For Native Nations, Tribal sovereignty is complex. While the United States government acknowledges Tribal governments’ sovereign authority to govern our people and land, it recognizes us as “domestic dependent nations” that must abide by the plenary power of the United States federal government.
This video is an introduction to the exhibition ‘sov·er·eign·ty: Expressions in Sovereignty of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians,’ previously on view at Museum of the Cherokee People in Cherokee, NC in 2025.
The exhibition illuminated the complexities of tribal sovereignty and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians’ continuing legacy of resilience. Featuring objects sourced from the Museum of the Cherokee People’s own collections, ‘sov·er·eign·ty’ was designed to educate visitors about the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians’ autonomy, its relationship with the federal government, and how the tribe has defined its own relationship with its land, people, and culture.