The Encyclopedia of Native American Legal Tradition

From Booklist
According to the introduction, this "is the first attempt in book form to inject traditional Native American political and legal systems into the study of law in the United States. It includes detailed descriptions of several major Native American nations' legal and political systems." The book not only infuses this information into the study of law but fills the gaps in many standard history and general social science sources.The editor and the 12 contributors have produced a readable work for a range of ages and levels of interest. The entries, which are alphabetically arranged, cover pre-colonial as well as modern times. They include constitutional law of tribes, and codes of behavior that are part of the Native American environment, such as the Harmony Ethic of the Cherokee. Major law cases, congressional acts, and treaties are also included, as are historical incidents and profiles of individuals like Andrew Jackson, John Marshall, and Thomas Sloan, one of the first Native Americans to be admitted to practice before a state bar. Some entries are a paragraph in length, while others, such as Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) women, legal and political status; and religious freedom, Native American, cover several pages. Added notes and further readings follow some articles. An 11-page selected bibliography, listing sources primarily from journals and university presses, and an index complete the work.This encyclopedia is highly recommended for any examination or investigation of constitutional or judicial law in the U.S. It will find use in a public, high-school, or academic library. It will round out many studies and give a fresh perspective to the "founding" of this democracy.


Review
Well written and clearly presented, this unique work belongs in every legal collection, Native American collection, or collection dealing with cultural anthropology or cultural diversity.Choice


Book Description
Integrating American Indian law and Native American political and legal traditions, this encyclopedia includes detailed descriptions of nearly two dozen Native American Nations' legal and political systems such as the Iroquois, Cherokee, Choctaw, Navajo, Cheyenne, Creek, Chickasaw, Comanche, Sioux, Pueblo, Mandan, Wyandot, Powhatan, Mikmaq, and Yakima. Although not an Indian law casebook, this work does contain outlines of many major Indian law cases, congressional acts, and treaties. It also contains profiles of individuals important to the evolution of Indian law. This work will be of interest to scholars in several fields, including law, Native American studies, American history, political science, anthropology, and sociology.


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A wealth of entries on Native American legal tradition cover a wide range of topics that include Native American precedents for the Articles of Confederation and the Bill of Rights; the legal traditions of the Cree, Iroquois, Ponca, Pueblo and other peoples; treaties with the American government; Indian forced relocation; important cases in American jurisprudence; important individuals in Native American legal traditions; acts of Congress; and the occupation of Alcatraz by 300 Native Americans in 1969. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.


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