United States v. Kagama was a United States Supreme Court case that upheld the constitutionality of the Major Crimes Act of 1885, which gave jurisdiction to the federal courts in certain cases involving Native Americans. Kagama, a Yurok, was accused of murdering another Yurok on an Indian reservation. His case was selected by the Department of Justice as a test case for the Act. The court opinion, authored by Justice Samuel Freeman Miller (pictured), confirmed the authority of Congress over Indian affairs. Plenary power over Indian tribes, supposedly granted to the U.S. Congress by the Commerce Clause of the Constitution, was not deemed necessary to reach the decision; instead, the Court found the power in the tribe's status as a dependent domestic nation. In the year following the decision, Congress passed the Dawes Act, intended to force assimilation and weaken tribal sovereignty. The case has been criticized by legal scholars as drawing on powers that are not granted to Congress by the Constitution.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_v._Kagama

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1680:

Several tribes of Pueblo Indians captured the town of Santa Fe in Nuevo México. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pueblo_Revolt

1831:

Nat Turner led a slave revolt in Southampton County, Virginia, US; it was suppressed about 48 hours later. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nat_Turner%27s_slave_rebellion

1944:

Second World War: A combined Canadian–Polish force captured the strategically important town of Falaise, France, in the final offensive of the Battle of Normandy. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Tractable

1969:

An Australian tourist set the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem on fire, a major catalyst of the formation of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Aqsa_Mosque

1986:

A limnic eruption of a cloud of carbon dioxide from Lake Nyos in Cameroon killed up to 1,700 people and 3,500 livestock in nearby villages. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Nyos

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

victory lap: 1. (sports) An extra lap of the race track taken after the conclusion of a race. 2. (US, education, slang) One or more years of study beyond the traditional four taken to complete one's undergraduate degree. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/victory_lap

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

I like digging into these characters that are a lot more complex, and there's a lot that isn't apparent on the surface … In a weird way, you can access all that fear and pain. … Nothing makes me happier than when somebody figures out I was in something, and then they'd seen me in something else, and had no idea it was the same person… Then I feel like I've done my job.   --Alicia Witt https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Alicia_Witt