Book contents
- Reading American Indian Law
- Reading American Indian Law
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Editors and Contributors
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- Part I Core Concepts
- Part II Voices
- 5 “Life Comes from It”: Navajo Justice Concepts
- 6 Tribal Court Praxis: One Year in the Life of Twenty Indian Tribal Courts
- 7 Beyond Indian Law: The Rehnquist Court’s Pursuit of States’ Rights, Color-Blind Justice, and Mainstream Values
- 8 A Narrative of Sovereignty: Illuminating the Paradox of the Domestic Dependent Nation
- Part III Property
- Part IV (Mis)Understandings
- Book part
- References
5 - “Life Comes from It”: Navajo Justice Concepts
from Part II - Voices
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 11 December 2019
Book contents
- Reading American Indian Law
- Reading American Indian Law
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Editors and Contributors
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- Part I Core Concepts
- Part II Voices
- 5 “Life Comes from It”: Navajo Justice Concepts
- 6 Tribal Court Praxis: One Year in the Life of Twenty Indian Tribal Courts
- 7 Beyond Indian Law: The Rehnquist Court’s Pursuit of States’ Rights, Color-Blind Justice, and Mainstream Values
- 8 A Narrative of Sovereignty: Illuminating the Paradox of the Domestic Dependent Nation
- Part III Property
- Part IV (Mis)Understandings
- Book part
- References
Summary
Life Comes from It': provides a Navajo perspective on law’s origins and its place in governance. Indian conceptions of law are not necessarily bound by a hierarchical premise and by technical principles like stare decisis but instead emerge from the mutual obligations and expectations of the community, with a focus on healing. Yazzie explains that while ‘Anglo’ law is concerned with social control, Navajo law comes from the Navajo belief that all humans are equal, and that starting from a different vantage point allows law itself to be reoriented.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Reading American Indian LawFoundational Principles, pp. 121 - 139Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2019
References
Further Reading
Austin, Raymond D., Navajo Courts and Navajo Common Law (University of Minnesota Press 2009).Google Scholar
Deer, Sarah & Richland, Justin B., Introduction to Tribal Legal Studies (Rowman & Littlefield 3rd ed. 2015).Google Scholar
Cooter, Robert & Fikentscher, Wolfgang, Indian Common Law: The Role of Custom in American Indian Tribal Courts, 46 Am. J. Comp. L. 287 (1998).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fletcher, Matthew L. M., Rethinking Customary Law in Tribal Court Jurisprudence, 13 Mich. J. Race & L 57 (2007).Google Scholar
Hendry, Jennifer & Tatum, Melissa L., Justice for Native Nations: Insights from Legal Pluralism, 60 Ariz. L. Rev. 91 (2018).Google Scholar
Jones, B.J., Tribal Courts: Protectors of the Native Paradigm of Justice, 10 St. Thomas L. Rev. 87 (1997).Google Scholar
Porter, Robert, Strengthening Tribal Sovereignty through Peacemaking: How the Anglo-American Legal Tradition Destroys Indigenous Societies, 28 Columbia Human Rights L. Rev. 235 (1997).Google Scholar
Valencia-Weber, Gloria, Tribal Courts: Custom and Innovative Law, 24 N.M. L. Rev. 225 (1994).Google Scholar