Martinez V. Santa Clara Pueblo Case Study

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The American Indian Movement was formed and it was influenced due to the other civil rights groups speaking their mind about the oppression they found to be evident within the major of their culture. Martinez v. Santa Clara one of the most cited court cases focusing on the suppression of equal rights among all, Native American sovereignty, and the ability to govern over own domestic disputes. Martinez v. Santa Clara Pueblo a landmark case although no differences in stressors, cause Native American civil rights activists to speak out against the right of suffrage, ability for self-discrimination and Native American equal rights. The Native Americans have dealt with countless amounts of obstacles, however the government allows for federally funding …show more content…

Johnson uses this law as a temporary fix for few citizens are outspoken. silence the Indian group and their fight for civil rights. This was a waste of time and just prolonged the suffering of the Indian culture. A case known as Martinez v. Santa Clara Pueblo dealt with the laws under which they never took their civil rights seriously. The case was based on simple membership in Indian tribes with the intent of keeping blood line pure. Interracial couples were around in this time period and it became so common the problem of pure blood lines were becoming contaminated. The Santa Clara Pueblo has been a recognized federal government for more than one-hundred years. Santa Clara adopted a membership law and as a government, they regulate their own domestic relations that are reported to their own individual government under the United States. They determine citizenship through blood ratios and clear descendants. Martinez’s son was bi-racial, the mother was Native American and her husband was not Native American, under the law the father was not allowed into the tribe. The case covers the unequal rights Native Americans are facing but bullying within the tribes was evident when it was clear it was necessary to keep the blood line pure.The dissent of the case explained that if the constitution rights were to be given to individual citizen it will …show more content…

Tribal lands were not all purely native Americans. Interracial marriages encouraged the potential for bully and abuse within their own tribal lands. This encouraged formal acts of government within the tribes such as, court trials that resulted in the extension of Native American sovereignty. But it also allowed for the tribes to govern themselves “legal grey areas” which were clearly evident to the Native Americans and many conflicts arose because of the procrastination of fixing the problem at hand. Native Americans have fought against the suppression of rights and discrimination but persevered adopting new rights to vote, along with the ability to self-govern their own communities and deal with their own domestic laws under the United States of

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