Deloria is a political scientist, professor at the University of Colorado-Boulder, prolific author and activist. In his speech, he expressed concern for the future of Indians as both individuals and nations. In discussing sovereignty, he stressed the importance of understanding sovereignty as a tool for dealing with the challenges of the future. When Deloria visited Standing Rock Indian Reservation in South Dakota, he noticed that many tribal programs are derived from the basic idea of sovereignty, but that most people have a difficult time understanding how to take the idea of sovereignty and apply it to the expansion of tribal activities. Sovereignty can be hard to understand because it's not a traditional Indian concept.
Sovereignty comes from the feudal system of medieval Europe where power flowed up pyramid-style.
Historically, the political structure of Indian tribes has not been like a pyramid with most of the power concentrated in the hands of a few. Rather, tribes have been organized in clusters of families and clans or related families. When a group became too large, it split apart forming separate bands. Because sovereignty doesn't fit the natural organization of tribes, Deloria suggested adapting the idea of sovereignty to fit. External sovereignty forms the basis for tribes as nations to deal with other political entities.