Tribal Law Basics for Legal Writing

Tonya KowalskiProfessor of Law

Washburn University School of Law

What are American Indian Tribes & Tribal Law?

Why Introduce Tribal Nations & Courts?

• Teaching: enhance legal skills instruction with comparative legal studies and multicultural awareness

• Service: further law schools’ social justice mission

Applications

• Federalism• Sources of Primary Law• Selecting Authority• Professional Respect for Legal Institutions• Preparation for Increased Tribal Court Practice• Social Justice Enculturation• Enhanced Transfer of Learning• Professional Multicultural Awareness

A Three-Sovereign Federal System

Sovereign Nations

Limited Sovereigns

Organizational Variety

Respect for Legal Institutions: Tribal Courts

• Org. variety

• ADR

• Highly professional

• Limited resources

• Creating rich common law

• Custom and tradition

Practice Trend: Tribal Economic Development

• Ho-Chunk, Inc. (Winnebago Tribe of NE)

• Chickasaw Nation Enterprises

Law Schools & Social Justice

Comparative Law & Learning Theory

Skills: Multicultural Awareness

• Letters • Client

counseling• Facts• Analysis

Selecting Authority Module

1. The tri-federal system

2. Sources of law

3. What law binds the court?

4. What law governs the issue?

5. Selecting authority

Sovereignty & Selecting Authority

Comparative Sources of Law

Sovereignty & Selecting Authority

What Law Binds the Court? What Law Governs the Issue?

Issue of State Law?

Issue of Federal

Law?

Issue of Tribal Law?