Che Jim: This is the story of a nation that, according to the United States, doesn’t exist. Let me explain. 

The members of the Chinook Indian Nation were skilled fishers, using nets called seines to rein in salmon they would often use for trade. They honoured the first salmon run of the year with rituals, where they cooked and ate the fish before their bones to the Columbia River in what's now Oregon and Washington state. 

In fact, the Chinook still practice the First Salmon Ceremony. Their culture is alive and well.

But to the U.S. federal government? There is no Chinook Indian Nation. 

Hi, I'm Che Jim, and welcome to Crash Course: Native American History. 

[Theme music]

574. That’s how many federally recognized Native nations exist today in what's now known as the United States. 

And knowing that can feel a bit... disorientating. I mean, thats more than ten times the number of U.S. states.

Wouldn’t it make more sense to just call them tribes, instead of "nations"?

It's not wrong to say tribe, and many Native folks use the two words interchangeably. But there's a good reason to use nation in this episode.

We say "nations" when talking about the relationship between tribal governments and the United States because of what they have in common, and that's sovereignty — an inherent, pre-existing right to govern themselves and their territory. Meaning, essentially, to make and enforce their own laws. 

Sovereignty is the basis of a government-to-government relationship, like the one between the U.S. and Mexico. It's how treaties get interpreted, Supreme Courr cases get decided, laws get legislated, and policies get... policied?

And you really can't understand Native history — or the present, for that matter — without first understanding what sovereignty means in action. 

Native nations like the Chinook were running themselves long before the United States existed. In fact, the Chinook fed and sheltered Lewis and Clark when they came a-surveying the land that was not theirs. 

So sovereignty isn't something the U.S. ever gave these nations. The U.S. recognises tribal sovereignty, which didn’t just end with colonisation. 

It's right there in the Constitution, in a totally chill bit called the Indian Commerce Clause: 

Colonial Carl: "The Congress shall have power... to regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the states, and with the Indian Tribes."

[Record scratch]

Che: Did you catch it? It's... subtle. But by saying Congress can regulate trade with other sovereign governments, it's acknowledging that Native nations are among those governments. And they'll be treated that way. Not as special-interest groups. Not as random individuals. But as equally sovereign nations. 

And if that wasn't enough — spoiler: it definitely wasn't enough — the government formally recognised Native sovereignty again in the early 1800s, with the Marshall Trilogy. Which sounds like a sci-fi franchise, but it’s actually a series of Supreme Court cases that say the federal government, not the states, makes policies about Native nations.

I'm looking at you, Georgia — don't make me come down there. 

The grand finale of the Marshall trilogy, Worcester v. Georgia in 1832, brought us this classic: 

Colonial Carl: "Tribes are distinct, independent, political communities, retaining their original natural rights, as the undisputed possessors of the soil, from time immemorial."

Che: Got a real ring to it. 

But the same case that recognised Native sovereignty also reined it in, by classifying tribes as "domestic dependent nations."

"Domestic" meaning they're within the borders of the U.S., "dependent" because the federal government has both responsibility toward them and power over them, and "nations" because that inherent right to govern themselves never actually went away. 

And if you're thinking, "Wow, that sounds like a completely unique, complicated, and contradictory pretzel of a situation"? Yes, hello, welcome. It is. 

The whole "domestic dependent nations" thing made Native sovereignty look more like... "quasi-sovereignty". 

Congress now had plenary power over Native nations, or the broad ability to limit or enhance tribal authority. They could basically decide if the U.S. government would treat Native tribes as nations or not, on a case-by-case basis. 

And that had big consequences for the Chinook — who I mentioned earlier — along with many other tribes.

Remember, tribal sovereignty is an inherent right. So the Chinook were never not sovereign. But they needed federal recognition in order to actually act as a sovereign nation. 

But one thing that can help a tribe's case for federal recognition is if they entered into a treaty with the U.S. — which several Chinook tribes did in 1851. These treaties were overseen by the Oregon Superintendent of Indian Affairs and then shipped off to the Senate and tabled.

That Congressional dismissal would be a major factor in the long fight for recognition of the Chinook Indian Nation's sovereignty. 

And Congress's power doesn't stop there. They can also terminate a nation's federally recognised status and with it their ability to self-govern. 

Which happened to the Chinook when they were listed as one of the terminated federal tribes in the Western Oregon Indian Termination Act, which took effect in 1956. 

We'll talk much more about termination later in this series.

As processes for federal recognition changed over the decades, the Chinook tried and failed to gain theirs back. And between 2001 and 2002, they were even successful, on the basis that one of the treaties had been ratified. 

But George W. Bush's administration reversed that decision just after eighteen months. It was a huge loss for the tribe—but not the end of their fight for recognition. 

So why is tribal sovereignty such a big deal?

Well, in the United States today, Native nations, the federal government, and the states are the only three political entities that have sovereignty. 

Being recognised by the federal government means Native nations can make their own laws and govern their own citizens. And they can set their own rules for who's considered a citizen. 

Recognised sovereignty also means Native nations can enforce their own laws and run their own court systems. They can police their own borders and regulate trade within them, which can create jobs and drive economic growth. 

Native nations can also provide services geared toward the welfare of their citizens, like healthcare and first responders. 

Like, the federal government funds the Indian Health Service, which provided vaccines during the early of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

But members of non-federally recognised nations, like the Chinook, don't have full access to the IHS or its resources. So some tribal members had to travel hours to get vaccinated. 

And importantly, federally recognised nations have authority over how their lands get used. A lot of tribal lands are owned by the federal government and held in trust for the tribe, but tribes themselves have the final word on much of what happens to those lands — and states can't meddle in the matter.

And this includes things like hunting, fishing, and gathering rights. Without federal recognition, the Chinook don't have clear fishing rights to the salmon that are such a big part of their culture and history. That means they have to pay for fishing licences just like anyone else, even though they have an ancestral connection to the fish. 

Recognised sovereignty also means being able to collect taxes from tribal citizens, and non-citizens conducting business on tribal lands. 

States can't tax native nations or tribal members, but in a strange loophole, if a non-Indian buys a coffee at a tribal-owned has station, the state can collect sales taxes off that purchase. 

Isn’t the legal system fun?

By and large, recognised sovereignty means Native nations can handle their own business without interference from the states.

But Native nations and states sometimes enter into agreements, government-to-government, to work together on certain issues. 

Like, if a nation wants to open a casino, they have to enter into a compact with the state where that casino will be located.

Or if the child of an enrolled tribal member needs to enter foster care, the nation and the state will often share resources. 

At the end of the day, sovereignty means native nations are better able to pass on their traditions, maintain their cultural identities, preserve their languages, and determine their own futures.

And without federal recognition, all of that becomes a whole lot harder. 

But even when the federal government acknowledges a tribe's sovereignty, it can still have a lot of control.

State laws may not be enforced in Indian Country. But Congress can give states some power over tribal affairs in ways that diminish Native sovereignty. 

And it's done so before — without consulting Native nations first. 

For example, in 1953, Congress enacted Public Law 280, which gave state law enforcement control they didn’t previously have on Native lands in six states: Alaska, California, Minnesota, Nebraska, Oregon, and Wisconsin. 

Before that, Native nations handled minor crimes on reservations, and the federal government dealt with any major crimes.

But after PL 280 passed — again, without Native consent — the nations suddenly shared criminal jurisdiction with the state, which limited tribes' authority to deal with minor crimes. 

On top of that, Native nations in those states were suddenly disqualified from federal funding to run their own courts. It's that congressional power to rein in Native governance that makes their sovereignty a bit of a... gray area. 

Even though federally recognised tribes are sovereign nations... they can't do a lot of the things we'd associate with nations. 

Like, the Navajo Nation cannot go to war, sign an international trade treaty, or make its own currency.

And in the U.S. has a habit of disrespecting the sovereignty that Native nations do have.

Both before and after the Constitution recognised tribal sovereignty, colonists and the US government actively undermined it by killing and displacing Native people, taking Native land, and trying to get rid of Native cultures altogether. 

As we'll see throughout this series, that lack of respect for tribal sovereignty had some dire consequences for Native people that we're still dealing with today. 

So where does that leave us — and where does it leave the Chinook Indian Nation?

Well, in 2017, the Chinook filed a suit against the Department of the Interior and the Bureau of Indian Affairs, claiming that they deserved to be federally acknowledged. But, as of this filming in 2024, it hasn't happened... yet.

The Chinook Indian Nation is still pursuing every pathway it can to regain their recognition. 

Regardless of recognition, the right of Native nations to govern themselves has existed since time immemorial.

It wasn’t a gift the U.S. gave to these tribes. It's something that Native nations already had — an inherent right that didn't cease to exist when their lands were colonised. 

And today, Native sovereignty is the basis of a government-to-government relationship, a nation-within-a-nation situation that is... to say the least... complicated. 

We'll keep exploring it a whole lot more throughout this series. 

Next time, we'll talk about some of the scariest myths and misconceptions about Native Americans. And I'll see you then. 

Thanks for watching this episode of Crash Course: Native American History, which is filmed at our studio in Indianapolis, Indiana, and was made with the help of all of these nice people. If you want to help keep Crash Course free for everyone forever, you can join our community on Patreon.