Alaska Native Tlingit

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Criminalization affected the rights of Alaska Natives such as the Tlingit much as it did the Indians in Canada and the lower United States. Sovereignty, fishing and hunting rights for subsistence, and the allowance of potlatches were especially prevalent. An 1872 Alaska court ruling gave Natives the same rights as non-Indians but didn’t recognize Native legal or political institutions. The sovereignty of Alaskan Native tribes was not recognized so the state asserted their own sovereignty and, defying the federal laws, claimed complete jurisdiction over the Natives living within their borders. The Tlingit were the most adversely affected being the largest tribe in Alaska. In 1885, the Major Crimes Act was established which placed some major