The reservation system gives tribes limited self-governance while keeping them under federal control

Tribal courts handle justice on reservations, but face strict limits on whom they can prosecute

Reservation-based courts handle civil and criminal cases, but federal law sharply limits their authority over non-tribal members. As a result, non-Native individuals who commit crimes on reservations often fall outside tribal jurisdiction, creating potential gaps in accountability.

The US has 575 federally recognized tribal nations, each a sovereign government

Tribal governments are sovereign, with authority to pass laws, run courts, and levy taxes on their lands. Unlike cities or counties, they are not created by states. Their sovereignty predates the United States itself and is recognized in the Constitution, treaties, and federal law.

In the 1950s, the federal government tried to dissolve tribal nations and end their sovereignty

A federal policy called "termination" withdrew official recognition from more than 100 tribes in the 1950s, cutting off federal services and subjecting reservation land to state taxes and sale.

How the Navajo nation works

Tribal reservations control over 89,000 square miles of land in the US, roughly 2.5% of all US land. While individual tribes are recognized as sovereigns, they are not viewed as countries by the US government. Learn how the Navajo nation in...

A 1975 law let tribes run their own programs instead of relying on federal bureaucracies

The Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act allowed tribes to contract directly with the federal government to administer their own health, education, and social services—reversing policies from the "termination era."

Cases during John Marshall's tenure defined the principles of federal Indian law

During Marshall's tenure, three landmark rulings—Johnson v. M'Intosh, Cherokee Nation v. Georgia, and Worcester v. Georgia—established foundational doctrines of federal Indian law, defining tribal sovereignty, limiting state authority, and placing primary responsibility for Native affairs in the federal government.

Native Americans built democratic systems of governance

Indigenous nations, such as the Muscogee, a confederacy of towns in the present-day Southeast, practiced participatory governance centered on communal decision-making and the consent of the governed.

A 2020 Supreme Court ruling affirmed that nearly half of Oklahoma remains tribal land

In McGirt v. Oklahoma, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that the Muscogee Nation's reservation was never legally dissolved, thereby stripping Oklahoma of authority to prosecute tribal members for crimes committed on that land. Season One of the "This Land" podcast further explores how reservation court systems operate.

Some tribes push for national parks to be under Indigenous control

Ojibwe author and academic David Treuer talks about his push for 80 million acres of American national park land to be returned to Indigenous stewards. Treuer proposes the government grant control of this land to a consortium of tribes, which would maintain and manage it for use by all Americans.

Native religious practices were suppressed for centuries before receiving federal protection in 1978

During the first two centuries of American history, the government frequently banned Native ceremonial dances, took sacred sites, and enrolled children in boarding schools where they were prevented from practicing their faith. The American Indian Religious Freedom Act of 1978 committed the federal government to safeguarding Native spiritual practices.

A separate agency within the Department of the Interior manages the education of Native Americans on reservations

The Bureau of Indian Education (BIE), housed under the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs, manages 183 elementary and secondary schools on 64 reservations across 23 states, serving around 40,000 Native American K–12 students outside state public systems.

The United States is one of only around two dozen countries with a fully federal system of government, in which power is divided between national and state governments.

The EPA works directly with Indigenous nations to protect native lands

Through the National EPA-Tribal Science Council, the agency works directly with federally recognized tribes, supporting air and water monitoring, pollution cleanup, and environmental restoration. Special grant programs also exist to enable tribes to develop their own environmental programs and enhance their technical capacity.

Colonial self-rule fostered strong autonomy and distrust of centralized power

American colonies were governed through a patchwork of different systems, ranging from Crown-run to locally controlled. Broad local autonomy—often followed by sudden imperial crackdowns—taught colonial leaders to prize home rule and distrust distant centralized power, attitudes that later informed US federalism.

Federalism creates tension between national and state power by design

Federalism assigns authority so that neither the national government nor the states entirely dominate the other or the people they govern. By creating overlapping claims of power, the system makes negotiation, conflict, and compromise a permanent feature rather than a failure.

European colonization dramatically reshaped Native American life

As European settlers expanded across North America, Native Americans faced displacement, violence, and forced negotiations. Colonial powers used trade relationships, treaties, and military force to reshape Indigenous communities and claim their territories.

Pontiac's Rebellion prompted Britain to draw a line between colonists and Native lands in 1763

After the French and Indian War, a coalition of Indigenous nations—led by Odawa leader Pontiac—launched a major uprising against British forts. In response, Britain issued the Royal Proclamation of 1763, which reserved lands west of the Appalachian Mountains for Native peoples.

The 10th Amendment affirms that most undelegated powers remain with the states

Adopted to reassure skeptics of an overly powerful federal government, the amendment was meant to curb federal overreach and preserve state control over most everyday governance decisions.

In 2023, Native Americans had the lowest life expectancy at birth among all racial and ethnic groups

Native Americans and Alaska Natives face significant health disparities linked to chronic underinvestment in reservation health infrastructure, poverty, and multigenerational psychological harm—often called historical or inherited trauma.

Advocates for restricting birthright citizenship argue that some parents aren't 'fully subject to US jurisdiction'

Proponents of limiting birthright citizenship claim that undocumented immigrants and temporary visa holders do not meet the 14th Amendment's "subject to the jurisdiction" requirement, arguing their allegiance remains with another country.

The Nationality Act of 1790 restricted new citizenship to 'free white persons'

The first federal citizenship law limited naturalization to white immigrants, excluding enslaved people, Indigenous communities, and most non-Europeans.

Lewis and Clark encountered more than 70 Native tribes during their journey

The Corps of Discovery’s diplomacy ranged from peaceful trade and vital aid from tribes like the Shoshone and Nez Perce to tense standoffs, most notably with the Teton Sioux, who nearly brought the expedition to a halt.

A 'designated survivor' stays away from the State of the Union to ensure continuity of government

During major events like the State of the Union, one Cabinet member is kept at a secure location. This "designated survivor" would assume the presidency if a catastrophe eliminated those higher in the line of succession.

Presidents now rely on executive agreements instead of formal treaties

Formal treaties—requiring two-thirds Senate approval—have become rare in American foreign policy. Modern presidents increasingly use executive agreements, which don't need congressional consent, allowing faster diplomacy but reducing legislative oversight and transparency.

Hear about the secret room where your rights are decided

A court designed to be the least powerful branch became one of the most influential institutions in history. 1440 Explores host Sony Kassam dives inside the Supreme Court of the United States, with help from Yale law professor Akhil Reed Amar, to uncover how it gained extraordinary authority, what really happens behind closed doors, and why its power has become one of the most fiercely contested questions in modern democracy.

British rule in India wasn’t deliberate—it developed from trade

This academic explainer shows how Britain’s rule in India evolved from unplanned trading footholds to complete imperial control. It examines the decline of the Mughal Empire, economic expansion, racism, rebellion, and the mixed legacy of institutions and exploitation that still shape India today.

Despite being favored by 87% of Americans, Congress does not have term limits.

'Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone,' a work by American painter Thomas Moran, inspired Congress to establish Yellowstone National Park.

The idea for the Federal Reserve was conceived in secret in 1910—with bankers donning duck hunt gear for disguise while traveling to a remote country club on Georgia's Jekyll Island

In 2018, 26-year-old missionary John Allen Chau was killed by tribesmen after attempting to reach and evangelize on India's isolated North Sentinel Island

Gerrymandering works through two techniques: cracking opposing voters across districts to dilute their power, and packing them into a few to waste their votes in lopsided majorities.

The original copy of the Declaration of Independence is not a pristine document, and even features a smudged anonymous handprint in the bottom left corner.

See this overview of the firework rules across all 50 states, ranging from a complete ban on non-professional fireworks in Massachusetts to states with more lax rules like Indiana.

The Great Salt Lake's distinct dual coloration results from high-salinity organisms that only live in the northern portion and produce a purple protein.

Indefinite cloning of some endangered species may not sustain their longevity because cloning success rates decrease as genetic mutations accumulate.

In 2025, four executives from large tech companies were given positions in the US Army Reserves—including Palantir Chief Technology Officer Shyam Sankar, which reinforced Palantir's ties with the US military and its role as a leading defense partner.

The American Society of Civil Engineers' infrastructure report card gave the US a C in 2025, its highest grade since the project launched in 1998.

Corals are themselves not coral reefs—the term refers to the tiny marine invertebrates that build the rigid reef.

After NASA's Voyager 1 captured Earth as a single pixel as it left the solar system in 1990, astronomer Carl Sagan used the image to reflect on humanity's fragility and the responsibility to protect 'the only world we've ever known.'

The story of Dollree Mapp, whose legal challenge over her 1957 conviction for possessing "obscene material" led to a major strengthening of the Fourth Amendment

Some renewable energy sources may weaken the resiliency of electric grids by removing outage buffers provided by coal- and natural gas-fired plants, which provide the system with more time to find a new power source if a plant goes down.

Explore an interactive map of battles from the American Revolution, along with detailed summaries of each engagement

Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps is independent of Iran's regular army and is one of the most powerful and influential military-political organizations in the Middle East.

During the French Revolution, a botanist's letter asking about "dear Rhus" (poison ivy) was intercepted, leading authorities to suspect he was conspiring with the Russians.

Researchers believe the brain consolidates memories, processes emotions, and plans for the future during dream states

Tattoos remain visible on your skin thanks to immune cells called macrophages

Domino's Pizza's 30-minute delivery guarantee was responsible for the chain's 1980s surge, but it was discontinued after the company was found liable for delivery driver accidents.

Netflix profits when you're not watching, and its movies are designed that way—read a detail-rich critical essay exposing lesser-known Netflix takes

Some researchers have labeled nomophobia, the fear of being without your phone, as 'the phobia of the 21st century.'