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Last updated on: 7/23/2020 12:48:57 PM PST

Should the US Federal Government Honor Treaties with Native Americans?

The colonial British and US governments signed treaties with individual sovereign Native American nations between 1722 and 1832. The treaties were intended to establish borders around reservations and conditions of behavior between the US federal government and each nation. In 1871, Congress passed a bill banning new treaties but the legislation states that the US should honor all obligations within the treaties already signed. Many of the treaties have not only not been honored, but have been overridden by new laws.
Sources: African American Policy Forum, "Broken Treaties," aapf.org (accessed July 22, 2020) The Avalon Project, "Treaties between the United States and Native Americans," avalon.law.yale.edu (accessed July 22, 2020)
Pro
Joe Biden
Biden
Jo Jorgensen
Jorgensen

Con
Not Clear or Not Found
Howie Hawkins
Hawkins
Donald Trump
Trump





Pro (Yes)

Pro
Joe Biden
Biden
Democrat

"For decades, Joe Biden has worked to foster tribal sovereignty and prosperity, and to ensure the United States follows through on the commitments it has made to Indian Country. He knows that Tribal Nations should be empowered to govern Native communities and that the United States must work harder to meet its solemn trust and treaty obligations. As president, Joe will build on the progress made under the Obama-Biden Administration to strengthen the nation-to-nation relationship and to support the sovereignty and prosperity of tribal nations."

Source: Joe Biden, "Joe Biden's Commitment to Indian Country," joebiden.com (accessed July 21, 2020
Pro
Jo Jorgensen
Jorgensen
Libertarian

"Yes. The rights of American Indians have either been brutally abused, or were never fully acknowledged, by federal programs purported to help them. The Bureau of Indian Affairs (often said to stand for 'Bossing Indians Around') should be abolished, as it has been an abysmal failure and keeps Native communities in cycles of dependence, poverty, unemployment, and poor health. Treaties that could return land or sovereignty to Native Americans should be honored.

Native Americans should be free to determine their own systems of governance and should have their property rights restored. "

Source: Communication from the Jorgensen campaign to ProCon.org on Sep. 8, 2020.
Con (No)



None Found
Howie Hawkins
Hawkins
Green

"We call for an Economic Bill of Rights to secure universal access to living-wage jobs, an income above poverty, affordable housing, comprehensive health care, lifelong public education, and a secure retirement. We also call for reparations for African Americans, decolonization of U.S. territories, and honoring the treaties with and the land rights of Native Indians and Mexican Americans."


Not Clearly Pro or Con
Donald Trump
Trump
Republican

"Thank YOU Indian Country for being such an IMPORTANT part of the American story! I recently signed 3 bills to support tribal sovereignty...."

Source: Donald Trump, Twitter.com, Dec. 27, 2019

[Editor's Note: The three bills were "compensation to the Spokane tribe for the loss of their lands in the mid-1900s, reauthorization of funding for Native language programs and federal recognition of the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians in Montana."
Source: Anagha Srikanth, "Trump Signed Three Bills Affecting Native Americans. Here's What They Do.," thehill.com, Dec. 27, 2019]




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