Morton v. Mancari: "political rather than racial" (US Supreme Court, 17 June 1974)
Record: the document says itPattern: documents line upLens: our readingOpen: not yet proven
Year: 1974
SUMMARY13. Morton v. Mancari: "political rather than racial" (US Supreme Court, 17 June 1974) [Connections: Who decided who's Indian, Nov 5, 2026]
RECORDThe Court upheld the BIA hiring preference, holding it "does not constitute 'racial discrimination.' Indeed, it is not even a 'racial' preference." Footnote 24: the preference "applies only to members of 'federally recognized' tribes … In this sense, the preference is political, rather than racial in nature." The footnote quotes the BIA rule: an individual must be "one-fourth or more degree Indian blood and be a member of a Federally recognized tribe."
PATTERNLegal "Indian" status now rests on membership in a federally recognized tribe (a political list) plus, for BIA jobs then, a blood fraction. People whose nations were never recognized, or were reclassified as "colored," are outside both the list and the fraction
LENS (WW9)The law says "Indian" is a political status, and the politics of the 1800s and 1900s decided who got it
OPENThe BIA preference regulation has changed since 1974; check current 25 CFR before quoting today's rule
SOURCEMorton v. Mancari, 417 U.S. 535 (1974), Justia.