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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
A 4 page discussion of dichotomy that existed between precontact law and government in Native America and law and government as it was viewed by Europeans. The author contrasts natural law and legal positivism. Bibliography lists 4 sources.
Page Count:
4 pages (~225 words per page)
File: AM2_PPnaLaw.rtf
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
Customary Native American law changed significantly after contact with the European peoples that invaded Native land. So too did the way Native American interacted
with one another and the way they carried on the basic aspects of their everyday lives. These changes were the result of the dichotomy that existed between precontact law
and government in Native America and law and government as it was viewed by Europeans. Numerous authors have discussed this dichotomy in the context of the reasons behind the
formation of the Native system. Among the more notable of these discussions are Bruce Bensons "An Evolutionary Contractarian View of Primitive Law: The Institutions and Incentives Arising
Under Customary Indian Law", an online article that analyzes the institutions and incentives of customary Indian law. Also of interest in this topic is Terry L. Andersons "Free Market
Environmentalism" and Linda Barringtons "The Other Side of the Frontier, Economic Explorations into Native American History". Benson emphasizes the importance of the social
contracts and systems that evolved in pre-contact indigenous groups that formed the unwritten rules of conduct that governed these peoples. He contends that these rules included such considerations as
individual rights, provisions for private property, and even adjudication procedures to resolve disputes and to prevent violence. This was true despite the lack of a centralized government such as
that on which European law typically depends. It was possible because of: "reciprocal arrangements
between individuals for recognition of law, support of judgments, and community wide ostracism" (Benson 41)
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