that can go to congress whenever they want, but they do have diplomats around Washington DC who try to have as much impact on our country as possible. We do not think they are dependent on us just because they want to have a voice in our country. They remain foreign nations.

Justice Marshall also says that, "[The Cherokee] look to our government for protection…" and that they are considered to be "completely under the sovereignty and dominion of the United States". This is where the gray areas come in. I do think it is a valid point that the Cherokee Nation looks to our government for protection. The Cherokee Indians tried assimilating and living like Western culture people amongst citizens of the United States. This alone implies that there is some sort of protection being sought. Even still, this sought after protection does not necessarily mean that the Cherokee