In the case of Cherokee Nation v. Georgia (1831), Chief Justice John Marshall's decision was somewhat complex. The case involved a legal dispute between the Cherokee Nation and the state of Georgia. The Cherokee Nation argued that they were a sovereign nation and that Georgia had no jurisdiction over their lands.
However, Chief Justice Marshall did not directly rule in favor of the Cherokee Nation. Instead, he delivered a decision that stated that the Cherokees were not a foreign nation in the sense of Article III of the U.S. Constitution, which limited the jurisdiction of the federal courts to cases involving foreign nations and U.S. citizens of different states.
Marshall's decision did not provide a clear resolution to the Cherokee's claims of sovereignty. Instead, he referred to the Cherokees as "domestic, dependent nations," implying that they were not entirely sovereign but still possessed certain rights and interests.
This decision did not fully protect the Cherokee Nation's rights, and it set the stage for further legal battles and the tragic events of the Trail of Tears, during which the Cherokees were forcibly removed from their ancestral lands.