common law

Cherokee Nation Constitution

Year

Cherokee Nation is spread across 14 counties in northeastern Oklahoma with a population of 300,000 people. The constitution was enacted in 2003. Cherokee Nation allows citizens who live outside the territory to vote in elections and be represented on the council.

Preamble: We, the People of the Cherokee Nation, in order to preserve our sovereignty, enrich our culture, achieve and maintain a desirable measure of prosperity and the blessings of freedom, acknowledging with humility and gratitude the goodness, aid and guidance of the Sovereign Ruler of the Universe in permitting us to do so, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the government of the Cherokee Nation.

Native Nations
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Citation

Cherokee Nation. 2003. "Constitution of the Cherokee Nation." Tahlequah, OK.

Carcross/Tagish First Nation Constitution

Year

Located in the Yukon Territory, Canada, the Carcross/Tagish First Nation has a population of 609 people, and their constitution was enacted in 2005.

MISSION STATEMENT: The Carcross/Tagish First Nation is mandated to protect the environment, health and wellness, education and aboriginal rights of our citizens; to continue to preserve and protect our culture, traditions, and languages; to protect and develop our natural resources and strengthen our economy and the Carcross/ Tagish First Nation government for our future generations.

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Citation

Carcross/Tagish First Nation. 2005. "Carcross/Tagish First Nation Constitution." Carcross, Yukon.

Akiachak Native Community Constitution

Producer
Akiachak Native Community
Year

The Akiachak Native Community is located in Southwestern Alaska with a population of 627 people. Their constitution was ratified in 1948.

Preamble: We, a group of Eskimos having the common bond of living together in Akiachak, Territory of Alaska, in order to have better life and greater security, make for ourselves this Constitution and By-laws, by authority of the act of Congress of June 18, 1934., as amended by the acts of June 15, 1935 (49 Stat. 378), and May 1, 1936 (49 Stat. 1250).

Native Nations
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Citation

Akiachak Native Community. 1948. "Constitution and Bylaws of the Akiachak Native Community." Akiachak, AK.

Abenaki Nation of Missisquoi Constitution

Year

The Abenaki Nation of Missisquoi is spread across New England in the U.S. and the Quebec and Maritimes regions in Canada. It has a population of 12,000 and it is not recognized by the U.S. Government. The nation's constitution was enacted in 2002.

The Abenaki People of the St. Francis/Sokoki Band of the Sovereign Republic of the Abmaki Nation of Missisquoi and our descendants, recognize the need to preserve the heritage of our Ancestors, our culture, our history, our language, our ancestral native lands, and our sovereign right to live free and commune with the spirits of the natural world, do hereby establish this Constitution as the Great Law of the Sovereign Republic of the Abenaki Nation of Missisquoi.

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Citation

Abenaki Nation of Missisquoi. 2002. "Constitution of the St.Francis Sokoki Band of the Abenaki Nation of Missisquoi." Swanton, VT.

Bolivia Constitution

Year

Bolivia is located in South America with a population of 10.5 million people. The constitution was enacted in 2009. PREAMBLE: In ancient times mountains arose, rivers spread out from one place to another, lakes were formed. Our Amazonia, our swamps, our highlands and our plains and valleys were covered with greenery and flowers. We populated this sacred Mother Earth with different faces, and since that time we have understood the plurality that exists in all things and in our diversity as human beings and cultures. Thus, our peoples were formed, and we never knew racism until we were subjected to it during the terrible times of colonialism.

Native Nations
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Citation

Republic of Bolivia. 2009. "Bolivia (Plurinational State of) 2009." Sucre, Bolivia.

Afghanistan Constitution

Producer
Islamic Republic of Afghanistan
Year

Afghanistan is located on the edge of Middle East, bordering Asia, with a population of 31 million people and an Islamic Republic form of government. The constitution was ratified in 2004.

Preamble: In the name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful, Praise be to Allah, the Cherisher and Sustainer of Worlds; and Praise and Peace be upon Mohammad, His Last Messenger and his disciples and followers.

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Citation

Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. 2004. "The Constitution of Afghanistan." Kabul, Afghanistan.

Citizen Potawatomi Nation Constitution

Year

Citizen Potawatomi Nation is located in Oklahoma with a population of 29,000 people. The constitution was enacted in 1938 and amended in 1985 and 2007.

Preamble: We, the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, sometimes designated as the Potawatomi Tribe of Oklahoma, in furtherance of our inherent powers of self-government in order to take advantage of the opportunities for economic independence and social advancement offered by the Thomas- Rogers Oklahoma Indian Welfare Act of June 26, 1936, (49 Stat. 1976), do hereby adopt this Constitution pursuant to the Oklahoma Indian Welfare Act of June 26, 1936 (49 Stat. 1967) which shall supersede the constitution approved by the Secretary of the Interior on October 17, 1938, and ratified on December 12, 1938, and amended on September 27, 1956, December 27, I960, April 24, 1961, September 21, 1970, April 20, 1983, and April 8, 1996, with ratification.  

Native Nations
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Citation

Citizen Potawatomi Nation. 2007. "Constitution of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation." Shawnee, OK.

Chitimacha Tribe of Louisiana Constitution

Year

The Chitimacha Tribe of Louisiana is located in Southern Louisiana with a population of 950 people. The constitution was enacted in 1970 and amended in 2009 and 2010. 

Preamble: We, the Chitimacha Indians of Louisiana, desiring to establish an organization for our common welfare and benefit, do hereby adopt and proclaim the following constitution.  

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Citation

Chitimacha Tribe of Louisiana. 1970. "Constitution and By-Laws of the Chitimacha Tribe of Louisiana." Charenton, LA.

Chilkat Indian Village Constitution

Year

The Chilkat Indian Village is located in Southeastern Alaska with a population of 140 people. The constitution was enacted in 2006. The village was involved in a famous cultural property case about Whale House rain screen and totem poles.

Preamble: We, a sovereign community of Tlingit Indians having a common bond of residence in the Village of Klukwan, Alaska, in order to promote our welfare, through the development and operation of government, social, and economic enterprises, do establish this Constitution and By-laws in accordance with, and by authority of, the Act of Congress of June 18, 1934 (48 Stat.984), as amended.

Native Nations
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Citation

Chilkat Indian Village. 2006. "Constitution of the Chilkat Indian Village." Klukwan, AK. 

Chickasaw Nation Constitution

Year

Chickasaw Nation is located in Oklahoma with a population of 49,000 people. The constitution was enacted in 1983 and amended in 2002.  

Preamble: We, the people of the Chickasaw Nation, acknowledging with gratitude the grace and beneficence of God, in permitting us to make choice of our own form of government, do, in accordance with the first, second, fourth and seventh articles of the Treaty between the United States, the Choctaws and Chickasaws, made and concluded at Washington City, June 22, A.D. 1855, and the Treaty of April 28, A.D. 1866, ordain and establish this Constitution for our government, within the following limits, to-wit...

Native Nations
Topics
Citation

Chickasaw Nation. 1983. "Constitution of the Chickasaw Nation." Ada, OK.