Navajo Nation Supreme Court and Peacemaking Court Hold Sessions at Colorado Law
The Navajo National Supreme Court and Peacemaking Court, headquartered in Arizona, held special sessions in the Colorado Law School’s Wittemyer Courtroom this week. Monday’s Mock Session of the Navajo Nation Peacemakers Court gave the audience insight into this renowned restorative justice program. Participants are treated as equals so to preserve relationships and restore harmony among the parties. There are no offenders or victim, and no plaintiffs or defendants. Peacemakers are the institutional keepers of the methods and principles of original dispute resolution, culture, and tradition in our justice system. There are 242 certified peacemakers at large in 110 Chapters.
The Supreme Court of the Navajo Nation, the largest American Indian nation in the United States, is a three-member body that is their highest Native American judicial authority. The Judicial Branch of the Navajo Nation rivals that of many busy states and municipalities, and handles more than 90,000 cases a year. It encompasses seven judicial districts, five of which have separate family courts.
On Tuesday, the Navajo Nation Supreme Court heard the case of Gishie v. Morris about Tribal jurisdiction over a Navajo allotment dispute. The Honorable Chief Justice Yazzie and the honorable Justices Alan Sloane and Eleanor Shirley presided. The issue was whether a Navajo Nation local grazing committee and the Navajo Office of Hearings and Appeals have jurisdiction to decide a dispute over fencing of an allotment, or whether it is exclusively a federal matter for the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Two other issues are involved in this case. First, in Navajo culture, land should go to the person who is going to get the most use out of it, not necessarily to the person who inherited it. Second, there has been a long-standing debate over Navajo sovereignty and federal government interference.
Colorado Law’s Native American Law Students Association sponsored the week’s events.
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