OF NATIVE-AMERICANS AND TRIBAL MEMBERS - THE IMPACT OF LAW ON INDIAN GROUP LIFE

Law has influenced the shape of Indian group life by providing economi c or political incentives for groups to organize along particular line s, by forcing groups into closer proximity with one another or separat ing them, and by creating an official vocabulary for the discussion of group life. The most striking effect of law has been to focus the exp ression of Indian political identity at the level of the ''tribe.'' Al though largely a construct of non-Indian legal forces, the tribe has b ecome a powerful vehicle for assertions of Indian autonomy, even when it has not always been the traditional locus of political legitimacy. Modern Indian identity and community thus reflect conflicts over and d istinctive ways of appropriating the institution of the tribe. A secon d effect of law has been the developing support among tribal members f or a supratribal Native American political community. Significantly, h owever, most tribal members view their support for such a community as a means of strengthening tribal units.