I. Why is “terminology” so important in the text?
Terminology helps us to understand the law in ways that the law might be affected by its terms. (Richland 2010 p19) More and more governments are using their traditional language in today’s codes (Richland 2010 p33) and it is important that we understand their term definitions.

II. What is Law? | A rule or set of rules, enforceable by the courts, regulating the government of a state, the relationship between the organs of government and the subjects of the state, and the relationship or conduct of subjects towards each other. The term “LAW” for Anglo-American society “means the way in which societies express who they are and the ways of life they value as a people” (Justin B. Richland, 2010). Law for one tribal nation is often different than what law looks like in another (Richland p8). The Indian Civil Rights Act 1968 provided a Bill of Rights to Indians in their relations with the tribal governments. It authorizes a model code for tribal courts for Indian offenses and requires Indian consent, by states of jurisdiction over Indian territory. | | | III. What is a tribal legal system? Please provide examples.
The tribal legal system is made up of the norms, structures, and practices of the tribe. Norms are the values and beliefs held by the community about the proper and improper ways to act toward other people, places, and things (Richland 2010 p4). There are two kinds of norms, substantive and procedural. The substantive norms are the ways we decide how to handle a dispute or wrongdoing (i.e. Do not steal, Do not murder). The procedural norms are the rules we follow when handling a dispute (a lawyer may not talk to the jury). Structures are the roles played by people during the operation of a legal system and the institutions in which those operations occur. Practices are what legal actors actually do when undertaking the operations of the legal system.

IV. What are constitutions and bylaws? Please explain the difference.
A constitution serves as a written definition and expression of the organization itself. It covers the nature of the organization, its reason for being, its membership and broad fundamentals of its organization and operations. The bylaws are created as a set of rules for day-to-day operations based on the foundational principles of the constitution. The bylaws are significantly more specific and provide more exacting guidelines than a constitution. It could be said that a constitution provides the structure, definition and backbone of an organization, while the bylaws are the rules by which the organization is governed.iv

V. What kinds of right to land are regulated in the Susanville Indian Rancheria Assignment Ordinance? Does it provide for individuals to have rights to own or sell Rancheria lands? Explain
III. B. The assignment does not vest title to assigned land in the assignee but is a use right granted by the General Council, which may not be sold or inherited and which terminates upon relinquishment or cancellation of the assignment or upon the death of the assignee.
Why you think the assignment ordinance does or does not provide rights to own or sell Rancheria lands.

The assignment ordinance does not provide rights to own or sell Rancheria lands. Located in California, the landbase of Susanville Rancheria started with 30 acres and by 2010 totaled 1,337.53 acres. The Susanville Indian Rancheria is acknowledged as the recognized tribe for the Rancheria although there are four anthropological tribes involved, each of which is recognized as political entities. Thus, the Federal Government recognizes only the Susanville Indian Rancheria as the political entity for the Rancheria. The land is in trust and the elders are protecting the reservation by not allowing sale of land. The General Council is keeping the Rancheria land for the tribe and future tribal citizens. Fractuation is a problem with allotted lands in trust and the General Council is preventing this problem by keeping the land.

VI. Consider Justice Stewart’s concurring opinion in the watt case in chapter 2. How is the concurring opinion different from the majority opinion?

Justice Stewart integrated the tribe’s customs and traditions with legal norms, practices, and structures acquired from Anglo-American legal sources. The majority opinion explained the decision based on current laws.

VII. Which U.S. policy do you think had the most harmful effect on tribal governments?

The Dawes Act of 1887

VIII. Do you think the General Allotment Act had an impact on the internal legal systems of tribal governments?
The Dawes Act of 1887 (also known as the General Allotment Act), adopted by Congress in 1887, authorized the President of the United States to divide the land into allotments for individual Indians. The Dawes Act was amended in 1891, and again in 1906 by the Burke Act. The act "was the culmination of American attempts to destroy tribes and their governments and to open Indian lands to settlement by non-Indians and to development by railroads. Land owned by Indians decreased from 138 million acres (560,000 km2) in 1887 to 48 million acres (190,000 km2) in 1934. Many tribes were dissolved as legal entities. Allotment wiped out tribal ownership of land and set up individual Indian family heads with 160 acres. Excess reservation land, not allotted was sold to the railroad and white settlers.

IX. What is the primary punishment for wrongdoing?

The objective is that the sentence is both just and deserved by being linked to the seriousness of the offence. The harm done and the offender's quilt are the key determinants of offence seriousness. Some theorists argue that the deprivation of money, time, or liberty have a crime prevention role. This is achieved through a positive reinforcement of the norms and values which society wishes to uphold.

X. What kinds of punishments do the tribal communities seem to rely on the most?
Tribal communities rely on fines and community service. The indigenous approach requires problems to be handled in their entirety. Conflicts are not fragmented, nor is the process compartmentalized into pre-adjudication, pretrial, adjudication, and sentencing stages. These hinder the resolution process for victims and offenders and delay the restoration of relationships and communal harmony. All contributing factors are examined to address the underlying issues that precipitated the problem, and everyone affected by a problem participates in the process. This distributive aspect generalizes individual misconduct or criminal behavior to the offender's wider kin group; hence there is a wider sharing of blame and guilt. The offender, along with his or her kinsmen, is held accountable and responsible for correcting behavior and repairing relationships.

XI. Do you think exclusion and compensation for crimes like murder, rape, and assault would be effective responses to crimes committed in tribal societies today? Why or why not?

It is the duty of tribal governments to protect tribal lands, maintain peace and harmony within the community, and deliver justice and just punishment. Banishment has been used since biblical times. Today, the Amish community strictly adheres to a very old social and religious order. Violators of the order are shunned, ostracized from the community or excommunicated from the church. The doctrine of shunning forbids all social relations and association with members who have offended the church and the community, thus socially and psychologically excluding the offender from the community. Banishment has also been used effectively in Singapore. The Singapore national government passed a law authorizing the exile of undesirable people."' Pursuant to the Singapore Banishment Act, any person who would not "be conducive to the good of Singapore" may be banished from that country.'v . Many reservation tribes have incorporated banishment into their tribal laws. Since Muscogee Creek Nation is not a reservation and we abide by the legal punishment by the State and Federal governments, I do not think it would be a deterrent to those tribal citizens who choose to murder, rape, or assault a fellow human being. I prefer our reintegration program. It is better to help them gain back respect from our Tribe and communities that to expel them.
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XII. What are some advantages to using anthropology and sociology to study tribal law?
Anthropology and sociology gives us a starting point for discussing traditional methods of dispute resolution and crime control. One advantage is that they help strengthen and empower tribal justice systems and build tribal capacity to create positive change and promote social and community development. The communal aspect allows for crime to be viewed as a natural human error that requires corrective intervention by families and elders or tribal leaders. Thus, offenders remain an integral part of the community because of their important role in defining the boundaries of appropriate and inappropriate behavior and the consequences associated with misconduct.

XIII. Besides family law, where and how can kinship structures be applied to tribal judicial systems?
In our tribe (Muscogee Creek Nation) kinship structures are now being used in elder care (personal caretakers), child care (home care of nieces, nephews, grandchildren, cousins and their children, etc.). Community and family forums could be incorporated into our tribal judicial system. The National Institute for Justice has documented the following way kinship can be applied to the tribal judicial system in the article “Indigenous Justice Systems and Tribal Society”:

“Some of the quasi-modern and modern courts incorporate indigenous justice methods as an alternative resolution process for juvenile delinquency, child custody, victim-offender cases, and civil matters. The trend of tribal courts is to use the family and community forums for matters that are highly interpersonal, either as a diversion alternative, as part of sentencing, or for victim-offender mediation. Some are court-annexed programs such as the Alternatives For First Time Youth Offenders Program sponsored by the Laguna Pueblo tribal court in New Mexico. Under this program, juvenile offenders are referred to the village officers, who convene a community forum. Recommendations for resolving the matter may be court-ordered, or the resolution may be handled informally by the village officers. This joint effort by the court and village officers allows them to address the problem at the local village level and to intervene early to prevent further delinquency.”

“The indigenous approach requires problems to be handled in their entirety. Conflicts are not fragmented, nor is the process compartmentalized into pre-adjudication, pretrial, adjudication, and sentencing stages. These hinder the resolution process for victims and offenders and delay the restoration of relationships and communal harmony. All contributing factors are examined to address the underlying issues that precipitated the problem, and everyone affected by a problem participates in the process. This distributive aspect generalizes individual misconduct or criminal behavior to the offender's wider kin group; hence there is a wider sharing of blame and guilt. The offenders, along with his or her kinsmen, are held accountable and responsible for correcting behavior and repairing relationships.”