The first quarter of the seventeenth century witnessed a small exodus of settlers from England and the Netherlands to the New World -- a territory occupied by numerous Indian nations. The clash of century-old civilizations and cultures brought land tenure into sharp and vivid focus. Isolated from the Roman and feudalistic forms of ownership in Western Europe the American Indian evolved over many generations, a claim to the land based solely on occupancy and usage. The European concept of private ownership introduced by the new settlers caused endless conflict. Eventually something emerged known as the "American way."

Even before the discovery of this continent by Coluimbus and subsequent explorers, the Indian economy had passed from a purely nomadic food gathering economy to a food producing economy. Formerly they had roamed at will and supplied the necessities by hunting and fishing where they pleased. After they learned to cultivate the soil a transition in land relations naturally resulted in claims of ownership based on labor by the occupants. However Indian life was so strongly bound up in the tribe that no matter how long an individual used the same plot of ground it was never considered to belong to him personally, but to the tribe, and land inheritance therefore accrued only to a tribe or clan -- this is the nearest thing we can claim to "common ownership" in the American annals.

Although historical records are in-complete and void of specific data, numerous historians agree that the right of occupancy enabled each tribe to absolute title to, and sovereignty over, a particular section of the country. Each member was an owner by virtue of being a member of that tribe. But ownership could not be transferred outside the tribe. The all-powerful chief acted as proprietor or trustee of all the land though he himself claimed no direct or personal ownership.

In other respects, and especially regarding personal property, the tn'bes developed independently. Even though the communal idea of land ownership was accepted, there was not universal acceptance of other views regarding property. The six nations of Iroquois seem to have made little distinction between real and personal property and conformed to some of the basic tenets of communism. The Omaha and Pueblo Indians of New Mexico and Arizona followed the same pattern as the Iroquois, in contradistinction to other tribes who adopted the European idea of individual ownership of personal property.

When Columbus was granted ships and men for his historic journey it was agreed that any land embarked upon would belong to the Crown of Spain. So while discovery was made in the name of the sovereign, no land in the west was ever bought by the Spaniards. The French had an agreement with the Indians which carried with it right of ownership, but the Dutch charters required that title was to be acquired through outright purchase.

The sovereign rights of the Indians were not recognized by the British, and English rec6rds are silent on the subject of land titles. The right of discovery was their basis of ownership and all land was discovered in the name of the King or Queen. The Crown then transferred it to subordinates, allowing much leeway to local authorities. Methods of purchase, gifts from the Indians, acquisition by seizure, occupancy under long-term leases and "treaties," were all used to establish the claims of the new landowners.

Thus in our historical review we find land tenure and title determined by numerous methods, the foremost being discovery. However, the right of discovery' raises several important points -- one being that the right of ownership is not based on original discovery but rather the first of the Europeans to discover the New World. If this basis of land ownership is valid, does that mean that any group outside of the Europeans can henceforth claim title based upon discovery? Who owns the land?