The dispute also intersected with the complicated political status of tribal nations.

Native nations were not merely racial categories inside the United States.

They possessed political identities and treaty relationships.

Federal law treated tribes in ways distinct from states, foreign countries, and ordinary associations.

Native individuals could be tribal citizens while also being subjected to federal laws and policies that restricted movement and land.

The government could point to this unusual legal framework as a reason not to fit Standing Bear neatly into the categories used for other residents.