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C H A P T E R S I X The Story of the Development of Modern Tribal Law and Justice Systems G rand Traverse Band’s customs and traditions based on kinship have served as the foundation of the tribe’s law and justice system since time immemorial, but this ancient structure has been modernized in recent decades.One of the foundations of the good governance model developed by the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians has been the structure of the tribal government as created in the tribal constitution. The constitution created a tribal council free from intrusive federal government interference, and allowed for the creation of a separate economic development corporation. The constitution preserved the independence of the tribal judiciary necessary for the administration of a fair and honorable rule of law.And the constitution provided for the development of the Grand Traverse Band Code. Customary and Traditional Law and Justice ThefirstformsoflawandorderappearedlongbeforethearrivaloftheEuropeans, and usually entailed the resolution of disputes involving hunting, fishing, and gatheringrights,privileges,andterritories.Therealsowasasophisticatedsystem for dealingwith criminal acts, aswell as negligent acts.TheAnishinaabek often taught each other general rules of behavior for all people by relating stories 148 | | 149 linked to the landscape. The story of the Pukwudjinni at the Picture Rocks in the Upper Peninsula is a good example:1 Kwasind, the story goes, was a free-spirited Saginaw Chippewa, whose life consisted of a little hunting, fishing, and a great deal ofvisiting. Kwasind’svisits took place annually, in the summer, as he canoed around Lake Superior, using a paddle made only of cedar. After leaving his home, he would skirt the coast, cross the Straits of Mackinac, hug the coast again, ascend the St. Mary’s River, follow theUpper Peninsulawestward, round the enormous lake, and return to his home. His last tripwas largely completed,when the spirits appeared. “Kwasind had passed Michipicoten [in present-day Ontario, near Wawa], on the north shore, and was paddling east toward Cape Chaillon.” Here was a large cliff, and Kwasind spotted a canoe approaching it. Kwasind urged his canoe forward to meet them, but they turned “their heads down so that he could not see their faces.” Kwasind called to them, and he heard the first paddler say to the last, “You look more like a man than I do.You speak to him.”Theywere memegwessiwug. Angered,Kwasindshovedtheircanoeintotherocks,butthebeingswiththeir vessel simply disappeared into the cliff side. Kwasind heard them still, however: “Well, well; so Kwasind thought he could smash our canoe.” 150 | chapter 6 “Hush! Don’t you know Kwasind is a manitou and can hear us? Keep still.” Kwasind passed on hisway, descending the St. Mary’s River and approaching LakeGeorge.There, on the north (Canadian) side, “are rocks called pukwudininniewug .” Kwasind saw the beings of the same name, “little midgets,” racing along the cliffs above him. He jeered at them, questioning their sacred power. “By the time hewas passing along ten miles below, the little men,who had been getting more and more furious over his taunting, picked up stones to throw at him.”When Kwasind batted away one of the missileswith his paddle, the cedar snapped. “His power must have been in his cedar paddle, for the next rock struck him on the head and killed him.” Kwasind, a man of too much independence, had apparently taken too many freedoms with the spirit world, forgetting his dependence upon it. Chippewas would remember his story as they saw the places where Kwasind was said to have passed. Kwasind’s story was told on the Upper Peninsula, and it has relevance for that place.2 Unlike so many tribes that had been removed by the federal government west, northern Michigan tribes like the Grand Traverse Band retain many of the stories that provide the backdrop for law and justice in Indian Country. These stories are based on theAnishinaabemowin language and upon the geographic characteristics of the Anishinaabek.3 Disputes involving hunting and fishing territories often were disputes between families. Given the seasonal character of Michigan Anishinaabe lives, with small, inland winter hunting camps, larger spring sugar camps, and still larger summer villages along the coast, different disputes would be resolved by different individuals depending on where the dispute originated. For example, a conflict over the winter hunting and trapping territory of a family, say, trespassing, would be resolved through discussion between the heads of households of the two families, with threats of violence perhaps, but rarely involving any...

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