NCJ Number
209422
Date Published
2004
Length
460 pages
Annotation
This book provides an overview of tribal law and offers information and training for tribal governments in building and improving their courts and legal departments.
Abstract
The study of tribal law offers an important avenue in understanding the values and identities of tribes, as well as addressing the damage done to tribal communities and cultures as a result of centuries of colonization and oppression by European and United States powers. Tribal law is noted as key to the exercise and expansion of tribal sovereignty. This book, supported by the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice demonstrates how some tribal legal actors have confronted non-Indian efforts to diminish their tribal sovereignty by studying and strengthening their tribes’ law and legal systems. It is a comprehensive study of tribal law in the United States and focuses on law developed by and for Indian Nations and their native people. Through the five main sections of book, the histories, structures, and practices of tribal justice systems, efforts to balance tribal legal heritage and Anglo-American law, the scope of criminal and civil jurisdictions, child welfare and civil rights, traditional dispute resolution mechanisms in contemporary tribal law, models of peacemaking, and means for assuring the integrity of tribal courts are discussed. Glossary