Elk v. Wilkins

Elk v. Wilkins, 112 U.S. 94 (1884), was a United States Supreme Court landmark 1884 decision respecting the citizenship of Indians.
John Elk was a Winnebago Indian. He was born on a Native American reservation. Elk later left the reservatiom and lived with whites on the non-reservation United States territory in Omaha, Nebraska. While living in Omaha, he renounced his legal ties to the tribe. Elk claimed United States citizenship because of the Citizenship Clause of the US Constitution. He tried to register to vote on April 5, 1880. He was denied by Charles Wilkins. Wikins was the person in charge of registering voters in the Fifth ward of the City of Omaha. He was named as the defendant in the case.
The US Supreme Court said that even though Elk was born in the United States, he was not a citizen. This was because he owed allegiance to his tribe when he was born. Because his allegiance was not to the United States, he was not subject to the jurisdiction of the United States when he was born.