CONStITUTIONS toolbox

As they reclaim self-governing power, many Native nations are discovering that the constitutions and governing systems created under colonialism are inadequate tools for meeting their challenges or achieving their goals. Many of those systems do not reflect Native nations’ own cultures or values, nor were they designed to support the exercise of jurisdictional power. In response, many of these nations are rethinking their governing systems, modifying or discarding constitutions imposed by outsiders, and either developing new governing tools or putting older ones back to work.

The resulting diversity of constitutional forms indicates that there is no “one-size-fits-all” approach to constitution making or constitutional reform. What works for one nation may not work for another, and what happens quickly in one place may take much longer elsewhere.