In law, a ward is a minor or incapacitated adult placed under the protection of a legal guardian or government entity, such as a court.
[9] Legal status of wards of the state in France are covered by law 224-4 of the Social Action and Family Code [fr].
[10] In the 1831 Supreme Court case Cherokee Nation v. Georgia, the native peoples were legally made to be wards of the state.
[11] The Indian Appropriations Act was passed on 3 March 1871, with an amendment ending tribal recognition and the treaty system.
All Indians were made wards of the state; thus the U.S. government no longer needed tribal consent in dealing with the tribes.