According to Marshall's decision, how do the Cherokee qualify as a political body unto themselves (a nation or state)

Cherokees qualified as a domestic dependent nation and not a foreign state because they had a dependent relationship with the United States akin to that existing between a "ward and his guardian".

Explanation:

In the year 1832 in the USA, the Cherokee Nation tried to get a federal injunction against laws passed by the state of Georgia which deprived them of certain rights they were allegedly privileged to on their land.

However, the Supreme Court did not hear the case on its merits because It ruled that it had no original jurisdiction in the matter because Justice Marshal said that the Cherokees was a domestic dependent nation since they had a dependent relationship with the United States akin to that existing between a "ward and his guardian" and that they were not a foreign state.