Where Sovereignty Lies: The Walker River Paiute Tribes Fight to Protect and Defend Unceded Lands and Sacred Sites Against U.S. Militarization

The Walker River Paiute Tribes land is in question, despite their inherentsovereign right to protect and access to it. The argument posed in this document is that the United States (U.S.). military has two military bases that border the Walker River Paiute Tribe and illegally occupy their unceded lands, trust lands and sacred sites. Their land and sacred sites have been contaminated and destroyed by U.S. military ammunition and ordnance. The U.S. has militarized the Walker River Paiute Tribe in order to push the advancement and training of the U.S military. This thesis uses place-based learning methods to strengthen the connection that the Walker River Paiute Tribe has to the land and recognizes how colonialism, forced removal, and Indian policies have weakened the sovereignty of the Walker River Paiute Tribe. It also examines and spotlights the resistance to every intersectional attempt to destabilize and assimilate the Walker River Paiute Tribe. Case studies, law and order codes, case law and statutes are included in this thesis as foundational pieces to bringing this illegal activity before the Supreme Court. The tribe has an invested interest to these lands because they have occupied and cared for them for thousands of years. The Walker River Paiute Tribe demonstrates self-determination and the practice of sovereignty by remaining in opposition to the illegal activity that has been on- going for over 75 years. Research findings from these studies answer the following questions: How has the U.S. militarization against the Walker River Paiute Tribe affected the sovereignty of the tribe and forced lifeway disruptions? How can connections be drawn between other Indigenous sacred sites and U.S.militarization? And how global militarization can be paralleled to the militarization that has historically happened on American soil. Most importantly, this document produces a timeline of Walker River Paiute Tribe resistance to U.S. militarization since the establishment of each military base.