Heritage Community Foundation Presents
Alberta Online Encyclopedia
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Nature's Law
Spiritual Life, Governance, Culture, Traditions, Resources, Context and Background
The Heritage Community Foundation, Alberta Law Foundation and Albertasource.ca
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Indigenous Peoples

Indigenous Peoples

Constitutional rights
and responsibilities

Social Reality

Rights of
Interpretation

Origin of
Interpretation

Exercised as a
People

Definition of People

Great Turtle Island

Relationships

Equality

Survival for
All Beings

Survival for
the People

Right to Exist

Implications

The Land

Spirit of the Land

Judicial and Fiscal Order

Empowering

Visual representation of nature's laws


Nature’s Laws both informs and is an Expression of the "Constitution" of Indigenous Peoples

Constitutional Law as Western legal tradition defines it is not articulated in Indigenous languages. Equivalent concepts can be found, however.

Nature’s Laws act as the constitution of Indigenous peoples, guaranteeing constitutional rights in an Indigenous system. One affirmation is that the constitutionality of the People rests in the distinctive languages of the People:

"Aboriginal people from coast to coast tell me something else as well – that those understandings are contained within the very structure of their languages. The old people, for instance, constantly say things like "Our language is our law." Until recently, I had no idea what they meant. How could a language not only "say" things, but also "stand for" things? What did people mean when they said I would never gain an understanding of Aboriginal approaches to justice (or any other aspect of their life) until I had gained some understanding of how different languages can lead us to different understandings about what life is and how it should be lived?" (Ross, Returning 99).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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