Constitutional & Treaty Authority
The sovereignty of the Hunnic Matinecock Tribal Nation is not symbolic – it is living law. Under the Supremacy Clause of the United States Constitution (Article VI, Clause 2), all treaties made with tribal nations are the supreme law of the land, binding on every state, court, and agency. No local authority may override these rights.
“This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding.”
This Clause places tribal treaties above state law and enforces them equally alongside federal law.
Recognition Standards
The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) uses specific standards for tribal enrollment, relying on genealogical, historical, and legal documentation. The Hunnic Matinecock Tribal Nation meets and exceeds these standards through:
- Documented Lineage:
- Verified through:
- FamilySearch
- Historical Genealogists
- Tribal Historians
- Verified through:
- DNA Evidence:
- Confirmed through:
- AncestryDNA
- GenoMeLink
- Independent Testing
- Consistent with modern tribal recognition cases upheld in courts.
- Confirmed through:
- Historical Records:
- Recorded Petitions
- Land Deeds
- Marriages tying:
- Montaukett
- Pequot
- Mohawk
- Wappinger
- Matinecock into a continuous sovereign line.
These records satisfy Federal Rules of Evidence 803(13) & 803(19), which explicitly admit family records, inscriptions, and community reputation concerning personal or family history as legal proof.
Legal Precedents
- Worcester v. Georgia (1832): Affirmed that tribes are distinct, sovereign communities with authority over their own affairs.
- McGirt v. Oklahoma (2020): Reaffirmed that treaties remain valid and enforceable until explicitly revoked by Congress.
- Montoya v. United States (1901): Defined tribes in legal terms as distinct political communities recognized by the U.S. government.
As a result, the Nation maintains standing jurisdiction in more than one state, forming a lawful sovereign footprint recognized under both U.S. and international law.
Jurisdiction & Sovereignty
Because of historical intermarriage and migration, the Hunnic Matinecock Tribal NAtion holds jurisdiction across multiple regions of the United States, including but not limited to:
- New York (Matinecock, Montaukett, Mohawk alliances)
- Connecticut & Rhode Island (Pequot, Narragansett kinship)
- Massachusetts (Wampanoag kinship through intermarriage)
- Broader Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic territories where family lines expanded and treaties extended.
As a result, the Nation maintains standing jurisdiction in more than one state, forming a lawful sovereign footprint recognized under both U.S. and international law.
Federal courts have ruled that treaties are not nullified by the passage of time. Unless Congress explicitly repeals a treaty, it retains full legal force. This principle was reaffirmed in McGirt v. Oklahoma (2020), where the Supreme Court upheld treaty rights nearly two centuries after signing.
Our Nation stands on this same foundation: our treaties have never been abrogated. They remain the law.