Book
Fire and the spirits: Cherokee law fron clan to court
University of Oklahoma Press • 133 • Published In 1975 • Pages: xx, 260
By: Strickland, Rennard.
Abstract
This document is a description and analysis of the transformation of Cherokee law and justice from the time of the first specialized Cherokee legal institutions and law codes in 1808 until the dissolution of the Cherokee court system by the U.S. Federal government in 1898. As a basis for understanding this transformation the author begins with an examination of traditional Cherokee law, its spiritual foundation and the traditional mechanisms for adjusting grievances and applying sanctions. According to the author, the transformation of Cherokee law and legal system and its consequences were only partly a product of European contact and European legal culture. In addition, the transformation was a conscious effort by the Cherokees, especially mixed-blood Cherokees, to fashion a legal system that preserved Cherokee goals and values and was adapted to interaction with the larger White society. Thus, this study of Cherokee law is also a study of the forging of a Cherokee national identity under the pressure of European contact. This document includes a chronology of Cherokee legal history, a summary of early Cherokee laws and the text of the Cherokee constitution of 1827.
- HRAF PubDate
- 2000
- Region
- North America
- Sub Region
- Eastern Woodlands
- Document Type
- Book
- Evaluation
- Creator Types
- Historian
- Lawyer
- Document Rating
- 4: Excellent Secondary Data
- 5: Excellent Primary Data
- Analyst
- Gerald Reid ; John Beierle ; 1987 ; John Beierle
- Field Date
- no date
- Coverage Date
- 1540-1907
- Coverage Place
- Oklahoma and southeastern [especially North Carolina] United States
- Notes
- by Rennard Strickland ; foreword by Neill H. Alford, Jr.
- Includes bibliographical references (p. 239-254) and index
- LCCN
- 74015903
- LCSH
- Cherokee Indians