Indian Nations and Indigenous Peoples

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Session Type: Section Programs

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Language reflects worldview, culture, and values. For indigenous communities, ideas communicated in writings, stories, songs, conversations, or ceremonies may be codified or interpreted into contemporary laws that shape justice systems. The laws and courts of settler nations also choose the words to employ when speaking about indigenous peoples, and this choice can have significant consequences. In the words of the AALS Annual Meeting theme, “[w]ords in the form of laws give rights and impose responsibilities.” Speakers will address the relationship between language, power, and law in various contexts, including indigenous land claims and news coverage of the Indian Child Welfare Act.