NCJ Number
209573
Date Published
2003
Length
252 pages
Annotation
This book reviews the U.S. Government's treatment of Indians from the colonial era to the present, with attention to the justice models for Native-American tribes.
Abstract
Part I, entitled "Indian Policies, Treaties, and Rights," focuses on the genesis of Indian-U.S. relations from the colonial era to Federal control of Indian populations. Indian civil rights and self-determination are examined under the new federalism, with attention to the provisions of Federal laws pertinent to criminal and civil proceedings on Indian reservations. Part II, entitled "Indian Justice," contains a chapter on aboriginal justice under Cherokee blood vengeance. A look at the Cherokees' aboriginal justice of blood vengeance and their subsequent adaptations to the dictates of the Euro-American form of justice best illustrates the contrasts between the "Harmony Ethos" of Indian culture and Protestant-ethic justice models. Another chapter focuses on the history, current status, and prospects for the future of Indian religious freedom within the criminal justice context. Part III, entitled "Indian Courts and Jurisdiction," addresses the topics of unequal justice and punishment under the law, self-determination and limited justice in tribal courts, the Navajo court system, and law enforcement and corrections in Indian Country. An epilogue on social justice in Indian Country focuses on the resolution of the American Indian Policy Review Commission, the principles of Indian sovereignty and the trust responsibility, and the declarative judgment of the Indian suit against the U.S. Government. Chapter notes and a subject index