The Racial Discourse of Federal Indian Law

Abstract:     
This paper provides a critique of Professor Williams' newest book, Like a Loaded Weapon: The Rehnquist Court, Indian Rights and the Legal History of Racism in America. In particular, it analyzes a recent Supreme Court decision - City of Sherrill v. Oneida - to demonstrate how engrained the ideology of inferiority is in the Court's federal Indian law jurisprudence. This paper further examines Professor Williams' attempt to reconstitute federal Indian law in a manner more consistent with international human rights law, discussing the many complexities that accompany such an approach.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 27

Accepted Paper Series