Worcester v Georgia Decision

[Marshall Triology] US Supreme Court ruling that the State of Georgia did not have rights to enforce its laws on 'Indian land'. States that the federal government was the sole authority to deal with Indian nations. The opinion is most famous for its dicta, which laid out the relationship between tribes, state, and federal governments. It is considered to have built the foundations of the doctrine of tribal sovereignty in the United States. Although this case and its precedent has been used many times for other Indigenous sovereignty claims, it did nothing to benefit the Cherokee at the time and the Trail of Tears happened immediately afterwards despite this decision. Worcester refers to Samuel Worcester who was a missionary to the Cherokee and brought the case on their behalf, because at the time Native people could not bring the case themselves. He also helped establish the Cherokee Phoenix with Elias Boudinot (Cherokee), the first Native American newspaper in the United States and the first in a Native language.