article

On "Indian justice"

Plains Anthropologist, Journal of The Plains Conference • 8 (22) • Published In 1963 • Pages: 257-261

By: MacLachlan, Bruce B..

Abstract
This source describes and discusses the 1908 murder of a White man by a Mescalero and the subsequent execution of the murderer by an all Mescalero posse. Previous discussions of this incident have accounted for the execution as a form of 'Indian justice'. MacLachlan, however offers the interpretation that the case illustrates 'perceptive Indian leadership executing a task which was thrust upon it by the dominant white society so that the task was accomplished with the least possible harm to the community as a whole'.
Subjects
Informal in-group justice
Offenses against life
Acculturation and culture contact
culture
Mescalero Apache
HRAF PubDate
2019
Region
North America
Sub Region
Southwest and Basin
Document Type
article
Evaluation
Creator Type
Ethnologist
Document Rating
4: Excellent Secondary Data
5: Excellent Primary Data
Analyst
Marlene Martin ; Eleanor C. Swanson ; 1979-1980
Field Date
1959-1960
Coverage Place
Mescalero Indian Reservation, New Mexico, United States
Notes
By Bruce B. MacLachlan
Includes bibliographical references
LCCN
66038259
LCSH
Mescalero Indians