Description:

"The Tribal Constitutions Project"*

by Beth Redbird, Assistant Professor of Sociology and IPR and CNAIR Fellow

Abstract: The development of tribal constitutions—and how these documents create and sustain claims to sovereign—is relatively unexplored. Yet the importance of tribal constitutions to Native self-governance is hard to overstate, and many tribal governments regard their constitutions as the cornerstone of self-determination and sovereignty. In the tribal context, constitutions are also influenced by settler-colonial processes aimed at the destruction of tribal self-determination. Beyond the legal ramifications, constitutions impact tribal culture, member wellbeing, and even tribal survival. Despite its importance, the study of tribal constitutions has developed in a patchwork manner, due to challenges identifying and acquiring the documents thought lost to history. This loss is not just unfortunate for researchers, it represents an erasure that tribes, subject to assimilation, have struggled against for years. The Tribal Constitutions Project (TCP) examines the evolution of tribal sovereignty though constitutionalization to understand the ways in which tribal sovereignty, Native agency, and settler-colonialism have structured modern Native Nations.

This colloquium is part of the Fay Lomax Cook Monday Spring 2023 Colloquium Series.  The speaker will present work in progress.

Please note all colloquia this quarter will be held in-person only.

* This presentation will cover work in progress.