Constitutions & Governance
Independence: Revolution and the U.S. Constitution in Indian Country
Cultures need rules to live by, otherwise there is chaos. Lawyers and courts, in fact 1/3rd of the foundation of the U.S. (judiciary, executive, legislative) is related to interpretation of
laws, the highest being a “constitution,” a written document. Native Americans, except for the Inca, Mayan and Aztec, had only beginnings of a written languages and counted in base numbers 20, 12 … not necessarily 10s. The Iroquois “Great Binding Law of the Five Nations” was “written” with seashells on wampum belts. (Benjamin Franklin recommended this government form, modeled after the Iroquois Confederation). Written rules not passed down by word of mouth from elders to the young were nonexistent. It was the same in Europe, many ancestors relied upon the Bible. When writing a constitution, most states used English and U.S. Federal concepts: 43 state constitutions are based on the U.S. Federal Constitution (all are wordier), but Louisiana has a French bias, Florida, Texas, and California have a Spanish influence, etc. In Canada provincial laws can easily supersede Federal, it is vis versa in the U.S. where the U.S. Constitution is the highest authority. When disputes arise, as they have many times, a Federal Judge may decide (example, the “Bolt Decision”) relating to treaties signed. (The word “treaty” occurs when sovereign nations concur.) It is not always perfect; a Treaty Topic Neglected with Indigenous Peoples describes not including agricultural areas tended for 1,000s of years, Forest Glades and Forest Groves. The Colonies relied on the English Magna Carta (1215 AD) as a safeguard against imprisonment or seizure of private property “except by the lawful judgment of peers or by the law of the land.” Property rights are/were a conceptual difference the Colonies and peoples who believe that no one owns the air, wind, clouds, water, or land around them. That said, some 400 American Indian tribes today have established their own tribal courts and codes, some like States, having their own Supreme Courts (the Navajo above). They are the foundations upon which modern society is based.
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Basic Question answers are found in the prose or photo above. With a correct answer, a secondary level question derived from the URL reference(s) above will follow. For example, the Bolt Decision covered hunting and fishing grounds, what was unmentioned?
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Constitutions & Governance