Comparative Indigenous Law

Johnson v M'Intosh, 21 US (8 Wheat) 543 (1823) held that that private citizens could not purchase lands from Native Americans - the land is inalienable. This decision lays the foundations of the doctrine of aboriginal title in the United States.

Cherokee Nation v Georgia, 30 US (5 Pet) 1 (1831) held that Indian Nations were not "foreign nations" with respect to the United States, but 'domestic dependent nation[s]'.

Worcester v Georgia, 31 US (6 Pet) 515 (1832) is most famous for its dicta, which laid out the relationship between tribes and the state and federal governments by stating that the Federal Government was the sole authority to deal with Indian nations - at 561 the Court held that 'The whole intercourse between the United States and this nation [the Cherokee Nation], is, by our constitution and laws, vested in the government of the United States'. In this case, the Court held that the Cherokee Nation was sovereign, and Georgia had no rights to enforce state laws in this sovereign territory. The decision is credited as having built the foundations of the doctrine of tribal sovereignty in the United States.

For detailed information about finding US cases, refer to the Cases page on our US Legal Research Guide.

Use secondary sources such as books and journal articles.

Use the Law Library of Congress' United States Reports (open access) to see over 300 decisions of the Supreme Court (from 1793 to date) on Federal Indian and Tribal Law. The reports are PDF replicas of the official printed United States Reports. This database cannot be searched effectively, but you can narrow the topic by using the Subject menu on the lefthand side of the page. 66 subjects are listed.

To find all cases on your topic, we recommend using Westlaw. The two recommended approaches are:
1. From the homepage, select West Key Number System, and scroll to 209 INDIANS. Use the + symbols to navigate to and click on your topic. The cases are listed by the latest first. You can then narrow your search by jurisdiction, court etc.
2. Use Federal Native American Law Cases. From the Westlaw homepage, select Practice Areas > Native American Law > Federal Native American Law Cases. This database includes cases from the US Supreme Court, courts of appeal, district courts, bankruptcy courts, Court of Federal Claims, U.S. Tax Court, military courts, and related federal and territorial courts that relate to Native Americans. Coverage begins with 1789. Use Advanced Search to look for cases on your topic.

Title 25 of the United States Code is entitled Indians. This title contains most of the statutes relating to Indians and Indian tribes.

To find cases that have interpreted or discussed each section of Title 25, use the Annotated Code (USCA) on.
To access USCA, from the Westlaw homepage, select Statutes and Court Rules, then United States Code Annotated (USCA), then scroll to Title 25. Click on the section number in which you are interested, and at the top of the screen you will see Citing References - this shows and links to all cases discussing the section - arranged alphabetically by topic. Notes of Decisions includes Cases (all cases citing the section, arranged chronologically, with the most recent decision first), Trial Court Orders and Documents (pleading, motions, memoranda, affidavits etc, Appellate Court Documents (briefs, petitions and filings) and Administrative Decisions & Guidance.