What legal challenges did the Cherokee Nation face regarding their sovereignty?

The Cherokee Nation faced significant legal challenges regarding their sovereignty, primarily because state governments, particularly Georgia, did not recognize their sovereignty and treated them as tenants on their land. This situation arose from the expansion of white settlers into Cherokee territory, leading to political and legal conflicts. The state of Georgia implemented laws that directly violated Cherokee rights and aimed to facilitate the removal of the Cherokee people from their lands.

While the Supreme Court, in cases such as Cherokee Nation v. Georgia, did recognize some aspects of their sovereignty, it ultimately did not fully protect them against state encroachment, as the ruling found that they were a "domestic dependent nation." This ambiguity allowed states like Georgia to disregard the sovereignty of the Cherokee Nation. Thus, the characterization of the Cherokee as tenants highlights the struggle they faced against state authority and their fight for legal recognition and rights to self-governance.