The Trans/national Terrain of Anishinaabe Law and Diplomacy

Through an analysis of Anishinaabe law and diplomacy, this essay joins others in the volume that emphasize often-ignored polity formations and make visible the governance practices hidden by eurocentric narratives. At the same time, it enters debates among Indigenous scholars about models of transnationalism and nationhood. Initially published in 2012, we have chosen to reprint it here in its original form as we believe this essay speaks to a specific moment in the field that warrants capture. The extensive and enduring commitments to nationhood within Native American Studies have unsurprisingly engendered in the field extensive and enduring resistance to transnational theoretical and methodological frameworks. This is largely because scholarly transnationalism fundamentally seeks to unmoor intellectual work from national(ist) affiliations, which directly contradicts the commitments to nationhood within Native Studies. We argue however that even while conventional transnational modes of critical inquiry present trajectories and objectives that threaten to undermine the core commitments of Native American Studies, the judicious use of particular aspects of transnational analysis can illuminate the flows of intellectual, cultural, economic, social, and political traditions across the boundaries of distinct yet sometimes allied Native nations. While reflective of the conversations and literature of its time, our essay continues to have relevancy for illuminating the co-constituting formations and interactions among peoples, practices, and discourses, a shared aim among the contributions in this collection. Our essay shares in the themes of other contributions such as cross-community/nation negotiations and alliances and deep time/place practices. We also share a methodological approach that takes up stories as dynamic political records that provide insights into how we might organize our relationships today.