The Development of Law and Legal Institutions among the Cherokees

Before the arrival of Europeans to North America, Cherokee Indians practiced a form of justice called blood law, or clan law. In this system, responsibility for the punishment of a homicide fell to the clan of the victim. In the nineteenth century, following the forced removal of tribal members to Indian Territory, the Cherokee Nation developed a court system that is still in use today. In this thorough account, Thomas Lee Ballenger traces the history of Cherokee justice from its traditional beginnings to the development of its modern-day institutions.

The Development of Law and Legal Institutions among the Cherokees was submitted by Ballenger to the University of Oklahoma as his doctoral dissertation in 1937. Although he later published many books, his dissertation was never published during his lifetime. Yet this work contains research and information still valuable and pertinent for today’s readers and scholars. Here, Ballenger describes how the Cherokee Nation adapted legal ideals and customs to create an efficient government and debunks popular inaccuracies about American Indians. During his research, he interviewed many Cherokee people, including judges and law officers, who were active participants in the Cherokee Nation’s legal system in the latter half of the nineteenth century.

Ballenger’s work serves as significant documentation of a strong judicial system, developed by an advanced people who, in the face of adversity, were able to survive, adapt, prosper, and excel.