Episode 21: “Tribal Sovereignty” 101: Limited Sovereignty, Federal Domination, and the Language Trap

On 25 May 2026 • Duration 1:01:01

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Steve and Peter unpack “tribal sovereignty,” federal anti-Indian law, Cohen’s Handbook, and the domination framework hidden in plain sight.

Today we unpack the phrase "tribal sovereignty" to show that it is an oxymoron and that functions to obscure the domination inherent in federal anti-Indian law.

"Sovereignty" means a claim of unlimited power. Jean Bodin defined it as supremacy over citizens or subjects unrestrained by the laws. Sterling Edmonds defined "sovereignty' as an authority independent of any other earthly authority.

If "tribal sovereignty" were actually sovereignty, Native nations and peoples would be subject to no other laws than their own.

But federal anti-Indian law defines "tribal sovereignty" as "limited sovereignty", which is an oxymoron since "sovereignty" means a claim of unlimited power.

Federal anti-Indian law also defines "tribal sovereignty" as "sovereignty that the US has not extinguished". A clear statement of the US claim of a right of domination.

We go through all these definitions and point out where the twists and turns happen that convert "tribal sovereignty" into a deception meant to confuse those who think they are proclaiming a free and independent existence when in fact they are using a concept that binds them into unfree and dependent existence.

We illustrate the confusion by discussing a March 2026 document that asserts Lakota land rights while simultaneously accepting the domination framework that denies Lakota land rights.

Transcript

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RESOURCES:

• Handbook of Federal Indian Law

  • 1941 original edition: https://thorpe.law.ou.edu/cohen/HandbookOfFederalIndianLaw.pdf
  • 2005 edition: https://api.law.wisc.edu/repository-pdf/uwlaw-library-repository-omekav3/original/d61dee5b7f85f22c3f401bc97bbe24462c6ffdda.pdf

• "Broken Promises, Buried Rights. Analyzing the Approval of Exploratory Drilling at Pe' Sla": https://lakotalaw.org/resources/pe-sla-drilling-analysis

• Complaint filed in Pe' Sla case: https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.sdd.86043/gov.uscourts.sdd.86043.1.0.pdf

Citation

Steve Newcomb and Peter d’Errico, "“Tribal Sovereignty” 101: Limited Sovereignty, Federal Domination, and the Language Trap," Domination Chronicles (Podcast), 2026-05-25, https://dominationchronicles.com/e021-tribal-sovereignty-101/.

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