GWD-3请问一句话的理解

Lucky0506

请问下面这句话到底是什么意思啊？多谢多谢！

But in reality the federal government continued to negotiate formal tribal agreements past the turn of the century, treating these documents not as treaties with sovereign nations requiring ratification by the Senate but simply as legislation to be passed by both houses of Congress.

下面是全文：

GWD3－13

      In its 1903 decision in the case

                  of Lone Wolf v. Hitchcock, the United

                  States Supreme Court rejected the

Line       efforts of three Native American tribes

  (5)        to prevent the opening of tribal lands

to non-Indian settlement without tribal

consent.  In his study of the Lone

Wolf case, Blue Clark properly

emphasizes the Court’s assertion

(10)       of a virtually unlimited unilateral power

of Congress (the House of Represen-

tatives and the Senate) over Native

American affairs.  But he fails to note

the decision’s more far-reaching

(15)       impact:  shortly after Lone Wolf, the

federal government totally abandoned

negotiation and execution of formal

written agreements with Indian tribes

as a prerequisite for the implemen-

(20)       tation of federal Indian policy.  Many

commentators believe that this change

had already occurred in 1871 when—

following a dispute between the

                  House and the Senate over which

(25)       chamber should enjoy primacy in

Indian affairs—Congress abolished

the making of treaties with Native

American tribes.  But in reality the

federal government continued to nego-

(30)       tiate formal tribal agreements past

the turn of the century, treating these

documents not as treaties with sover-

                  eign nations requiring ratification by the

Senate but simply as legislation to be

(35)       passed by both houses of Congress.

                  The Lone Wolf decision ended this

era of formal negotiation and finally

did away with what had increasingly

become the empty formality of obtain-

ing tribal consent.

rakesun

实际上，联邦政府在世纪之交的时候仍然和这些部落签署正式的协议，只是这些协议不是作为需要被参议院批准的与独立国家签定的条约，而只是简单的作为需要被国会两院批准的立法

Lucky0506

谢谢rakesun!

不过，我还是不很明白句子含义，以及在文章的作用。

为什么要言及“只是这些协议不是作为需要被参议院批准的与独立国家签定的条约，而只是简单的作为需要被国会两院批准的立法”呢？

独立国家。。。？和原文又什么关系啊？

Lucky0506

请大家指教~