Understanding Space, Understanding Citizenship

Abstract

In this time of geopolitical uncertainty, one question that arises repeatedly is how will citizenship be affected by changes in sovereignty? This paper uses the concepts of spaces of dependence and spaces of engagement to understand both formal and substantive citizenship on American Indian reservations in the United States. By studying the overlapping sovereignties and multiple citizenships on two American Indian reservations, the author predicts that while formal citizenship will remain relatively easy to distinguish, substantive citizenship will be difficult to discern in the future.

Key Words:

• tribal sovereignty
• tribal government
• citizenship
• scale
• American Indian reservation