The Justice Book | Prairie Public Broadcasting

The book is about justice, and it Is Justice. The title is long: To Do Justice: The Legal Dispute of the Turtle Mountain Band of Pembina Chippewa, 1795-1905. The editorial team that worked on it at North Dakota State University Press called it among themselves “the justice book.” The author, John M. Shaw, states in the conclusion that “justice comes down to telling stories that bring to light overlooked or long-buried truths.” The book is around Justice, and it Is Justice. This word comes from the plea of ​​Chippewa lawyer John B. Bottineau, who protested against the infamous Ten Cent Treaty of 1892.

So the book is by a white man named Shaw. It was his dissertation at the University of Arizona. He teaches at Portland Community College. Before publication by NDSU Press, his work was reviewed and recommended by scholars and elders at Turtle Mountain. They say he has accurately stated the long-hidden truth, and I agree. The book on justice is a model of serious tribal history.

What is the point of rehashing the sordid story of the U.S. government’s failure to honor legal agreements and moral obligations? A lawyer might say that in 1981 the Indian Claims Commission delivered justice for Turtle Mountain in the form of $52,277,337.97 in compensation for the forcibly taken lands at a ridiculously low price.

Yes, but there is another part of justice, storytelling. Put it in a book, a thick book with lots of footnotes and the imprint of a university press. Any questions? Here it is.

Furthermore, we have what I call the “flip of power” in this story. The Turtle Mountain Chippewa are repeatedly wronged, starved and dispossessed, but they are never victims. They have consistent, multigenerational leadership: Little Shell x three. They have articulate advocates like Bottineau.

And they have good will. They accept an unwelcome relationship imposed on them by the U.S. government, a guardianship, and they work with it, they carry on, despite what Shaw summarizes as the “malicious and disruptive tactics” of federal officials and the rapacious aggressiveness of white invaders and their politicians like Congressman William Pettigrew.

In white language, the Chippewa owned the land by “Indian title,” which did not protect it from expropriation. Realistic native diplomats knew this would happen and sought realistic and reasonable arrangements. They wanted a reservation, a piece of land large enough to ensure a future for their descendants; and they wanted just compensation for giving up their title to the rest of the land that belonged to them.

They seemed to lose on both counts, for the ten-cent treaty offered a pittance and provided for the reservation of only two townships. However, Shaw documents, analyzes and evaluates each phase. His work on the Old Crossing Treaty of 1863 is simply breathtaking. I have never read such a profound and insightful commentary on treaty negotiations in the West.

Shaw’s work is a sermon for historians. He tells us to stop worrying about the periods and rationales of federal policy. They are all idiosyncratic and fickle. Focus on the domestic side, tell the story as in a chronicle.

The work is also a warning to the rising generation of indigenous leaders. Perseverance, realism and character can produce tangible results in the long run and preserve the dignity of a people. Miigwech, Dr. Shaw.