In the United States, persons of Native American descent occupy a unique legal position. On the one hand, Native Americans are U.S. citizens and are entitled to the same legal rights and protections under the Constitution that all other U.S. citizens enjoy. On the other hand, Native Americans are members of self-governing tribes whose existence far predates the arrival of Europeans on American shores; in this capacity, they are the descendants of peoples who had their own inherent rights— rights that required no validation or legitimation from the newcomers who found their way onto their soil.
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