Learning about Indian Law with professor Matthew Fletcher
SOUTHFIELD, Mich. (CW50) - The subject of Indian Law that pertains to Indian nations and other indigenous peoples is not something widely discussed in popular culture around the United States of America, but it is something that these nations have been working to protect for generations.
The American Law Institute voted in 2022 to unanimously approve the Restatement of the Law, The Law of American Indians.
"This project is generally about Federal Indian Law," explained Fletcher. "Federal Indian Law is the relationship between the United States, Indian tribes, and state governments. The first three chapters provide the big picture about federal, tribal, and state powers and prerogatives in the context of Federal Indian Law. Many of these principles have been around since the founding of the United States and really since the beginning of the constitutional era in 1789, but they are not necessarily well known. In chapter one, the project begins with a discussion of federal plenary power and all of the obligations the federal government has toward Indian people and Indian tribes. The project then covers the inherent powers of Indian tribes that federal law acknowledges, and also the state powers and the interaction primarily between states and local governments and tribes and tribal citizens."
These restatements are used to encourage courts and policymakers to respect foundational principles of federal Indian law.
Matthew Fletcher, who is a member of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, is the Harry Burns Hutchins collegiate professor of Law at Michigan Law. He teaches and writes in the areas of federal Indian law, American Indian tribal law, Anishinaabe legal and political philosophy, constitutional law, federal courts, and legal ethics, and he sits as the chief justice of the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians and the Poarch Band of Creek Indians.
Fletcher joined Community Connect to discuss Indian Law, the processes of these courts and laws within Indian nations, the differences between American Civil Rights and Indian Civil Rights, and how the restatement of these laws benefits indigenous peoples.
Fletcher also discussed the use of the terms "Native American" and "Indian American." He stated that both are not seen as offensive in the United States, but Indigenous peoples have seen both terms as incorrect, as they would not identify themselves as being "Native American" any more than they would see themselves as "coming from Indian," said Fletcher. They would rather be identified first by their tribe/nation.
To see Matthew Fletcher's full interview, watch Community Connect, Saturday at 7 a.m. on CW50
