Arguing with Tradition – The Language of Law in Hopi Tribal Court (Chicago Series in Law and Society) - Hardcover

Richland, Justin B

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0226712931 ISBN 13: 9780226712932

Publisher: University of Chicago Press, 2008

Synopsis

"Arguing with Tradition" is the first book to explore language and interaction within a contemporary Native American legal system. Grounded in Justin B. Richland's extensive field research on the Hopi Indian Nation of northeastern Arizona - on whose appellate court he now serves as Justice Pro Tempore - this innovative work explains how Hopi notions of tradition and culture shape and are shaped by the processes of Hopi jurisprudence.Like many indigenous legal institutions across North America, the Hopi Tribal Court was created in the image of Anglo-American law. But Richland shows that in recent years, Hopi jurists and litigants have called for their courts to develop a jurisprudence that better reflects Hopi culture and traditions. Providing unprecedented insights into the Hopi and English courtroom interactions through which this conflict plays out, Richland argues that tensions between the language of Anglo-style law and Hopi tradition both drive Hopi jurisprudence and make it unique. Ultimately, Richland's analyses of the language of Hopi law offer a fresh approach to the cultural politics that influence indigenous legal and governmental practices worldwide.

About this title

About the Author

Justin B. Richland is assistant professor in the Department of Criminology, Law, and Society at the University of California, Irvine.

Edition details

• Publisher: University of Chicago Press
• Publication date: 2008
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0226712931
• ISBN 13: 9780226712932
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 176