"Every monument to American governance is also a memorial": Race, Power, Colonialism and the Governance of Native Peoples in the United States

The United States has 574 federally recognized domestic dependent tribal nations. These tribes are self-governing, exist separately from their surrounding state(s), and shape the daily lives of their members. Yet, tribal nations have been and are still denied representation – to understand this history is to read this story through the lens of race, power, colonialism, and institutions.

In the opening talk of the 2024-2025 Faculty Seminar Series, Stanford Law Professor Liz Reese explored the complex legacy of representation and citizenship for Native peoples in the United States. Native peoples are the colonized, contending with a history marked by both physical and structural violence as ancestral tribal nations were stripped of sovereignty and the United States asserted dominion over their lands. For Reese, "every monument to American governance is also a memorial"—a reminder of the nations, power, lives, and future that Native peoples no longer have because of the very existence of the United States.

Reese spoke about the enduring effects of colonialism that define Native peoples' relationship with political power, highlighting how citizenship has been wielded as a tool both to withhold rights and undermine tribal governments, often at the expense of Native culture. White majorities have maintained control by denying Native individuals their rights and refusing statehood to areas populated by Native peoples unless they assimilated or were outnumbered. This “assimilative colonialism,” Reese explains, has shaped democratic structures that limit Native political movements, making representation achievable only through assimilation. This assimilation, in turn, has shaped how Native peoples perceive their relationship to political power—as something not empowering but dangerous.

With election day drawing near, Matt Snipp, Vice Provost for Faculty Development, Diversity and Engagement and Professor of Sociology, skillfully guided the conversation toward potential outcomes. Acting as interlocutor, Snipp asked Reese what each candidate’s victory might mean for Native peoples. Reese’s answer was simple: a path of progress or a slide into regression.

Reese concluded her talk with a call to confront the legacy of assimilative colonialism and reimagine the future of American democracy. She urged us to envision democratic structures that empower Native peoples—structures that honor true sovereignty by fully incorporating tribal governments with intentionality and equality.