All My Relations Podcast

The Right to Belong: Are Native Americans Sub-Citizens?


Listen Later

In this episode of All My Relations, Matika Wilbur (Swinomish and Tulalip) and Temryss Lane (Lummi Nation)—sit down with Indigenous rights attorney Gabe Galanda (Round Valley Indian Tribes) to discuss the mounting legal threats to Tribal Nationhood, citizenship, and sovereignty. As executive orders and court cases attempt to undermine Native status and question our birthright citizenship, we unpack what’s happening and what’s at stake.

Together, we explore the legal history behind Native Citizenship, from Elk v. Wilkins to the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924, and how the Supreme Court continues to challenge the political status of Tribal Nations. Gabe highlights the ongoing erasure of Indigenous identity under U.S. law, warning that Native people remain "sub-citizens," not universally protected by the U.S. Constitution, and that our status exists at the mercy of an act of Congress. He raises the unsettling reality that if a simple majority of Congress were to revoke the 1924 Citizenship Act, we could once again be placed in legal limbo.

We also turn inward, examining how Tribal policies around blood quantum and disenrollment are eroding our sovereignty from within. Gabe points out that over 70% of Tribal Nations still use blood quantum—a colonial, racialized construct—to determine belonging. We ask ourselves how we can continue to argue for our political status while using a racial measurement to determine our own citizenship? If we don’t address these internal challenges, are we eradicating ourselves before the government even has the chance?

This episode is an urgent call to rethink Indigenous citizenship and belonging before external forces dictate our future.

Join us in this critical conversation. Please share this episode, support Native-led media, and continue the fight for Indigenous rights. Consider becoming a Patreon subscriber to help sustain these discussions.


Big thanks to our team at Tidelands, our Patreon supporters, and all of you listening. Until next time… All My Relations.

Send us your thoughts!

Support the show

Follow us on Instagram @amrpodcast, or support our work on Patreon. Show notes are published on our website, Allmyrelationspodcast.com. Matika's book Project 562: Changing the Way We See Native America is available now! T'igwicid and Hyshqe for being on this journey with us.

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

All My Relations PodcastBy Matika Wilbur & Temryss Lane

  • 4.9
  • 4.9
  • 4.9
  • 4.9
  • 4.9

4.9

2,929 ratings


More shows like All My Relations Podcast

View all
Democracy Now! Audio by Democracy Now!

Democracy Now! Audio

5,667 Listeners

Latino USA by Futuro Media and PRX

Latino USA

3,755 Listeners

For The Wild by For The Wild

For The Wild

1,142 Listeners

Unreserved by CBC

Unreserved

124 Listeners

Scene on Radio by Kenan Institute for Ethics at Duke University

Scene on Radio

10,815 Listeners

Upstream by Upstream

Upstream

1,787 Listeners

Code Switch by NPR

Code Switch

14,492 Listeners

Ologies with Alie Ward by Alie Ward

Ologies with Alie Ward

23,441 Listeners

How to Survive the End of the World by How to Survive the End of the World

How to Survive the End of the World

2,078 Listeners

Gender Reveal by Tuck Woodstock

Gender Reveal

1,237 Listeners

Emergence Magazine Podcast by Emergence Magazine

Emergence Magazine Podcast

464 Listeners

Green Dreamer: Seeding change towards collective healing, sustainability, regeneration by kaméa chayne

Green Dreamer: Seeding change towards collective healing, sustainability, regeneration

610 Listeners

The Red Nation Podcast by The Red Nation

The Red Nation Podcast

970 Listeners

Movement Memos by Truthout

Movement Memos

205 Listeners

Maintenance Phase by Aubrey Gordon & Michael Hobbes

Maintenance Phase

16,077 Listeners