American History Quiz.

[Marcuse]

13. The Constitution does mention Indians.

[link:https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ751642|

The phrase "excluding Indians not taxed" appears in both Article I and the Fourteenth Amendment of the US Constitution. This essay examines the phrases "excluding Indians not taxed" and "subject to the jurisdiction" of sections 1 and 2 of the Fourteenth Amendment as they apply to Indians. This essay, through analysis of constitutional and legislative history, will demonstrate that "tribal" Indians were purposefully excluded from citizenship. The drafters of the Fourteenth Amendment clearly defined "tribal" Indians as "Indians not taxed," as not "subject to the jurisdiction" of the United States. This essay delineates the jurisdictional links between taxation and citizenship and discusses how the courts have repeatedly misconstrued the pertinent phrases. Solid arguments will verify that acts which imposed citizenship on all Indians, contrary to the Fourteenth Amendment prohibition against tribal Indian citizenship, are unconstitutional. Finally, this essay substantiates that "Indians not taxed" was defined to mean that "tribal" Indians are not taxable as long as they remain subject to the jurisdiction of their tribe in any degree and hold tribal allegiance in any degree. (Contains 125 notes.)