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courts of indian offenses  

Definition

  • Courts of Indian Offenses were the first courts in Indian Country resembling the Anglo-American legal system. Indian nations had previously regulated criminal behavior using social and religious rites, mediation, and restitution; beginning in the 1880s, however, the courts established a forum for prosecuting criminal charges, including many traditional Indian customs and religious practices newly outlawed under the courts’ criminal code. [Source: The Social History of Crime and Punishment in America: An Encylopedia; Courts of Indian Offenses]

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https://concepts.sagepub.com/social-science/concept/courts_of_indian_offenses

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