Johnson bought some land from
a local Native American tribe (the Piankeshaw).
The land was in what would
become Illinois, but at the time was not part of the US.
Later, after the US 'acquired'
Illinois, M'Intosh obtained a deed (aka a land patent) for the same land from the US Federal
government.
Johnson's heirs tried to get
M'Intosh kicked off of their land (aka brought an action for ejectment).
The Trial Court found for
M'Intosh. Johnson's heir appealed.
The Trial Court found that
(from a legal standpoint) the Piankeshaw never actually owned the land,
so there was no way they could have sold it to Johnson.
The US Supreme Court affirmed.
The US Supreme Court found
that individuals such as Johnson could not buy land directly from Native
Americans, since the US government had acquired ultimate title to Native
American lands.
The Court found that the
Native Americans never had legal title to the land, they only had a right
of occupancy, which allowed them to
live there.
The Court found that the
Native Americans were just savages who didn't have the same perceptions
of property rights as Europeans, so who cares what they think?
Plus, the Court found that
the Native Americans weren't using the land effectively, so it was
better for everybody if the US just took the land and 'civilized' it.
In part, the Court came to
their decision on utilitarianism grounds. They agreed that it wasn't
fair to the Native Americans, but they felt that if they recognized that
the US didn't have clear title to land, it would be impossible for the
Federal government to effectively govern.
This case defined the Discovery
Doctrine.
The Discovery Doctrine consists of two key elements:
European nations assume
free title to lands they 'discovered.'
This concept goes way back
to Roman Law which essentially said 'to the victor goes the spoils'.
Native Americans on those
lands, retained the right of occupancy (like tenants in an apartment
building), but are not the "owners" of the land.
"Discovery is the
foundation of title, in European nations, and this overlooks all
proprietary rights in the natives."
The Native Americans are
limited in their ability to sell their occupancy rights (aka a
restriction on alienability).
So tribes could sell their
limited rights of occupancy only to the discovering European nation.
They can't sell it to private individuals.
