Abstract. From the time of the first colonization of the Americas during the fifteenth century, many relationship dynamics have been at play between the Native Americans and the Europeans. Establishing a government on the soil of the newfound continent of North America raises questions on the role and position of Indians in their fatherland. Striving for sovereignty and recognition as a unique cultural group versus economic dependence and assimilation into the US are a couple concerns that Natives (and the federal government) have to face. In this paper, I will be looking at and analyzing secondary sources by different scholars in order to understand the interrelation between the government and Indians. One of the main discernments in this paper is that how both the US federacy and Natives view what it means to be Indian heavily influences what political decisions each makes in regards to one another.