What does it mean to be both a citizen of a sovereign Native nation and a citizen of the United States? This three-day weekend professional development seminar will explore the complex history of Native American sovereignty, citizenship, and political identity, examining how Indigenous peoples have navigated and challenged the evolving relationship between tribal nations and the United States.
The seminar will draw upon Villanova University historian Paul Rosier’s scholarship, particularly Indigenous Citizens: Native Americans’ Fight for Sovereignty 1776 – 2025. Participants will examine Native Americans not simply as subjects of federal policy, but as political actors who debated the meaning of citizenship, defended tribal sovereignty, and pursued different strategies for protecting their communities and rights. Particular attention will be given to the 1924 Indian Citizenship Act and the tensions between American citizenship, Indigenous nationhood, voting rights, assimilation, and self-determination.
The seminar will also feature presentations exploring Native American perspectives on sovereignty, citizenship, and the complex historical relationship between Native American nations and the United States. From the founding of the republic to the present day, Native Americans have played an important role in shaping the nation’s political and constitutional development. Their experiences offer a valuable lens through which to examine treaty relationships, the persistence of Native political institutions, questions of land ownership and territorial rights, and the ongoing challenges of balancing tribal sovereignty with American citizenship.
Throughout the weekend, participants will consider a fundamental question in American history: Can citizenship in the United States coexist with citizenship in a sovereign Indigenous nation? Through scholarly presentations, primary sources, discussion, and engagement with Oneida history, teachers will develop a richer framework for incorporating Native sovereignty and citizenship into their classrooms as essential elements of the American constitutional and political story.
Speaker:
Paul C. Rosier, PhD
Paul C. Rosier, Ph.D., is Professor of History at Villanova University and Director of the university’s Albert Lepage Center for History in the Public Interest, which promotes historically informed engagement with contemporary public issues. He previously served as chair of Villanova’s History Department and was the inaugural holder of the Mary M. Birle Chair in American History. A specialist in Native American history, American environmental history, and the history of citizenship and sovereignty, Rosier earned his B.A. from Hobart College and his Ph.D. in American History from the University of Rochester in 1998. His scholarship examines Native American political activism, citizenship, patriotism, environmental justice, and the complex relationship between tribal sovereignty and the United States. Rosier’s most recent book is Indigenous Citizens: Native Americans’ Fight for Sovereignty, 1776–2025, a wide-ranging study of Native Americans’ efforts to secure the rights of American citizenship while preserving tribal sovereignty and Indigenous political identity. His earlier books include Serving Their Country: American Indian Politics and Patriotism in the Twentieth Century; Native American Issues; and Rebirth of the Blackfeet Nation, 1912–1954. He also co-edited Echoes from the Poisoned Well: Global Memories of Environmental Injustice. His scholarship has received significant recognition, including the American Indian National Book Award for Serving Their Country, the Western History Association’s Arrell M. Gibson Award, Villanova’s 2013 Veritas Award for Research Excellence, and the university’s 2023 Outstanding Faculty Research Award. His research has also been supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the American Philosophical Society.
The three- and four-day seminar includes historic interpreters, a content-lecture from a scholarly expert, a faculty-led discussion of relevant primary sources, and an appropriate field study of historic sites, archives, and museums.
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