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The Uses of History: Language, Ideology, and Law in The United States and South Africa

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 July 2024

Elizabeth Mertz
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Abstract

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This study compares the language in which South African and United States law represents the histories of indigenous peoples. South African political and legal language has linked denial of indigenous peoples' history with denial of rights to property. The language of the law in the United States recognizes prior history and prior possessory claims to land, although in the past this recognition did not stop the decimation of Native Americans. The contrast between the uses of history in the laws of two nations reveals how ideologies, language, and the law are intertwined in the determination of indigenous peoples' property rights.

Type
Research Article
Information
Law & Society Review , Volume 22 , Issue 4: Special Issue: Law and Ideology , 1988 , pp. 661 - 685
Copyright
Copyright © 1988 The Law and Society Association

Footnotes

I gratefully acknowledge substantial help from Lawrence Rosen and Leonard Rubinowitz in the formulation and writing of this paper. I also thank William Huma and Ziyad Motala for reading and commenting on the manuscript. And to John Brigham, my thanks for his excellent editorial guidance. Address all inquiries to Elizabeth Mertz, American Bar Foundation, 750 North Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, Illinois, 60611.

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