Elk v. Wilkins
| Elk v. Wilkins | |
|---|---|
| Argued April 28, 1884 Decided November 3, 1884 | |
| Full case name | John Elk v. Charles Wilkins |
| Citations | 112 U.S. 94 (more) 5 S. Ct. 41; 28 L. Ed. 643; 1884 U.S. LEXIS 1857 |
| Holding | |
| An Indian cannot make himself a citizen of the United States without the consent and the co-operation of the government. | |
| Court membership | |
| |
| Case opinions | |
| Majority | Gray, joined by Waite, Miller, Field, Bradley, Matthews, Blatchford |
| Dissent | Harlan, joined by Woods |
Elk v. Wilkins, 112 U.S. 94 (1884), was a United States Supreme Court landmark 1884 decision with respect to the citizenship status of Indians.
John Elk, a Winnebago Indian, was born on an Indian reservation within the territorial bounds of United States. He later resided off-reservation in Omaha, Nebraska, where he renounced his former tribal allegiance and claimed birthright citizenship by virtue of the Citizenship Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The case came about after Elk tried to register to vote on April 5, 1880, and was denied by Charles Wilkins, the named defendant, who was registrar of voters of the Fifth ward of the City of Omaha.
In a 7–2 decision, the Supreme Court ruled that even though Elk was born in the United States, he was not a citizen because he was not subject to the jurisdiction of the United States when he was born on an Indian reservation. The United States Congress later enacted the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924, which established citizenship for Indians previously excluded by the Constitution.