American Indian Culture and Research Journal

An important issue facing leaders of elective Indian Reorganization Act tribal governments is how to establish efficacy and create legitimacy in the minds of community members by building the values and ethos of earlier periods into the operation of tribal government and courts. More specifically, DeLoria and Lytle have argued that the “[e]xtensive development of tribal customs as the basis for a tribal court’s decision will enable these institutions to draw even closer to the people.” This paper considers how governments have integrated folk law into the contemporary tribal codes developed over the last two decades by eight Coast Salish tribes of western Washington State. This study does not concern the manner in which colonial, national, or regional governments interpret folk law for use in mainstream courts or for tribal courts operated by the mainstream society. Rather, the focus is on how Indian people themselves approach the incorporation of folk law. The analysis presented here concerns code developed under the authority of tribal governments for use in tribal courts that hold significant, although not complete, jurisdiction. The term folk law is used instead of customary law in order to refer to uncodified, lived law in use or previously in use at the local level. Customary law, on the other hand, is sometimes used to refer to elements of indigenous law codified by a colonial administration for its own benefit and purpose.