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Indigenous People's Day Symposium: "The Rise and Fall of the Ogemakaan"

Matthew L. M. Fletcher (Harry Burns Hutchins Collegiate Professor of Law & Professor of American Culture, University of Michigan Law School)
Monday, October 10, 2022
4:00-6:00 PM
Pond Room Michigan Union Map
Location and Date:
Monday, Oct 10,
4:00- 6:00pm,
Pond Room on the first floor of the Michigan Union
Abstract:
Anishinaabe (Odawa, Bodewadmi, and Ojibwe) legal and political philosophy is buried under the infrastructure of modern self-determination law and policy. Modern Anishinaabe tribes are rough copies of American governments. The Anishinaabeg (people) usually choose their ogemaag (leaders) through an at-large election process that infects tribal politics with individualized self-interest. Those elected leaders, what I call ogemaakaan (artificial leaders) preside over modern governments that encourage hierarchy, political opportunism, and tyranny of the majority. While modern tribal governments are extraordinary successes compared to the era of total federal control, a significant number of tribes face intractable political disputes that can traced to the philosophical disconnect from culture and tradition.

Anishinaabe philosophy prioritizes ogemaag who are deferential and serve as leaders only for limited purposes and times. Ogemaag are true representatives who act only when and how instructed to do so by their constituents. Their decisions are rooted in cultural and traditional philosophies, including for example Mino-Bimaadiziwin (the act of living a good life), Inawendewin (relational accountability), Niizhwaaswii Mishomis/Nokomis Kinoomaagewinawaan (the Seven Gifts the Grandfathers or Grandmothers), and the Dodemaag (clans). I offer suggestions on how modern tribal government structures can be lightly modified to restore much of this philosophy.
Building: Michigan Union
Event Type: Lecture / Discussion
Tags: Diversity Equity and Inclusion, Philosophy
Source: Happening @ Michigan from Department of Philosophy, LSA Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion