In this piece, I point out how tribal constitutions have been overlooked in scholarship on American constitutional law and history, and I construct the concept of “Indigenous constitutionalism” to bring together the rich constitutional history and theories of Native nations in the U.S.

April 10, 2026 - 18:58 UTC

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The heart of the article is uncovering the 200-year history of written tribal constitutions and how Native nations have used these foundational documents to continually assert their sovereignty, construct hybrid legal orders, and resist U.S. colonialism.
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But I also show how this history and bringing together the diversity of constitutional designs and purposes across Indian Country makes us rethink Native peoples’ impact on federal Indian law doctrine, what constitutions deserve attention in U.S. history, and what the standard features of…
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