Tribal sovereignty in the United States:   The inherent authority of indigenous tribes to govern themselves within the borders of the United States of America. The US federal government recognizes tribal nations as "domestic dependent nations" and has established a number of laws attempting to clarify the relationship between the United States federal and state governments and the tribal nations. The Constitution and later federal laws grant to tribal nations more sovereignty than is granted to states or other local jurisdictions, yet do not grant full sovereignty equivalent to foreign nations, hence the term "domestic dependent nations."