Indigenous Rights — Treaty Obligations, Real Sovereignty

The United States signed 370 ratified treaties with tribal nations between 1778 and 1871 — each is the supreme law of the land under Article VI of the Constitution. The US has violated nearly all of them. The 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty guaranteed the Black Hills to the Great Sioux Nation 'in perpetuity.' Gold was discovered. The US seized the land. In 1980, the Supreme Court ruled this was an illegal taking — a trust fund now exceeds $1.4 billion, still unclaimed, because the Sioux want their land back, not money.

Indigenous peoples once held approximately 2.4 billion acres. Today, tribal trust land comprises 56 million acres — 2.3% of the US land mass. The Dawes Act alone cost tribes 90 million acres between 1887 and 1934 by deliberately destroying communal land ownership. The Termination era stripped 109 tribes of federal recognition and 3+ million additional acres.

Even as Congress recognized tribal sovereignty, the Supreme Court dismantled it. Oliphant v. Suquamish (1978) stripped tribes of criminal jurisdiction over non-Native people on tribal land — creating zones of legal impunity that directly drive the MMIW crisis. 86–96% of sexual assaults against Native women are committed by non-Native perpetrators. Federal prosecutors decline 37% of MMIW referrals and 67% of sexual abuse cases.

The Indian Health Service is funded at 48.6% of demonstrated need — an $11.2 billion annual shortfall. The federal government spends $4,078 per Indigenous person on healthcare versus $13,185 for Medicare, $10,692 for the VA, and over $10,000 for the federal prison system. One-third of IHS facilities are in 'poor' condition. 30–40% of Navajo Nation households lack running water.

For tribal sovereignty and justice, Oliphant is reversed and tribes regain criminal jurisdiction over all persons committing crimes on their lands. The ~4,200 unsolved MMIW cases get dedicated federal resources and prosecution. BIA law enforcement triples, bringing response times under 30 minutes in all tribal communities. Tribal courts get the infrastructure, staffing, and resources to dispense justice. The zone of impunity closes.

For healthcare and economic foundation, IHS shifts to mandatory funding. The $11.2B annual gap closes. Hospitals modernize. 68,000 new housing units are built under NAHASDA. Reservation poverty begins to decline as self-governance compacts expand and tribal economic development accelerates. The 8.3-year life expectancy gap narrows. Broadband reaches 100% of tribal lands.

For water, land, and sovereignty, the 30–40% of Navajo Nation households lacking running water get running water within a decade. Sacred sites receive binding legal protection — no more destruction for corporate profit (Oak Flat reversal). Federal lands on ancestral territory enter co-management or reversion. Tribal nations recover agency over their own resources and futures. The trust responsibility becomes a legal duty, not a discretionary gesture.

For culture and voice, 175+ endangered Indigenous languages receive dedicated funding for immersion programs modeled on New Zealand's te reo Māori revitalization. The 53% graduation rate at BIE schools rises toward parity. The Boarding School Truth and Healing Commission provides documentation, healing resources, and repatriation. 144 Alaska Native villages facing existential climate threats get tribally-governed relocation support.