Shadow Nations

This book argues for redirecting the trajectory of tribal-federal relations to better reflect the formative ethos of legal pluralism that operated in the nation's earliest years. It anticipates and redresses a number of objections - ideological, constitutional and institutional - that may impede the important work of revitalising tribal systems of self-government. Ultimately, the book suggests that we employ conventions on tribal sovereignty, a model of bilateral nation-building, as the preferred institutional architecture to accommodate the competing social, cultural and legal interests between the US native and non-native societies.