The Indian nations had always been considered as distinct, independent political communities, retaining their original natural rights as the undisputed possessors of the soil from time immemorial. –Worcester v. Georgia, Chief Justice John Marshall Which sentence best describes the Supreme Court's decision? It did not protect Indigenous nations’ sovereignty or their claim to tribal territory. IIt supported Indigenous nations' sovereignty and protected their claim to tribal lands. It declared
Answer (1)
It supported Indigenous nations' sovereignty and protected their claim to tribal lands.In Worcester v. Georgia (1832), Chief Justice John Marshall stated that Native American tribes are "distinct, independent political communities" that have their own rights and territories. The decision ruled that the U.S. government—and specifically the state of Georgia—had no authority to impose laws on Cherokee territory.This meant the U.S. Supreme Court recognized Native American sovereignty and upheld their original rights to the land, which had existed long before European colonization. The ruling protected tribal independence and declared that only the federal government could make treaties with Native tribes, not individual states like Georgia.The court declared that Georgia's laws had no force within Cherokee land. However, President Andrew Jackson and Georgia ignored the ruling, showing the limits of judicial power at that time.
