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Cheyenne Way of Peace and Justice: The Post Lewis and Clark Period to Oklahoma Statehood

Hart, Lawrence H
June 4, 2015

Source: (2003) American Indian Law Review. 28: 261-267.

Lawrence Hart is one of the traditional peace chiefs of the Cheyenne Nation. He presented these remarks at the Sixteenth Annual Sovereignty Symposium in Oklahoma on May 27, 2003. In them he recounts certain highlights of Cheyenne history from the time of their encounter with Lewis and Clark (1805) to the present. He also refers to the Cheyenne tradition of choosing peace chiefs from the warriors in their society – warriors who would forego warfare and live the way of peace for the rest of their lives. From these traditions he goes on to talk about Cheyenne justice, an aspect of Cheyenne culture less well known. Hart discusses efforts to educate others about Cheyenne justice and promote the values and processes of this traditional justice. These he compares to restorative justice.

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