Fire and the Spirits: Cherokee Law from Clan to Court (Volume 133) (The Civilization of the American Indian Series)

This book traces the emergency of the Cherokee system of laws from the ancient spirit decrees to the fusion of tribal law ways with Anglo-American law. The Cherokees enacted their first written law in 1808 in Georgia. In succeeding years the leaders and tribal councils of the southeastern and Oklahoma groups wrote a constitution, established courts, and enacted laws that were in accord with the old tribal values but reflected and accommodated to the whites’ legal system. Thanks to the great gift of Sequoyah-his syllabary-the Cherokees were well versed in their laws, able to read and interpret them from a very early time. The system served the people well. It endured until 1898, when the federal government abolished the tribal government. The author provides a brief review of Cherokee history and explains the circumstances surrounding the stages of development of the legal system. Excerpts from editorials in the Cherokee Phoenix and the Cherokee Advocate, letters, and tribal documents give added insight into the problems the Cherokees faced and their efforts to resolve them. Of particular interest is a series of charts explaining the complex Cherokee spirit system of crimes (or deviations) and the punishments meted out for them. This book traces the emergency of the Cherokee system of laws from the ancient spirit decrees to the fusion of tribal law ways with Anglo-American law. The Cherokees enacted their first written law in 1808 in Georgia. In succeeding years the leaders and tribal councils of the southeastern and Oklahoma groups wrote a constitution, established courts, and enacted laws that were in accord with the old tribal values but reflected and accommodated to the whites legal system. Thanks to the great gift of Sequoyah-his syllabary-the Cherokees were well versed in their laws, able to read and interpret them from a very early time. The system served the people well. It endured until 1898, when the federal government abolished the tribal government. The author provides a brief review of Cherokee history and explains the circumstances surrounding the stages of development of the legal system. Excerpts from editorials in the Cherokee Phoenix and the Cherokee Advocate, letters, and tribal documents give added insight into the problems the Cherokees faced and their efforts to resolve them. Of particular interest is a series of charts explaining the complex Cherokee spirit system of crimes (or "deviations") and the punishments meted out for them. Foreword, by Neill H. Alford, Jr. Page ix Preface xi I. The Cherokees: People of the Fire 3 II. Traditional Law Ways and the Spirit World 10 III. Changing Cherokee Conditions 40 IV. Stages in Development 53 V. Tribal Goals and Values in Cherokee Law 73 VI. Corpus of the Cherokee Written Laws 103 VII. Lawyers, Judges, and Sheriffs: Cherokee Courts in Operation 120 VIII. Cherokee Supreme Courts Apply Their Law, 18671898 158 IX. Criminal Punishment: A Case Study of Tribal Change 168 X. The End of Cherokee Law 175 XI. Survival of Traditional Cherokee Ways 183 Appendices 203 1. Cherokee Legal History: Chronology, 205 2. Summary of Early Laws of the Cherokees, 211 3. Cherokee Constitution 227 4. Jefferson to the Cherokee Deputies, January 9, 1809 237 Bibliography 239 Index 255 TOWARD the close of the third decade of the nineteenth century, when the Cherokee Nation began to publish a newspaper, the name Phoenix was selected for the masthead.