Navajo Statehood: From Domestic Dependent Nation to 51st State
Loading...
Date
2024-03-01
Authors
Mullenix, Philip S.
Rosser, Ezra
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Oregon School of Law
Abstract
The inability or unwillingness of the U.S. Supreme Court, and to some extent all other non-Indian governance institutions at the state and federal level, to take tribal sovereignty seriously forces a question: Should the Navajo Nation pursue statehood? Such a question may seem far-fetched or merely an academic thought experiment, but there is historical precedent for contemplating the idea that an Indian nation might form a state. Moreover, journalists, academics, and politicians have floated the possibility that the Navajo Nation already meets many of the attributes required to form a new state. So, although the idea of the Navajo Nation becoming the fifty-first state of the Union seems far fetched, considering the possibility provides a way to better understand both statehood and the hard choices Indian nations must make.
Description
52 pages
Keywords
Federal Indian Law, Constitutional law, Statehood, Navajo Nation, Tribal sovereignty
Citation
101 Or. L. Rev. 307