Studies in Compar ati v e Legal History Freedom’s Law and Indigenous Rights: From Europe’s Oeconomy to the Constitutionalism of the Americas Bartolomé Clavero The Robbins Collection Robbins Collection Publications School of Law (Boalt Hall) University of California at Berkeley Berkeley, California 94720 (510) 642-5094 (510) 642-8325 http://www.law.berkeley.edu/robbins ©2005 by the Regents of the University of California, The Robbins Religious and Civil Law Collection, School of Law (Boalt Hall), University of California at Berkeley. All Rights Reserved. This book is printed on acid-free paper. isbn 1-882239-16-4 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Clavero, Bartolomé. Freedom’s law and indigenous rights : from Europe’s oeconomy to the constitutionalism of the Americas / Bartolomé Clavero. p. cm.— (Studies in comparative legal history) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 1-882239-16-4 (alk. paper) 1. Indians of North America—Legal status, laws, etc.—History. 2. Indians of Mexico— Legal status, laws, etc.—History. 3. Indigenous peoples—Civil rights—History. I. Title. II. Series. kf8205.c54 2005 342.7308'72—dc22 2005020182 For Mercedes, otherwise known as Antidora Contents Foreword xi I. Freedom’s Law and Oeconomical Status: The Euro-American Constituent Moment 1 Constitution in time 3 Experiment in method 5 Individuals and persons 12 Liberties and status 17 States or nations 22 Law of nature 26 Visit to Virginia, U.S. 30 American natural oeconomy 35 Linguistic return 38 Text in context 42 Ways to Europes and non-Europes 45 Annexes Sources 50 50 51 51 52 54 55 Readings: Early Euro-American constitutionalism Freedom, discrimination, subjection The severance of textualism For further checks II. Minority making: Indigenous people and non-indigenous law between Mexico and the United States 57 Trompe-l’œil in both history and law: majority as minority 59 Opening challenge: Indigenous citizenship from European Spain to Hispanic Mexico Imperial Constitution and indigenous people Cultural approach and family affairs Indigenous citizenship and colonial rule 62 63 65 67 Constitutional strategies: The location of the individuals 70 Accommodation through powers Municipal incorporation as reservation 72 74 75 Territory versus state regime Accommodation through rights Trial by jury and customary law The Mexico-Texas confrontation on rights The Mexican and Texan polities compared Communal property and local government 77 78 80 82 83 Oaxaca versus Mexico on indigenous self-determination: Ways and means backwards and forwards 86 Constitutional pronouncements and the voice of silence 93 Back to a constituent moment: The law of nations and treaty-making 95 Indigenous Peoples after the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo Awkward constitutional compliance in California The Apache polity and non-sedentary peoples Diné Bikeyá, Navajo Reservation, and the last display of Indian 111 Pueblo Peoples, Tohono O’odham Nation, and the constitutional treaties from the United States 101 106 109 limbo within the United States Indigenous rights and the treaties between Mexico and the United States 119 125 American citizenship and indigenous standing 130 Indian polities and the United States: From constitutional limbo to a so-called self-determination policy Born citizens and native rights 133 138 The Arizona Territory and Arizonan polity 141 Indian Territory and American State: Oklahoma and New Mexico-Arizona 144 Arizona federated: Union powers over Indian reservations 148 Reservations and state constitutions contrasted 151 Among histories and rights: legal domesticity and constitutional legality 160 Toward a post-colonial world: out of primitive law of nations and far away 167 Beyond minority: current human rights 174 Non-indigenous constitutions and indigenous entitlements 177 Epilogue 184 Index 195