Domestic dependent nations
| Domestic dependent nations | |
|---|---|
| |
| Category | Autonomous administrative divisions |
| Location | United States |
| Created |
|
| Number | 326 (map includes the 310 as of May 1996) |
| Populations | 123 (several) – 173,667 (Navajo Nation) |
| Areas | Ranging from the 1.32-acre (0.534 hectare) Pit River Tribe's cemetery in California to the 16 million–acre (64,750 square kilometer) Navajo Nation Reservation located in Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah |
In the 1831 Supreme Court of the United States case Cherokee Nation v. Georgia, Chief Justice of the United States John Marshall wrote that Native Americans in the United States were "domestic dependent nations" whose relationship to the United States is like that of a "ward to its guardian". The case was a landmark decision which led to the United States recognizing over 574 federally recognized tribal governments and 326 Indian reservations which are legally classified as domestic dependent nations with tribal sovereignty rights.