American Indian Constitutions and Their Influence on the United States Constitution

Abstract

This paper analyzes modern-day American Indian constitutionalism. It describes the development of written constitutions by Indian nations and primarily focuses on constitutions developed since 1934 under the auspices of the federal Indian Reorganization Act. This paper also briefly examines the evidence that American Indian political philosophies, and traditional tribal governmental structures and ideas, influenced many of the Founding Fathers and the drafting of the United States Constitution.

Keywords: American Indian constitutions, indigenous political theories, Indian influence on the U.S. Constitution, American Indian governance structures