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3 Geo. Wash. L. Rev. 279 (1934-1935)
Principles of the Indian Law and the Act of June 18, 1934

handle is hein.journals/gwlr3 and id is 283 raw text is: The George Washington Law Review VOLUME III MARCH, 1935 NUMBER 3 PRINCIPLES OF THE INDIAN LAW AND THE ACT OF JUNE 18, 1934 HEINRICH KRIEGER Duesseldorf, Germany* The legal institutions concerning the Indians are often thought of as a complex body of peculiar, mostly techni- cal, rules, forming a system strange to the general law and transitory in character. On June 18, 1934, Congress passed an act by which attention is again attracted to the field of Indian law, especially since that act points to a further development of the Indian law as a permanent part of American law. The adoption of the new act of- fers an opportunity to review the principles of the legal status of the American Indian; and to re-examine the nature of the United States' special authority over the tribal Indians. THE ORIGINAL STATE OF INDIAN LAW After America was discovered her conquerors were faced by a population of a uniform race, unknown up to that time. They did not form an organized community, but were divided into uncivilized, independent tribes or nations. These tribes resisted the conquerors;, wars * The author of this article has been pursuing studies of a legal and sociolog- ical fiature in this country as an Exchange Student at the University of Ar- kansas 1933-34. At present he holds a fellowship from the Notgemeinschaft der Deutschen Wissehschaft under which he has been conducting research in the Library of Congiess preparatory to publication of a dissertation on American Racial Law. 279