The Big Lagoon Rancheria is a federally recognized tribe of Yurok and Tolowa Indians. They are located in Humboldt County, California , and their tribal headquarters is in Arcata, California .
97-640: The tribe was first recognized by the US federal government on 10 July 1918. Tribal enrollment is based on a minimum of 1/8 blood quantum and lineal descent from the Plan of Distribution on the Assets of the Big Lagoon Rancheria, created January 3, 1968. The tribe has 24 enrolled members. The Big Lagoon Rancheria was established in 1918. Their 20-acre (81,000 m) reservation is adjacent to Big Lagoon ,
194-410: A metonym for the federal government. The United States government is based on the principles of federalism and republicanism , in which power is shared between the federal government and state governments . The interpretation and execution of these principles, including what powers the federal government should have and how those powers can be exercised, have been debated ever since the adoption of
291-596: A beautiful waterway, located 30 miles (48 km) north of Eureka, California . It also lies adjacent to the unincorporated community of Big Lagoon, California . Eight households reside on the reservation. The tribe has been able to improve the local water facilities and road system on the reservation. As of the 2010 Census the population was 17. The ranchería is served by the Big Lagoon Union Elementary School District and Northern Humboldt Union High School District . Due to
388-469: A certain percentage of Native American ancestry and demonstrated residence with a tribe or commitment to the community. Few tribes allow members to claim ancestry in more than one tribe. The Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians accept persons of 1/4 Native American ancestry plus documented descent from an ancestor listed in specific records. In part, this recognizes that the Odawa people historically had
485-528: A child is related to particular parents. Many researchers have published articles that caution that genetic ancestry DNA testing has limitations and should not be depended on by individuals to answer all their questions about heritage. Many African Americans believe they have some Native American ancestry. But, in the PBS series led by historian Henry Louis Gates Jr. , called African American Lives , geneticists said DNA evidence shows that Native American ancestry
582-707: A complex set of relationships between state and federal courts. Federal courts can sometimes hear cases arising under state law pursuant to diversity jurisdiction , state courts can decide certain matters involving federal law, and a handful of federal claims are primarily reserved by federal statute to the state courts. Both court systems have exclusive jurisdiction in some areas and concurrent jurisdiction in others. The U.S. Constitution safeguards judicial independence by providing that federal judges shall hold office "during good behavior"; in practice, this usually means they serve until they die, retire, or resign. A judge who commits an offense while in office may be impeached in
679-540: A controversial topic. In 1705, the Colony of Virginia adopted the "Indian Blood law" that limited the civil rights of Native Americans and persons of one-half or more Native American ancestry. This also had the effect of regulating who would be classified as Native American. In the 19th and 20th centuries, the US government believed tribal members had to be defined for the purposes of federal benefits or annuities paid under treaties resulting from land cessions. According to
776-613: A few cases. The judicial power extends to cases arising under the Constitution, an Act of Congress ; a U.S. treaty ; cases affecting ambassadors , ministers and consuls of foreign countries in the U.S.; cases and controversies to which the federal government is a party; controversies between states (or their citizens) and foreign nations (or their citizens or subjects); and bankruptcy cases (collectively "federal-question jurisdiction"). The Eleventh Amendment removed from federal jurisdiction cases in which citizens of one state were
873-504: A minimum degree of blood relationship and often an ancestor listed in a specific tribal census from the late 19th century or early 20th century. The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians of North Carolina , for example, require an ancestor listed in the 1924 Baker census and a minimum of 1/16 Cherokee blood inherited from their ancestor(s) on that roll. Meanwhile, the Cherokee Nation requires applicants to descend from an ancestor in
970-486: A person who has one parent who is a full-blood Native American and one who has no Native ancestry has a BQ of 1/2. Nations that use blood quantum often do so in combination with other criteria. There are different BQ that are required for enrollment in different tribes. For example, to be eligible for enrollment, the Omaha Tribe of Nebraska requires a BQ of 1/4 Native American and descent from a registered ancestor, while
1067-478: A single elected term." Under the Presentment Clause of Article I, a bill that passes both chambers of Congress shall be presented to the president, who may sign the bill into law or veto the bill by returning it to the chamber where it originated. If the president neither signs nor vetoes a bill "within ten Days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him" it becomes a law without
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#17327801337741164-619: A special election can take place. The House and Senate each have particular exclusive powers. For example, the Senate must approve (give " advice and consent " to) many important presidential appointments, including cabinet officers, federal judges (including nominees to the Supreme Court), department secretaries (heads of federal executive branch departments), U.S. military and naval officers, and ambassadors to foreign countries. All legislative bills for raising revenue must originate in
1261-620: A specified blood quantum and lineal descent from an individual on a designated tribal roll. The U.S Territory of American Samoa restricts the alienation of non-freehold land to any person who has less than one-half native blood. "'Native' means a full-blooded Samoan person of Tutuila, Manu’a, Aunu’u, or Swains Island." In Australia , the racial laws inflicted on the Stolen Generations have been compared to blood quantum laws, as mixed-race Indigenous Australian children were removed from their families to biologically absorb them into
1358-493: A territory on both sides of what is now the border between the US and Canada. Each federally recognized tribe has established its own criteria for membership. Given the new revenues that many tribes are realizing from gambling casinos and other economic development, or from settlement of 19th-century land claims , some have established more restrictive rules to limit membership. Between 1904 and 1919, tribal members of mixed African and Native American ancestry were disenrolled from
1455-515: A trade embargo, declare war upon a foreign government that the President had recognized, or decline to appropriate funds for an embassy in that country." The president may also negotiate and sign treaties, but ratifying treaties requires the consent of two-thirds of the Senate. Article II's Appointments Clause provides that the president "shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of
1552-573: Is conducted every 10 years and is used to get a population count. The National Research Council noted in 1996, "The U.S. census decennial enumerations indicate a Native American population growth for the United States that has been nearly continuous since 1900 (except for an influenza epidemic in 1918 that caused serious losses), to 1.42 million by 1980 and to over 1.9 million by 1990." In the 2000 census, there were 2.5 million Native Americans. Since 1960, people may self-identify their ancestry on
1649-582: Is established in Article Two of the United States Constitution , which vests executive power in the president of the United States . The president is both the head of state (performing ceremonial functions) and the head of government (the chief executive). The Constitution directs the president to " take care that the laws be faithfully executed " and requires the president to swear or affirm to "preserve, protect and defend
1746-545: Is far less common than previously believed; of the group tested in the series, only two of the people showed likely Native ancestry. Only 5 percent of African Americans have at least one-eighth Native American ancestry (equivalent to one great-grandparent). On the other hand, nearly 78 percent of African Americans have at least one-eighth European ancestry (the equivalent to one great-grandparent), and nearly 20 percent have at least one-quarter European ancestry (the equivalent to one grandparent.) In response, one critic asserted
1843-402: Is intended to prevent waste and fraud, protect civil liberties and individual rights, ensure executive compliance with the law, gather information for making laws and educating the public, and evaluate executive performance. It applies to cabinet departments, executive agencies, regulatory commissions, and the presidency. Congress's oversight function takes many forms: The executive branch
1940-604: Is one delegate each from Washington, D.C. , Guam , the Virgin Islands , American Samoa , the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands , and a resident commissioner from Puerto Rico . Unlike the U.S. Senate , all members of the U.S. House must be elected and cannot be appointed. In the case of a vacancy, the seat must be filled through a special election, as required under Article 1 of
2037-444: Is that the grandchild of a person on the 1958 roll who was recorded as 1/4 Chippewa is now eligible for tribal membership, thus effectively setting the requirement at 1/16. (equivalent to five great-grandparents) (equivalent to one parent) (equivalent to one grandparent) (equivalent to one great-grandparent) (equivalent to one great-great-grandparent) (equivalent to one great-great-great-grandparent) These tribes require both
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#17327801337742134-588: Is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces . Under the Reception Clause , the president is empowered to "receive Ambassadors and other public Ministers"; the president has broad authority to conduct foreign relations, is generally considered to have the sole power of diplomatic recognition , and is the United States' chief diplomat, although the Congress also has an important role in legislating on foreign affairs, and can, for example, "institute
2231-669: The Chitimacha tribe of Louisiana, and their descendants have since then been denied tribal membership. In 2007 the Cherokee Nation voted in the majority to exclude as members those Cherokee Freedmen who had no documented ancestors on the Cherokee-by-blood list of the Dawes Rolls . However, the Cherokee Supreme Court ruled in 2005 that they were legitimate members of the tribe at that time. After
2328-474: The Constitution , and this is the name that appears on money, in treaties, and in legal cases to which the nation is a party. The terms "Government of the United States of America" or "United States Government" are often used in official documents to represent the federal government as distinct from the states collectively. In casual conversation or writing, the term "Federal Government" is often used, and
2425-886: The Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 , instead determining tribal status on the basis of kinship, lineage, and family ties. Some tribes, such as the Navajo Nation , did not adopt the type of written constitution suggested in that law until the 1950s. Given intermarriage among tribes, particularly those that are closely related and have settled near each other, critics object to the federal requirement that individuals identify as belonging to only one tribe when defining blood quantum. They believe this reduces an individual's valid membership in more than one tribe, as well as costing some persons their qualification as Native American because of having ancestry from more than one tribe but not 1/4 or more from one tribe. Overall,
2522-481: The Poarch Band of Creek Indians . Many tribes today are confederations of different ethnic groups joined into a single political entity making the determination of blood quantum challenging. Other tribes require a minimum blood degree only for tribal members born "off" (outside) the nominal reservation . This is a concept comparable to a combination of the legal principles of Jus soli and Jus sanguinis in
2619-683: The Seminole Nation of Oklahoma attempted to exclude two bands of Seminole Freedmen from membership to avoid including them in the settlement of land claims in Florida, where Seminole Freedmen had also owned land taken by the US government. Since 1942, the Seminole have, at times, tried to exclude Black Seminoles from the tribe. The freedmen were listed separately on the Dawes Rolls and suffered segregation in Oklahoma . More recently,
2716-532: The U.S. Tax Court , are specialized courts handling only certain kinds of cases, known as subject matter jurisdiction . The Bankruptcy Courts are supervised by the district courts, and, as such, are not considered part of the Article III judiciary. As such, their judges do not have lifetime tenure, nor are they Constitutionally exempt from diminution of their remuneration. The Tax Court is an Article I Court, not an Article III Court. The district courts are
2813-505: The United States District Courts , which are the general trial courts for federal law, and for certain controversies between litigants who are not deemed citizens of the same state, known as diversity jurisdiction . There are three levels of federal courts with general jurisdiction, which are courts that handle both criminal and civil suits between individuals. Other courts, such as the bankruptcy courts and
2910-914: The United States Postal Service (USPS), NASA , the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). In addition, there are government-owned corporations , including the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the National Railroad Passenger Corporation . The Judiciary, under Article III of
3007-713: The White House staff, the National Security Council , the Office of Management and Budget , the Council of Economic Advisers , the Council on Environmental Quality , the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative , the Office of National Drug Control Policy , and the Office of Science and Technology Policy . Outside of the EOP and the executive departments are a number of independent agencies . These include
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3104-539: The Wyandotte Nation , require an unspecified amount of Indian ancestry (known as " lineal descendancy ") documented by descent from a recognized member. Others require a specified degree of Indian ancestry but an unspecified share of ancestry from the ancestral tribe or tribes from which the contemporary tribal entity is derived, such as the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians and
3201-508: The federal district (national capital) of Washington, D.C. , where the majority of the federal government is based. The U.S. federal government is composed of three distinct branches: legislative , executive , and judicial , whose powers are vested by the U.S. Constitution in the Congress , the president , and the federal courts , respectively. The powers and duties of these branches are further defined by acts of Congress, including
3298-593: The militia , exercise exclusive legislation in the District of Columbia , regulate interstate commerce , and to make laws necessary to properly execute powers. Over the two centuries since the United States was formed, many disputes have arisen over the limits on the powers of the federal government. These disputes have often been the subject of lawsuits that have ultimately been decided by the United States Supreme Court . Congressional oversight
3395-417: The nationality laws of modern sovereign states. The Red Lake Nation of Minnesota declared in 2019 that all original enrollees on the tribe's 1958 roll were to be "considered full-bloods", regardless of their actual blood quantum as recorded on the roll. Since the tribal blood requirement for membership was (and still is) 1/4, the implication of this "resetting" of the original tribal members' blood quantum
3492-407: The 1906 Dawes roll (direct lineal ancestry), but does not impose minimum blood quantum requirement. The United Keetoowah Band requires a minimum 1/4 blood quantum. The Mashantucket Pequot tribe on the other hand, base their tribal membership on an individual proving descent, by recognized genealogical documentation from one or more members of the eleven families included on the 1900 US census of
3589-484: The 50 states is determined by state populations, and it is updated after each decennial U.S. Census. Each member serves a two-year term. In order to be elected as a representative, an individual must be at least 25 years of age, must have been a U.S. citizen for at least seven years, and must live in the state that they represent. In addition to the 435 voting members, there are six non-voting members, consisting of five delegates and one resident commissioner . There
3686-886: The Cabinet who are appointed by the president. These are the White House Chief of Staff, Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, Director of the Office of Management & Budget, United States Trade Representative, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, and Administrator of the Small Business Administration. The heads of the 15 departments are chosen by
3783-642: The Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma just requires lineal descent from a proven Cherokee ancestor recorded on the Dawes Rolls and has no BQ requirements at all. Others use a tiered system, with the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma using lineal descent for general enrollment, but requiring a BQ of "at least one-fourth" for all tribal council candidates. Prior to colonization, individual tribes had established their own requirements for membership, including
3880-470: The Civil War) or when states' rights proponents have succeeded in limiting federal power through legislative action, executive prerogative or by a constitutional interpretation by the courts. One of the theoretical pillars of the U.S. Constitution is the idea of " checks and balances " among the powers and responsibilities of the three branches of American government: the executive, the legislative, and
3977-667: The Civil War, the US required the Cherokee and other Native American tribes that had supported the Confederacy to make new treaties. They also required them to emancipate their slaves and to give full tribal membership to those freedmen who wanted to stay in tribal territory. The Cherokee Freedmen often had intermarried and some had Cherokee ancestry at the time of the Dawes Rolls, qualifying as Cherokee by blood, but registrars typically classified them as Freedmen. Similarly, in 2000,
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4074-510: The Congress. The United States Congress , under Article I of the Constitution, is the legislative branch of the federal government. It is bicameral , comprising the House of Representatives and the Senate . The U.S. House of Representatives is made up of 435 voting members, each of whom represents a congressional district in a state from where they were elected. Apportionment of seats among
4171-714: The Constitution of the United States." Legal scholars William P. Marshall and Saikrishna B. Prakash write of the Clause: "the President may neither breach federal law nor order their subordinates to do so, for defiance cannot be considered faithful execution. The Constitution also incorporates the English bars on dispensing or suspending the law, with some supposing that the Clause itself prohibits both." Many presidential actions are undertaken via executive orders , presidential proclamations , and presidential memoranda . The president
4268-705: The Constitution, explains and applies the laws. This branch does this by hearing and eventually making decisions on various legal cases. Article III section I of the Constitution establishes the Supreme Court of the United States and authorizes the United States Congress to establish inferior courts as their need shall arise. Section I also establishes a lifetime tenure for all federal judges and states that their compensation may not be diminished during their time in office. Article II section II establishes that all federal judges are to be appointed by
4365-497: The Constitution. Some make a case for expansive federal powers while others argue for a more limited role for the central government in relation to individuals, the states, or other recognized entities. Since the American Civil War , the powers of the federal government have generally expanded greatly, although there have been periods since that time of legislative branch dominance (e.g., the decades immediately following
4462-615: The Constitution; all other powers are reserved to the states and the people. The Constitution also includes the Necessary and Proper Clause , which grants Congress the power to "make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers". Members of the House and Senate are elected by first-past-the-post voting in every state except Louisiana and Georgia , which have runoffs , and Maine and Alaska , which use ranked-choice voting . Congress has
4559-886: The DNA that can be inherited from either parent of an individual, but at a cost of precision. DNA tests that survey the full DNA strand focus on " single nucleotide polymorphisms " or SNPs, but SNPs might be found in Africans, Asians, and people from every other part of the world. Full survey DNA testing cannot accurately determine an individual's full ancestry. Though DNA testing for ancestry is limited more recent genetic testing research of 2015, have found that varied ancestries show different tendencies by region and sex of ancestors. These studies found that on average, African Americans have 73.2–82.1% West African , 16.7%–29% European , and 0.8–2% Native American genetic ancestry, with large variation between individuals. A notable debate in 2019 over
4656-582: The House and 19 in the Senate, plus 4 joint permanent committees with members from both houses overseeing the Library of Congress , printing, taxation, and the economy. In addition, each house may name special, or select, committees to study specific problems. Today, much of the congressional workload is borne by the subcommittees, of which there are around 150. The Constitution grants numerous powers to Congress. Enumerated in Article I, Section 8, these include
4753-425: The House of Representatives. The approval of both chambers is required to pass all legislation, which then may only become law by being signed by the president (or, if the president vetoes the bill, both houses of Congress then re-pass the bill, but by a two-thirds majority of each chamber, in which case the bill becomes law without the president's signature). The powers of Congress are limited to those enumerated in
4850-469: The House plus its two senators). The District of Columbia has a number of electoral votes "equal to the whole number of Senators and Representatives in Congress to which the District would be entitled if it were a State, but in no event more than the least populous State". A President may also be seated by succession . As originally drafted, there was no limit to the time a President could serve, however
4947-800: The Pocahontas Clause of the Racial Integrity Act of 1924 , a white person in Virginia could have a maximum blood quantum of one-sixteenth Native American ancestry without losing his or her legal status as white. The Indian Removal Act and the Trail of Tears led to a major enumeration of Native Americans as well as controversies and misunderstandings about blood quantum that persist to this day. As they were being forcibly driven out of their ancestral homelands and subjected to genocide , many Natives understandably feared and distrusted
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#17327801337745044-591: The Seminole refused to share with them the revenues of 20th-century US government settlements of land claims. The Center for Constitutional Rights has filed an amicus brief, taking up the legal case of the Black Seminoles and criticizing some officials of the Bureau of Indian Affairs for collaborating in this discrimination by supporting tribal autonomy in lawsuits. By treaty, after the American Civil War ,
5141-586: The Seminole were required to emancipate slaves and provide Black Seminoles with all the rights of full-blood Indian members. "American Indian tribes located on reservations tend to have higher BQ requirements for membership than those located off reservation....[reference to table] [O]ver 85 percent of tribes requiring more than a one-quarter BQ for membership are reservation based, as compared with less than 64 percent of those having no minimum requirement. Tribes on reservations have seemingly been able to maintain exclusive membership by setting higher blood quanta, since
5238-568: The Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States " while providing that "Congress may by Law vest the Appointment of such inferior Officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in the Courts of Law, or in the Heads of Departments." These appointments delegate "by legal authority a portion of
5335-493: The Twenty-second Amendment, ratified in 1951, originally limits any president to serving two four-year terms (8 years); the amendment specifically "caps the service of a president at 10 years" by providing that "if a person succeeds to the office of president without election and serves less than two years, he may run for two full terms; otherwise, a person succeeding to office of president can serve no more than
5432-404: The U.S. Constitution. In contrast, the Senate is made up of two senators from each state, regardless of population. There are currently 100 senators (2 from each of the 50 states), who each serve six-year terms. Approximately one-third of the Senate stands for election every two years. If a vacancy occurs, the state governor appoints a replacement to complete the term or to hold the office until
5529-522: The US Census. Native American activism and a rising interest in Native American history appear to have resulted in more individuals identifying as having Native American ancestry on the census. Many Native American tribes continue to employ blood quantum in current tribal laws to determine who is eligible for membership or citizenship in the tribe or Native American nation. These often require
5626-450: The United States that define Native American status by fractions of Native American ancestry . These laws were enacted by the federal government and state governments as a way to establish legally defined racial population groups . By contrast, many tribes do not include blood quantum as part of their own enrollment criteria. Blood quantum laws were first imposed by white settlers in the 18th century. Blood quantum (BQ) continues to be
5723-401: The beginning of the US government's widespread application of the blood quantum idea. At the time, for someone to be recognized as Native American and be qualified for financial and other benefits under treaties or land sales, they had to meet a specific BQ requirement set by the federal government. Native American tribes did not formally use blood quantum law until the government introduced
5820-402: The case from state court to federal court. The United States Courts of Appeals are appellate courts that hear appeals of cases decided by the district courts, and some direct appeals from administrative agencies, and some interlocutory appeals. The U.S. Supreme Court hears appeals from the decisions of the courts of appeals or state supreme courts, and in addition has original jurisdiction over
5917-404: The chambers to consider urgent matters. The vice president is the second-highest official in rank of the federal government. The vice president's duties and powers are established in the legislative branch of the federal government under Article 1, Section 3, Clauses 4 and 5 as the president of the Senate ; this means that they are the designated presiding officer of the Senate. In that capacity,
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#17327801337746014-576: The concept of the one drop rule . This was prevalent in the South after Reconstruction , when white-dominated legislatures imposed legal segregation , which classified the entire population only as white or colored (Native Americans, some of whom were of mixed race, were included in the latter designation). It related to the racial caste system of slavery before the American Civil War . Some critics argue that blood quantum laws helped create racism among tribal members. The historian Tony Seybert contends that
6111-440: The creation of executive departments and courts subordinate to the U.S. Supreme Court . In the federal division of power, the federal government shares sovereignty with each of the 50 states in their respective territories. U.S. law recognizes Indigenous tribes as possessing sovereign powers , while being subject to federal jurisdiction. The full name of the republic is the "United States of America". No other name appears in
6208-402: The early 21st century, many Native American tribes had modified their enrollment requirements and banned people who were already considered members. Those who are not members had tried to challenge policies to become a member. A person's blood quantum (BQ) is defined as the fraction of their ancestors, out of their total ancestors, who are documented as full-blood Native Americans. For instance,
6305-418: The executive branch when becoming president upon the death, resignation, or removal of the president, which has happened nine times in U.S. history. Lastly, in the case of a Twenty-fifth Amendment succession event, the vice president would become acting president, assuming all of the powers and duties of president, except being designated as president. Accordingly, by circumstances, the Constitution designates
6402-411: The government and attempted to avoid enumeration. But the only way to do this was to completely flee the Native American community during a time of widespread persecution. Native Americans who tried to refuse, if they were not already in a prison camp, had warrants issued for their arrests; they were forcibly rounded up and documented against their will. It is a modern misconception that this enumeration
6499-829: The highly sensitive environment of the reservation, the tribe has agreed with the state of California to not develop the reservation. Instead the tribe has partnered with the Los Coyotes Band of Cahuilla and Cupeño Indians to operate the Barstow Casino and Resort in Barstow, California . The historical Arcata Hotel in Arcata is owned and operated by the Big Lagoon Rancheria. 41°09′51″N 124°07′15″W / 41.1642580°N 124.1207870°W / 41.1642580; -124.1207870 Blood quantum Blood quantum laws or Indian blood laws are laws in
6596-483: The judiciary. For example, while the legislative branch ( Congress ) has the power to create law, the executive branch under the president can veto any legislation—an act which, in turn, can be overridden by Congress. The president nominates judges to the nation's highest judiciary authority, the Supreme Court (as well as to lower federal courts), but those nominees must be approved by Congress. The Supreme Court, in turn, can invalidate unconstitutional laws passed by
6693-415: The law and creating precedent for future law and decisions. The United States Constitution does not specifically mention the power of judicial review , which is the power to declare a law unconstitutional. There have been instances in the past where such declarations have been ignored by the other two branches. Below the U.S. Supreme Court are the United States Courts of Appeals , and below them in turn are
6790-694: The number of registered members of many Native American tribes has been reduced because of tribal laws that define and limit the definition of acceptable blood quantum. Native American nations have continued to assert sovereignty and treaty rights, including their own criteria for tribal membership, which vary among them. In the early 21st century, some nations, such as the Wampanoag tightened their enrollment criteria and excluded persons who had previously been considered members. Challenges to such policies have been pursued by those excluded. Native American tribes have maintained their claims to sovereignty and treaty rights, as well as their own membership requirements. By
6887-642: The office of vice president. Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution sets forth the creation of a presidential Cabinet. The role of the Cabinet is to advise the president and carry out the programs and laws of the federal government. The Cabinet is composed of the vice president and the leaders of 15 executive departments. Those executive departments are the Departments of State, Treasury, Defense, Justice, Interior, Agriculture, Commerce, Labor, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Transportation, Energy, Education, Veterans Affairs, and Homeland Security. Additionally, there are seven other members of
6984-765: The percentage must be higher because there are so many family stories (the reasons for which Gates and, notably, Chris Rock explored in the documentary), but felt that many people did not always talk about it because to acknowledge it would be to deny their African heritage. Some critics thought the PBS series African American Lives did not sufficiently explain such limitations of DNA testing for assessment of heritage. In terms of persons searching for ethnic ancestry, they need to understand that Y-chromosome and mtDNA (mitochondrial DNA) testing looks only at "direct" line male and female ancestors, and thus can fail to pick up many other ancestors' heritage. Newer DNA tests can survey all
7081-488: The plaintiffs and the government of another state was the defendant. It did not disturb federal jurisdiction in cases in which a state government is a plaintiff and a citizen of another state the defendant. The power of the federal courts extends both to civil actions for damages and other redress, and to criminal cases arising under federal law. The interplay of the Supremacy Clause and Article III has resulted in
7178-497: The power to adjourn Congress whenever the House and Senate cannot agree when to adjourn; no president has ever used this power. The president also has the constitutional power to, "on extraordinary Occasions, convene both Houses, or either of them"; this power has been used "to consider nominations, war, and emergency legislation." This Section invests the President with the discretion to convene Congress on "extraordinary occasions"; this special session power that has been used to call
7275-478: The power to re-organize or even abolish federal courts lower than the Supreme Court. The U.S. Supreme Court decides cases and controversies , which include matters pertaining to the federal government, disputes between states, and interpretation of the United States Constitution, and, in general, can declare legislation or executive action made at any level of the government as unconstitutional , nullifying
7372-437: The power to remove the president, federal judges, and other federal officers from office. The House of Representatives and Senate have separate roles in this process. The House must first vote to impeach the official. Then, a trial is held in the Senate to decide whether the official should be removed from office. As of 2023 , three presidents have been impeached: Andrew Johnson , Bill Clinton , and Donald Trump (twice). None of
7469-420: The powers to levy and collect taxes ; to coin money and regulate its value; provide for punishment for counterfeiting; establish post offices and roads, issue patents, create federal courts inferior to the Supreme Court , combat piracies and felonies , declare war , raise and support armies , provide and maintain a navy , make rules for the regulation of land and naval forces, provide for, arm and discipline
7566-541: The practice of banishment for those who had committed unforgivable crimes. Some traditional communities still hold to these precontact standards. Tribes that follow lineal descent may require a Native American ancestor who is listed on a prior tribal rations-issue roll , such as the Dawes Rolls for the Five Civilized Tribes in Oklahoma or a late 19th-century census . In some cases, they may also require
7663-502: The president and approved with the "advice and consent" of the U.S. Senate. Once confirmed, these "Cabinet secretaries" serve at the pleasure of the president. In addition to the executive departments, a number of staff organizations are grouped into the Executive Office of the President (EOP), which was created in 1939 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The EOP is overseen by the White House Chief of Staff. The EOP includes
7760-485: The president and confirmed by the United States Senate. The Judiciary Act of 1789 subdivided the nation jurisdictionally into judicial districts and created federal courts for each district. The three tiered structure of this act established the basic structure of the national judiciary: the Supreme Court, 13 courts of appeals, 94 district courts, and two courts of special jurisdiction. Congress retains
7857-474: The president has major agenda-setting powers to influence lawmaking and policymaking, and typically has a major role as the leader of their political party . The president and vice president are normally elected as running mates by the Electoral College ; each state has a number of electoral votes equal to the size of its Congressional delegation ( i.e. , its number of Representatives in
7954-525: The president's signature, "unless the Congress by their Adjournment prevent its Return in which Case it shall not be a Law" (called a pocket veto ). A presidential veto may be overridden by a two-thirds vote in both houses of Congress; this occurs relatively infrequently. The president may be impeached by a majority in the House and removed from office by a two-thirds majority in the Senate for " treason , bribery , or other high crimes and misdemeanors ". The president may not dissolve Congress , but has
8051-661: The reservation location has generally served to isolate the tribe from non-Indians and intermarriage with them." Many Native Americans have become used to the idea of "blood quantum". The blood quantum laws have caused problems in Native American families whose members were inaccurately recorded as having differing full or partial descent from particular tribes. In some cases, blood quantum has strained families and relationships. At certain times, some state governments classified persons with African American and Native American admixture solely as African American, largely because of racial discrimination related to slavery history and
8148-725: The southern colonies. Nationwide, 54-61% of all Native Americans marry non-Natives , which is a much higher rate than for any other racial group. It is projected that the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe will experience a gradual population decrease in the coming decades, unless it lowers its current membership requirement of at least 25% Native ancestry, as a consequence of tribal members having children with non-Native Americans for several generations. No federally recognized tribe enrolls members solely based on DNA testing, as it generally cannot distinguish among tribes. Some tribes may require DNA testing only to document that
8245-594: The sovereign powers of the federal government." The Constitution grants the president the "Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States , except in Cases of Impeachment"; this clemency power includes the power to issue absolute or conditional pardons, and to issue commute sentences , to remit fines, and to issue general amnesties . The presidential clemency power extends only to federal crimes, and not to state crimes. The president has informal powers beyond their formal powers. For example,
8342-525: The term "U.S. Government" is sometimes used. The terms "Federal" and "National" in government agency or program names generally indicate affiliation with the federal government; for instance, the Federal Bureau of Investigation , National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration , and National Park Service . Because the seat of government is in Washington, D.C. , "Washington" is sometimes used as
8439-434: The three were removed from office following trial in the Senate. Article I, Section 2, paragraph 2 of the U.S. Constitution gives each chamber the power to "determine the rules of its proceedings". From this provision were created congressional committees , which do the work of drafting legislation and conducting congressional investigations into national matters. The 118th Congress (2023–2025) has 20 standing committees in
8536-529: The trial courts wherein cases that are considered under the Judicial Code (Title 28, United States Code) consistent with the jurisdictional precepts of federal question jurisdiction , diversity jurisdiction, and pendent jurisdiction can be filed and decided. The district courts can also hear cases under removal jurisdiction , wherein a case brought in a state court meets the requirements for diversity jurisdiction, and one party litigant chooses to "remove"
8633-573: The tribe does not require blood quantum. Author Robert J. Conley has stated that if a tribe like the Cherokee Nation are "really serious about exercising its sovereignty and determining its membership," then it should not use the roll that "was put together by the U.S. government and then closed by the U.S. government," meaning that a tribal nation is still subject to the settler definitions of its members when other outside nations do not require rolls, ethnicity, race, or blood quantum for citizenship, but rather birth location and descendance. The U.S. Census
8730-487: The tribe later "developing a quantifiable definition of Cherokee identity based on ancestry," this "would dramatically affect the process of enrollment late in the nineteenth century and the modern procedure of obtaining membership in the Cherokee Nation, both of which require tracing and individuals’ lineage to a ‘Cherokee by blood.’" Thus, the Dawes Roll still upholds "by blood" language and theory of its time even though
8827-656: The tribe. The Northern Ute Tribe require a 5/8 blood quantum, making them the only tribe to require a number greater than 1/2. The Miccosukee of Florida , the Mississippi Choctaw , and the St. Croix Chippewa of Wisconsin all require one-half "tribal blood quantum", also among the higher percentages. At the other end of the scale, some tribes, such as the Kaw Nation , have no blood quantum requirement. Many tribes, such as Alabama-Quassarte Tribal Town and
8924-692: The validity of DNA testing for Native American ancestry arose over the controversies surrounding Elizabeth Warren's ancestry . Basing citizenship off specific enrollment rolls, like the Dawes Roll (that were taken after more than 80 years after Removal, after the Civil War , and after tribal government restructuring), is what scholar Fay A. Yarbrough calls "dramatically different from older conceptions" of tribal identity based on clan relationships, "in which individuals could be fully," for example, "Cherokee without possessing any Cherokee ancestry." And that by
9021-518: The vice president as routinely in the legislative branch, or succeeding to the executive branch as president, or possibly being in both as acting president pursuant to the Twenty-fifth Amendment . Because of circumstances, the overlapping nature of the duties and powers attributed to the office, the title of the office and other matters, such has generated a spirited scholarly dispute regarding attaching an exclusive branch designation to
9118-522: The vice president has the authority ( ex officio , for they are not an elected member of the Senate) to cast a tie-breaking vote . Pursuant to the Twelfth Amendment , the vice president presides over the joint session of Congress when it convenes to count the vote of the Electoral College . As first in the U.S. presidential line of succession , the vice president's duties and powers move to
9215-602: The white population under the assumption that full-blooded individuals were doomed to extinction. United States government [REDACTED] [REDACTED] The federal government of the United States ( U.S. federal government or U.S. government ) is the common government of the United States , a federal republic located primarily in North America , comprising 50 states , five major self-governing territories , several island possessions , and
9312-496: Was equivalent to contemporary tribal enrollment, or in any way optional. The concept of blood quantum was not widely applied by the United States government until the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 . At the time, the federal government required persons to have a certain BQ to be recognized as Native American, and thus eligible for financial and other benefits under treaties or sales of land. The Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 marked
9409-551: Was why some members of the so-called Five Civilized tribes were slaveholders. The majority of slave owners were of mixed-European ancestry. Some believed they were of higher status than full-blood Indians and people of African ancestry. Other historians contend that the Cherokee and other tribes held slaves because it was in their economic interest and part of the general southeastern culture. Cherokee and other tribes had also traditionally taken captives in warfare to use as slaves, though their institution differed from what developed in
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