This paper traces the historical and legal evolution of sovereignty in relation to Indigenous land rights, exploring how colonial legal systems have sustained race-based power structures through legal fictions such as terra nullius and res nullius. It argues that the colonial legal system has consistently framed Indigenous peoples as usufructuaries, entitled to the "use" of land but not ownership, while maintaining the ultimate sovereignty of the colonial state. The paper examines the conceptual parallels between Blackstone's doctrine of occupancy, the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Johnson v. McIntosh (1823), and the modern recognition of native title, particularly in Australia's landmark Mabo v. Queensland (1992) decision.Occupancy and native title, like Blackstone's "user" rights, reflects a colonial framework that subordinates Indigenous land rights to the Crown's absolute sovereignty, a sovereignty founded on the principles of the Doctrine of Discovery and the Act of Supremacy (1534).

Through the lens of the authors two-chamber model of sovereignty, absolute sovereignty/imperium (Chamber 1) and proprietary rights/dominion(Chamber 2), the paper highlights how these legal fictions perpetuate a racialised hierarchy where Indigenous peoples are positioned as neither fully sovereign nor fully enslaved. The concept of native title is critiqued as a modern rebranding of Blackstone's 'user rights,' which continue to deny Indigenous peoples full ownership and control over their lands, positioning them within a colonial legal system that traps them in a perpetual state of legal subordination.

In tracing the historical lineage of terra nullius and its evolution into native title, the paper reveals how colonial legal systems used race-based distinctions to justify the dispossession and marginalisation of Indigenous peoples. Despite its suggested advancement, the recognition of native title does not represent equality or true land restitution but rather reflects a continued denial of Indigenous sovereignty. The paper concludes with a call for a fundamental reassessment of the colonial legal structures that uphold absolute sovereigntyand their inherent ties to the racialised dispossession of Indigenous lands. The continued legitimacy of these doctrines, embodied in both legal and political systems, ensures that Indigenous peoples remain trapped within a system designed to perpetuate domination rather than justice.

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