Mohegan Tribal Sovereignty
As a sovereign nation, the Mohegan Tribe independently determines its own fate and governs its own people and affairs. That means we also have the responsibility to provide for our people and to work within our own governmental, legal and cultural systems to preserve our independence.
Over the years, the United States and Connecticut governments have also defined their relationships to the Mohegan Tribal Nation. While these definitions do not change the fundamental independence of the Tribe, they have become part of the provisions that other political entities use as the basis for their interactions with us.
For more information about the Mohegan Tribe as a Sovereign Nation, download the The Mohegan Way newsletter, Summer 2008 (.pdf)
The Mohegan Constitution
The Mohegan Constitution defines the scope, structure and procedures for governance of the Mohegan Tribal Nation. This Constitution outlines the rights and responsibilities of our members and governing bodies. View the Mohegan Tribe Constitution »
Tribal Sovereignty as U.S. Law
The United States Constitution, Article I, Section 8, guarantees sovereign rights to federally recognized Indian nations:
The Congress shall have Power...[t]o regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes...
This sovereignty of American Indian tribes was also upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in decisions made in the 1800s
