tatute of limitations,
because considerations of public policy back of the rule are regarded as
absent.[573]

Indian Tribes

Within the terms of article III, an Indian tribe is not a foreign State
and hence cannot sue in the courts of the United States. This rule was
applied in the case of Cherokee Nation _v._ Georgia,[574] where Chief
Justice Marshall conceded that the Cherokee Nation was a State, but not
a foreign State, being a part of the United States and dependent upon
it. Other passages of the opinion specify the elements essential to a
foreign State for purposes of jurisdiction, such as sovereignty and
independence.

NARROW CONSTRUCTION OF THE JURISDICTION

As in cases of diversity jurisdiction, suits brought to the federal
courts under this category must clearly state in the record the nature
of the parties. As early as 1809 the Supreme Court ruled that a federal
court could not take jurisdiction of a cause where the defendants were
described in the record as "late of the district of Maryland," but were
not designated as citizens of Maryland, and plaintiffs were described as
aliens and subjects of the United Kingdom.[575] The meticulous care
manifested in this case appeared twenty years later when the Court
narrowly construed section 11 of the Judiciary Act of 1789, vesting the
federal courts with jurisdiction where an alien was a party, in order to
keep it within the limits of this clause. The judicial power was further
held not to extend to private suits in which an alien is a party, unless
a citizen is the adverse party.[576] This interpretation was extended
in 1870 by a holding that if there is more than one plaintiff or
defendant, each plaintiff or defendant must be competent to sue or
liable to suit.[577] These rules, however, do not preclude a suit
between citizens of the same State if the plaintiffs are merely nominal
parties and are suing on behalf of an alien.[578]

Clause 2. In all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers and
Consuls, and those in which a State shall be Party, the supreme Court
shall have original Jurisdiction. In all the other Cases before
mentioned, the Supreme Court shall have appellate Jurisdiction, both as
to Law and Fact, with such Exceptions, and under such Regulations as the
Congress shall make.

The Original Jurisdiction of the Supreme Court

AN AUTONOMOUS JURISDICTION

Acting on the assumption that its existence is derived directly from the
C