Brad A. Bays – författare

Sovereignty establishes a government-to-government relationship between American Indian tribes and the United States. Exploring tribal-state interactions over land and sovereignty, this book takes a geographical look at issues of environmental regulation, expansion of gaming, criminal jurisdiction, taxation, fishing, and transportation. The contributors find repeatedly that tribes and states have two choices—litigate or cooperate. While identifying the encroachment of state jurisdiction in Indian country, this book also seeks to develop a resource for tribes, states, and all actors in their relationships and to show that no tribal-state interaction has to be a zero-sum game.

In response to the influx of white settlement after the Civil War, the Cherokee nation devised a regional development plan which allowed whites to establish farms and build towns while reinforcing Cherokee tribal sovereignty over the territory. The presence of sizeable towns and numerous villages presented a legal conundrum for Congress when it legislated away Cherokee sovereignty at the turn of the century. By 1898, tens of thousands of whites owned residential and commercial properties worth millions of dollars in Cherokee Nation towns, but every lot was owned by the Cherokee people. The federal government created a program to transfer legal ownership of town lots to white occupants, but poor implementation of the program allowed individuals to subvert the law for their own gain. The author explores the subject using primary documentation of such diverse sources as traveler's reports, land records, tribal and federal correspondence, and accounts of Cherokee and white settlers. Descriptive statistics and analytical mapping of historical data provide additional facets to the analysis. Also inlcludes 50 maps.(Ph.D. dissertation, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 1996; revised with new preface, introduction, afterword) Index. Bibliography.

In response to the influx of white settlement after the Civil War, the Cherokee nation devised a regional development plan which allowed whites to establish farms and build towns while reinforcing Cherokee tribal sovereignty over the territory. The presence of sizeable towns and numerous villages presented a legal conundrum for Congress when it legislated away Cherokee sovereignty at the turn of the century. By 1898, tens of thousands of whites owned residential and commercial properties worth millions of dollars in Cherokee Nation towns, but every lot was owned by the Cherokee people. The federal government created a program to transfer legal ownership of town lots to white occupants, but poor implementation of the program allowed individuals to subvert the law for their own gain. The author explores the subject using primary documentation of such diverse sources as traveler''s reports, land records, tribal and federal correspondence, and accounts of Cherokee and white settlers. Descriptive statistics and analytical mapping of historical data provide additional facets to the analysis. Also inlcludes 50 maps.(Ph.D. dissertation, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 1996; revised with new preface, introduction, afterword) Index. Bibliography.