Claiming Turtle Mountain's Constitution : The History, Legacy, and Future of a Tribal Nation's Founding Documents

__Claiming Turtle Mountain’s Constitution__ examines the formation and adoption of the first constitution of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians through the eyes of the tribal members who voted to adopt it. Focusing on the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, this work of legal and social history describes the seminal moment in which the people of Turtle Mountain chose their constitution as a means to accomplish a much larger political goal: beginning a lawsuit against the federal government. By decentering the federal government, the federal actors of the time, and federal legislation such as the Indian Reorganization Act, __Claiming Turtle Mountain’s Constitution__ reorients the tribal citizens who made this important decision at the heart of their own governance and legal, political, and social history. The Plains Ojibwe and Métis who merged together – within the vise of settler colonialism – to become the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians were distressed at the federal government’s disruption of their leadership structure, their treaty, and their reservation and for decades sought a lawsuit against the federal government to rectify these wrongs. The tribal nation adopted a constitution in 1932 that many recognized as deficient and limiting in the hopes that it would lead toward a lawsuit. Tribal citizens have lived with the consequences of this difficult choice ever since. __Claiming Turtle Mountain’s Constitution__ argues that understanding the origins of tribal constitutions from the tribal nation’s perspective is crucial to understanding both historical and contemporary tribal governance and American constitutionalism more broadly. In This Work, Keith Richotte Explores Native American Tribal Constitutional History In Order To, As He Argues, Decenter The U.s. Federal Actors, Laws, And Policies From The Study Of Tribal Constitutionalism And Instead Refocus Attention Back Onto Tribal Members, Underlining Their Agency And Importance. Richotte Uses The Turtle Mountain Band Of Chippewa Indians As A Case Study And Follows The Tribe's History In Forming Its Own 1932 Constitution, Detailing Every Step And Decision Taken, Good And Bad, In Its Creation. He Shows That The Tribe's Dominant Political Goal Was Pursuing A Claim Against The Federal Government For The Damages It Suffered During The Establishment Of Its Reservation And The Negotiations For A Treaty. However, Political Forces In And Outside The Tribe Pushed The Decision To A Compromise, And The Tribe Adopted A Constitution That Limited Their Own Authority While Keeping Open The Possibility Of Later Claims Against The U.s. Federal Government. Importantly, All Of This Took Place Before The Indian Reorganization Act - The Piece Of Federal Legislation Most Associated With Modern Tribal Constitutionalism - Became Law, Making Turtle Mountain's Path To Its Own Constitution A Story Of Tribal Agency, One That Disrupts The Commonly Held Idea That Ira Lies At The Epicenter Of Tribal Constitutionalism-- Keith Richotte Jr. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Mode Of Access: World Wide Web. Une source inconnue indique : "In this work, Keith Richotte explores Native American tribal constitutional history in order to, as he argues, decenter the U.S. federal actors, laws, and policies from the study of tribal constitutionalism and instead refocus attention back onto tribal members, underlining their agency and importance. Richotte uses the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians as a case study and follows the tribe's history in forming its own 1932 constitution, detailing every step and decision taken, good and bad, in its creation. He shows that the tribe's dominant political goal was pursuing a claim against the federal government for the damages it suffered during the establishment of its reservation and the negotiations for a treaty. However, political forces in and outside the tribe pushed the decision to a compromise, and the tribe adopted a constitution that limited their own authority while keeping open the possibility of later claims against the U.S. Federal government. Importantly, all of this took place before the Indian Reorganization Act - the piece of federal legislation most associated with modern tribal constitutionalism - became law, making Turtle Mountain's path to its own constitution a story of tribal agency, one that disrupts the commonly held idea that IRA lies at the epicenter of tribal constitutionalism." "In this work, Keith Richotte explores Native American tribal constitutional history in order to, as he argues, decenter the U.S. federal actors, laws, and policies from the study of tribal constitutionalism and instead refocus attention back onto tribal members, underlining their agency and importance. Richotte uses the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians as a case study and follows the tribe's history in forming its own 1932 constitution, detailing every step and decision taken, good and bad, in its creation. He shows that the tribe's dominant political goal was pursuing a claim against the federal government for the damages it suffered during the establishment of its reservation and the negotiations for a treaty. However, political forces in and outside the tribe pushed the decision to a compromise, and the tribe adopted a constitution that limited their own authority while keeping open the possibility of later claims against the U.S. Federal government. Importantly, all of this took place before the Indian Reorganization Act - the piece of federal legislation most associated with modern tribal constitutionalism - became law, making Turtle Mountain's path to its own constitution a story of tribal agency, one that disrupts the commonly held idea that IRA lies at the epicenter of tribal constitutionalism"-- Provided by publisher In an auditorium in Belcourt, North Dakota, on a chilly October day in 1932, Robert Bruce and his fellow tribal citizens held the political fate of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians in their hands. Bruce, and the others, had been asked to adopt a tribal constitution, but he was unhappy with the document, as it limited tribal governmental authority. However, white authorities told the tribal nation that the proposed constitution was a necessary step in bringing a lawsuit against the federal government over a long-standing land dispute. Bruce's choice, and the choice of his fellow citizens, has shaped tribal governance on the reservation ever since that fateful day. In this book, Keith Richotte Jr. offers a critical examination of one tribal nation's decision to adopt a constitution. By asking why the citizens of Turtle Mountain voted to adopt the document despite perceived flaws, he confronts assumptions about how tribal constitutions came to be, reexamines the status of tribal governments in the present, and offers a fresh set of questions as we look to the future of governance in Native America and beyond. Cover -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- Chapter One: Green Setting Feather's World -- Chapter Two: Little Shell II's World -- Chapter Three: The Reservation -- Chapter Four: The Ten-Cent Treaty -- Chapter Five: The Aftermath -- Chapter Six: The Claim -- Chapter Seven: The Constitution -- Conclusion -- Appendix 1. The 1932 Turtle Mountain Tribal Constitution -- Appendix 2. The Current Turtle Mountain Tribal Constitution -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index -- A -- B -- C -- D -- E -- F -- G -- H -- I -- J -- K -- L -- M -- N -- O -- P -- R -- S -- T -- U -- V -- W