« Health is sovereignty; Indigenous people need health: Joseph Leblanc, Frances Wesley, George Drazenovich, Paul Capon, Jacinta Oyella, Rachel Rainville, ‘Advancing culturally competent medical education: decolonizing approaches to indigenous health as a human rights imperative’, Critical Public Health, 35, 1, 2025, #2489466
The future of settler futurity: Cyanne So-lo-li Topaum, ‘Terminal Futurity and Native Ressentiment in the Indigenous Post-Apocalypse’, Orbit, 2025 »

Property is not sovereignty; Indigenous peoples need sovereignty: Carla D. Pratt, ‘Indianness as Property’, Boston University Law Review, 105, 2025, pp. 311-369

15Apr25

Abstract: This Article expands upon the seminal work by Cheryl Harris entitled Whiteness as Property by exploring the intersection of race and property through Indianness. Indianness has been constructed as a form of property conferring rights and privileges to its holders which this Article examines through the inertial relationship between race and legal status. Tracing the historical evolution of Indianness from the slavery era to the modern era demonstrates the complex relationship between tribal sovereignty, citizenship and Indian identity. This legal history contextualizes contemporary disputes over who can enjoy tribal citizenship and be Indian. This Article advocates for a reevaluation of Indianness that it is not grounded in notions of race and property, but rather sovereignty, history and culture, asserting that broadening the conception of Indianness will strengthen tribal sovereignty.


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