In support of free-standing Indigenous legal systems

Comparisons of US tribal courts and Canadian First Nations courts

Bibliographic Data

ID6015447
AuthorsB G Miller (0000-0003-4951-1664, corresponding author)
Year2022
Volume6
Issue2
Pages93-109
Publication date2022-12-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Legal Anthropology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1758-9584 • E-ISSN: 1758-9576
PublisherBerghahn Books (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.3167/jla.2022.060205
OpenAlexW4318977071
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited8

US and Canadian approaches to tribal legal orders have taken different paths, and here I argue that the Canadian model should move towards free-standing Indigenous courts as they currently exist in the United States. The Canadian approach has focussed on the issue of over-incarceration of Indigenous prisoners, but even newer efforts have stopped short of recognising at least partial criminal and civil jurisdiction. The Canadian approach fails to support Indigenous jurisdiction and community rebuilding and leaves Indigenous peoples vulnerable to non-Indigenous judges, who fail to accommodate Indigenous approaches to justice. Early attempts at shared jurisdiction have been naïve regarding Indigenous internal social processes and the struggle over what constitutes proper cultural practices. My data come from my own work with Coast Salish tribes, where I have studied tribal histories and legal practices on both sides of the international border as well their views of federal policy in both Canada and the United States

Criminal jurisdiction · Economic Justice · Indigenous · Jurisdiction · Political science · Work (physics · Criminal Justice and Corrections Analysis · Criminal Law and Evidence · Engineering · Judicial and Constitutional Studies · Law · Public Administration

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