US Government Documents related to Indigenous Nations

Congress

57th Congress, 2d Session

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Description

This United States (US) Supreme Court case, argued on October 23, 1902 and decided on January 5, 1903, held that the US Congress does have the right to pass legislation that changes the terms of tribal treaties without the necessary consent of the tribes with whom the treaties were made. The petitioner in this case, Lone Wolf (representing members of the Kiowa, Comanche, and Apache tribes) appealed a decision from the court of appeals from the District of Columbia. The petitioner claimed that the Medicine Lodge treaty of 1867 with the Kiowa and Comanche tribes was violated when Congress passed bills modifying the treaty without the consent of three fourths of the adult male members of the tribes, per the specifications of the treaty. In their decision on the appeal, the US Supreme court noted its view that Indigenous people are “wards” of the US Government, requiring resources, protection, and management/governance. The decision cites Cherokee Nation v. Hitchcock (1902) which “held that full administrative power was possessed by Congress over Indian tribal property.” Further, the Court held that they could not limit the powers of Congress to control tribal lands as in the event of an emergency or urgent situation, Congress would not be able to wait for tribal consent and that acts of Congress are legislative in nature and not “subject to the control of the courts.” The Supreme Court affirmed, and Justice White delivered the opinion of the court.

Publication Date

1-5-1903

Keywords

Medicine Lodge Treaty, Supreme Court Decision, tribal lands, treaty violation, Kiowa Tribe, Kiowa Indian Tribe of Oklahoma, Beautiful People, K’yakhome bah ah Hei-Dae, Comanche Tribe, Comanche Nation of Oklahoma, Comanche Nation, Nʉmʉnʉʉ, The People, Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes (Oklahoma), Tsistsistas, The Beautiful People, Hinono’ei, Our People, Cheyenne Tribe, Arapaho Tribe, Apache Tribe, Apache Tribe of Oklahoma, Indé, The People, Choctaw Tribe, The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, Chickasaw Tribe, The Chickasaw Nation, Chikasha

Organizations Referenced

Department of the Interior, US Congress, US Bureau of Indian Affairs, US House Committee on Indian Affairs, Kiowa Tribe, Kiowa Indian Tribe of Oklahoma, Beautiful People, K’yakhome bah ah Hei-Dae, Comanche Tribe, Comanche Nation of Oklahoma, Comanche Nation, Nʉmʉnʉʉ, The People, Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes (Oklahoma), Tsistsistas, The Beautiful People, Hinono’ei, Our People, Cheyenne Tribe, Arapaho Tribe, Apache Tribe, Apache Tribe of Oklahoma, Indé, The People, Choctaw Tribe, The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, Chickasaw Tribe, The Chickasaw Nation, Chikasha

People Referenced

Lone Wolf, William M. Springer, Hampton L. Carson, Mr. Assistant Attorney General Van Devanter, Melville Weston Fuller, David Josiah Brewer, Henry Billings Brown, George Shiras Jr., Edward Douglass White, Rufus Wheeler Peckham, Joseph McKenna, Oliver Wendell Holmes, John Marshall Harlan

Publisher

Government Printing Office

Disciplines

American Politics | Indigenous, Indian, and Aboriginal Law | Indigenous Studies | Law and Politics | Native American Studies | United States History

Recommended Citation

Lone Wolf v. Hitchcock, 187 US 553 (1903). https://commons.und.edu/indigenous-gov-docs/172/.

Lone Wolf v. Hitchcock

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