Native Nation Building: The Long Emergence of the Oneida Nation Judiciary

Abstract:This article documents the emergence of the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin’s judiciary over the course of the past thirty years. It argues that judicial systems have become necessary tribal institutions in the federal Indian policy era of self-determination, but assimilating them to tribal societies that are characteristically organized by kinship presents serious challenges of legitimacy. The Oneida Nation needed a formal dispute resolution forum in order to qualify for certain federal programs under the policy regime. It created the Appeals Commission, which aspired to be a tribal court and separate branch of government integrating fundamental Oneida values and practices. As the commission expanded the scope of its jurisdiction and became more engaged with other tribal courts in the state, sectors within the Oneida community contested its legitimacy. Because of developments in the relationship between the state courts and tribal courts in Wisconsin, the commission began to take cases dealing with marriage, divorce, and children in the last several years. The contradictions between the community as society organized by kinship and a community organized as a tribal state precipitated a crisis that eventuated in the creation of a new institution.