Sec. 101. Findings
162 words·~1 min read·
/bill/114/s/383/is/section-101A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
Congress, after careful review of the historical and special legal relationship of the United States with, and resulting responsibilities to, Indians, finds that— the relationship of Indian tribes to the United States is founded in part on the settled doctrine of the law of nations that when a stronger sovereign assumes authority over a weaker sovereign, the stronger nation assumes a duty of protection for the weaker nation, which does not surrender the right to self-government; the fiduciary responsibilities of the United States to Indians also are founded in part on specific commitments made through written treaties and agreements securing peace, in exchange for which Indians have surrendered claims to vast tracts of land, which provided legal consideration for permanent, ongoing performance of Federal trust duties; and the foregoing historic Federal-tribal relations and understandings have benefitted the people of the United States as a whole for centuries and established enduring and enforceable Federal obligations to which the national honor has been committed.