The Ghost Road

Overview

Matthew Fletcher examines both the philosophical foundations and anti-First Nation rhetoric that have been codified into laws which suppress and actively harm Native people

Even before the Revolutionary War, American colonists feared and fought "merciless Indian savages," and through the following centuries, American law and policy have been molded by the relentless tradition of Indian-hating. From proportional representation and restrictions on the right to bear arms, to the break-up of tribal property rights and the destruction of Indian culture and family, the attacks on tribal governance and people continue and remain endemic. More than just a study of the progression of law, this book balances each chapter's history with the relating of a traditional Anishinaabe story or teaching, providing both context and a roadmap for survival.

Reviews

"The Ghost Road is an informative, incisive, and witty tour through Native America that reveals the fault lines of US federal and tribal relations while highlighting Native cultural persistence and political innovation." —Tiya Miles, author of The Dawn of Detroit: A Chronicle of Slavery and Freedom in the City of the Straits 

"Philosophical, historical, and sobering – this gripping journey through the underpinnings of today's reality transforms our views about discrimination in America." —Kyle Whyte, Professor and Timmick Chair, Michigan State University

"The Ghost Road addresses some of the greatest challenges faced by Indian people in times past, and today: anti-Indian animus, or more clearly - Indian hating." —John Borrows, Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Law, University of Victoria Law School

Author Biography

Matthew L.M. Fletcher, a member of the Grand Traverse Band, is Professor of Law at Michigan State University College of Law and Director of the Indigenous Law and Policy Center. He sits as the Chief Justice of the Poarch Band of Creek Indians Supreme Court and also sits as an appellate judge for the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, the Hoopa Valley Tribe, the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, the Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians, the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians, the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi Indians, the Rincon Band of Luiseño Indians, the Santee Sioux Tribe of Nebraska, and the Tulalip Tribes. In addition to writing Federal Indian Law and Principles of Federal Indian Law, Fletcher has co-authored numerous publications, and is the primary editor and author of the leading law blog on American Indian law and policy, Turtle Talk, http://turtletalk.wordpress.com/.