Editing Self-determination (section)

=== United States ===
[[File:Native American Girl.jpg|thumb|upright=0.6|A Native American woman in traditional dress]]
The colonization of the [[North America]]n continent and its [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] population has been the source of legal battles since the early 19th century. Many Native American tribes were resettled onto separate tracts of land ([[Indian reservation|reservations]]), which have retained a certain degree of [[autonomy]] within the [[United States]].  The [[Federal government of the United States|federal government]] recognizes [[Tribal sovereignty in the United States|Tribal Sovereignty]] and has established a number of laws attempting to clarify the relationship among the federal, [[State governments of the United States|state]], and tribal governments. The [[Constitution of the United States|Constitution]] and later federal laws recognize the local sovereignty of tribal nations, but do not recognize full sovereignty equivalent to that of foreign nations, hence the term "domestic dependent nations" to qualify the federally recognized tribes.

Certain [[Chicano nationalism|Chicano nationalist]] groups seek to "recreate" an ethnic-based state to be called [[Aztlán]], after the legendary homeland of the [[Aztecs]]. It would comprise the [[Southwestern United States]], historic territory of [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|indigenous peoples]] and their descendants, as well as colonists and later settlers under the [[Spanish Empire|Spanish colonial]] and [[Mexico|Mexican]] governments.<ref>[http://www.aztlan.net/homeland.htm Professor Predicts 'Hispanic Homeland'], Associated Press, 2000 {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121107032413/http://www.aztlan.net/homeland.htm |date=November 7, 2012 }}</ref> Supporters of the proposed state of [[Republic of New Afrika|New Afrika]] argue that the history of African-Americans living in and making productive of several U.S. states in the [[Black Belt in the American South|Black Belt]] entitles them to establish an African-American republic in the area, alongside $400 billion as reparations for slavery.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/book/10.1002/9781405198073 |title=The International Encyclopedia of Revolution and Protest |date=2009-07-28 |publisher=Wiley |isbn=978-1-4051-8464-9 |editor-last=Ness |editor-first=Immanuel |edition=1 |language=en |doi=10.1002/9781405198073.wbierp1253}}</ref>

There are several active [[Native Hawaiians|Hawaiian]] autonomy or independence movements, each with the goal of realizing some level of political control over single or several islands. The groups range from those seeking territorial units similar to [[Indian reservation]]s under the United States, with the least amount of independent control, to the [[Hawaiian sovereignty movement]], which is projected to have the most independence. The Hawaiian Sovereignty movement seeks to revive the Hawaiian nation under the [[1840 Constitution of the Hawaiian Kingdom|Hawaiian constitution]].

[[File:Protest against Washington football team name at TCF Stadium (15692618845).jpg|thumb|upright=1.05|Native Americans and their supporters protest during the [[Washington Redskins name controversy]]]]
Since 1972, the [[Special Committee on Decolonization|U.N. Decolonization Committee]] has called for [[Puerto Rico]]'s "decolonization" and for the US to recognize the island's right to self-determination and independence. In 2007 the Decolonization Subcommittee called for the United Nations General Assembly to review the [[political status of Puerto Rico]], a power reserved by the 1953 Resolution.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2007/gacol3160.doc.htm |title=Special Committee on Decolonization Calls on United States to Expedite Puerto Rico's Self-determination Process – General Assembly GA/COL/3160 – Department of Public Information – June 14, 2007 |publisher=Un.org |access-date=2012-03-04}}</ref> This followed the 1967 passage of a [[plebiscite]] act that provided for a vote on the status of Puerto Rico with three status options: continued [[Commonwealth (U.S. insular area)|commonwealth]], [[Statehood movement in Puerto Rico|statehood]], and [[Independence movement in Puerto Rico|independence]]. In the first plebiscite, the commonwealth option won with 60.4% of the votes, but US congressional committees failed to enact legislation to address the status issue. In subsequent plebiscites in 1993 and 1998, the status quo was favored.<ref>For complete statistics of these plebiscites, see [http://electionspuertorico.org/cgi-bin/events.cgi Elections in Puerto Rico: Results].</ref>

In a [[2012 Puerto Rican status referendum|referendum]] that took place in November 2012, a majority of Puerto Rican residents voted to change the territory's relationship with the United States, with the statehood option being the preferred option. But a large number of ballots—one-third of all votes cast—were left blank on the question of preferred alternative status. Supporters of the commonwealth status had urged voters to blank their ballots. When the blank votes are counted as anti-statehood votes, the statehood option would have received less than 50% of all ballots received.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2012/11/07/politics/election-puerto-rico/index.html|title=Puerto Ricans favor statehood for the first time|work=[[CNN]]|author=Castillo, Mariano|date=November 8, 2012}}</ref> As of January 2014, Washington has not taken action to address the results of this plebiscite.

Many current U.S. [[Secession in the United States|state, regional and city secession groups]] use the language of self-determination. A 2008 [[Zogby International]] poll revealed that 22% of Americans believe that "any state or region has the right to peaceably secede and become an independent republic."<ref>[http://www.zogby.com/news/ReadNews.dbm?ID=1531 Middlebury Institute/Zogby Poll: "One in Five Americans Believe States Have the Right to Secede"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080814090142/http://www.zogby.com/news/ReadNews.dbm?ID=1531 |date=2008-08-14 }}, [http://zogby.com/ Zogby International], July 23, 2008.</ref><ref>Alex Mayer, [https://www.stltoday.com/blogzone/the-platform/editorial-writers-notebooks/2008/07/secession-still-a-popular-idea/ "Secession: still a popular idea?"] {{webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20080804015722/http://www.stltoday.com/blogzone/the-platform/editorial-writers-notebooks/2008/07/secession-still-a-popular-idea/ |date=2008-08-04 }}, ''[[St. Louis Post-Dispatch]],'' July 25, 2008.</ref>

On December 15, 2022, the U.S. House of Representatives voted in favor of the Puerto Rico Status Act. The act sought to resolve Puerto Rico's status and its relationship to the United States through a binding plebiscite.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/puerto-rico-status-act-house-vote-territory-plebiscite-rcna61871|title=House votes in favor of resolving Puerto Rico's territorial status|website=NBC News|date=December 15, 2022}}</ref>

Since the late 20th century, some states periodically discuss desires to [[secession in the United States|secede from the United States]]. Unilateral secession was ruled [[constitutionality|unconstitutional]] by the U.S. Supreme Court in ''[[Texas v. White]]'' (1869).