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“Life Comes from It”:Navajo Justice Concepts

Yazzie, Robert
June 4, 2015

Source: (2005) In, Nielsen, Marianne O. and Zion, James W., editors, Navaja Nation Peacemaking. Living Traditional Justice. The University of Arizona Press. Tucson pp. 42-57

Navajo justice is unique because it is the product of the experience of the Navajo people. Prior to contact with European cultures, Navajos developed their way of approaching life through many centuries of dealing with obstacles to their survival. Likewise, Navajo concepts of justice are a product of the experience we have gained from dealing with problems. To understand these concepts fully, the essential character of Anglo-European law must be compared to that of Navajo law. (excerpt)

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