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Rh nations,” the Court held, “a weaker power does not surrender its independence—its right to self-government, by associating with a stronger and taking its protection,” id., at 560–561. The Cherokee, like other Tribes, remained “a distinct community occupying its own territory … in which the laws of [the State] can have no force, and which the citizens of [that State] have no right to enter, but with the assent of the [Tribe] themselves, or in conformity with treaties, and with the acts of [C]ongress.” Id., at 561. Justice McLean, concurring, put it succinctly: “All the rights which belong to self-government have been recognized as vested in [the Tribes].” Id., at 580.

In the end, President Jackson refused to abide by the Court’s decision in Worcester, precipitating the Trail of Tears. He is quoted as saying: “ ‘John Marshall has made his decision; now let him enforce it.’ ” F. Cohen, Handbook of Federal Indian Law 123 (1942). But just as this Court had no power to enforce its judgment, President Jackson had no power to erase its reasoning. So the rule of Worcester persisted in courts of law, unchanged, for decades. Recognizing the inherent sovereignty of Tribes, this Court held that States could not tax Indian land. See, e.g., The Kansas Indians, 5 Wall. 737, 751–761 (1867); The New York Indians, 5 Wall. 761, 771–772 (1867). It held that the Fourteenth Amendment did not apply on Indian land. See Elk v. Wilkins, 112 U. S. 94, 99–109 (1884). And it sharply limited even the power of the federal government to prosecute crimes between Indians on Indian land where the Tribe had stepped in to resolve the dispute. See Ex parte Crow Dog, 109 U. S. 556, 572 (1883).

Nor did later developments call this original understanding into doubt. To be sure, in 1871, Congress declared that Tribes (prospectively) are no longer parties “with whom the United States may contract by treaty.” Act of Mar. 3, 1871, 16 Stat. 566, codified at 25 U. S. C. §71; but see United