Cherokee Nation v. Georgia

Cherokee Nation v. Georgia (1831) was a Supreme Court case where the Cherokee Nation sought protection from Georgia's laws, claiming they had a sovereign status similar to a nation. However, the Court ruled that it could not hear the case because the Cherokee were considered a "domestic dependent nation," not a sovereign independent state. This decision meant the Court recognized the Cherokee’s special status but did not grant them the legal standing to sue Georgia in federal court, paving the way for subsequent cases and policies involving Native American tribes and U.S. law.