FOUNDATIONAL LAW AND GOVERNANCE OF THE RED BEAR LINEAGE
PEMBINA CHIPPEWA PEOPLE
This document is a recorded expression of continuing law and governance of the Red Bear lineage of the Pembina Chippewa people. It is not subject to interpretation through external legal, administrative, or political systems. All information presented throughout this site must be understood within the authority defined herein.
This document affirms the law and governance carried through creation and defines how it continues through the people.
This is the law everything else must be read through it.
For full historical and legal record, see:
→ Treaty of Fort Harmar (1789)
→ Treaty of Old Crossing (1863–1864)
Current Senior Chieftain (Lodge, Midewiwin, Clan, and Treaty) Leadership
ENACTMENT AND CONTINUITY AND HISTORICAL CONTINUITY OF GOVERNANCE AND STRUCTURE
This document does not create a people or a government. It records and affirms the continuing law, governance, and authority of the Red Bear lineage, and the Adik Doodem, carried through the Creator, the First Law, the Great Law, Midewiwin, the Lodge, and lineage.
These laws were first committed to written form on June 1, 1970, and were reaffirmed on March 24, 2020.
Nothing herein creates authority. It expresses authority that has always existed and continues.
The governance, structure, and order of the Red Bear lineage do not arise from recent formation, administrative action, or external systems. They are carried through the Creator, the First Law, the Great Law, Midewiwin, the Lodge, and the clan system, and continue through lineage without interruption. This governance is reflected across historical agreements, records, and treaty processes involving the people, including those recorded in 1851, 1863, 1864, 1891, and 1892.
In each of these proceedings, the United States engaged with the people through established leadership, recognized chiefs, headmen, and governing structure already in place. These engagements did not create governance, confer authority, or establish political identity. They operated within an existing system of law, leadership, and order carried by the people.
The authority carried through the Red Bear lineage, including the Adik Doodem and the matrilineal line of Utinawasis Adik Songab, predates and exists independent of these records. None of the agreements or records of 1851, 1863, 1864, 1891, or 1892 contain language extinguishing governance, dissolving clan structure, eliminating Lodge authority, or terminating the people. These records acknowledge and operate within a system already established and continuing.
They do not create that authority. They do not define it. They do not alter it. That governance remains in full continuity.
PREAMBLE
We are the descendants of Ogimaa Misko‑makwa (Red Bear), and the families connected through Ogimaa Joseph Montrieul, and the authority carried through the Anangokaa (Star People) bloodline of Utinawasis Adik Songab.
This authority is not created through appointment, recognition, or external validation. It continues through lineage, responsibility, and the laws carried from the beginning.
We do not organize ourselves into existence.
We do not depend upon documents to define who we are.
We are not created by recognition, registry, or classification.
We remain as we were.
We continue under the Creator (Gichi‑Manidoo), the First Law of the Anishinaabe, the Great Law (Gichi‑inaakonigewin), Midewiwin, Anishinaabe Traditional Clan and Lodge Governance, and the treaty relationships entered into by our ancestors.
These are not separate authorities. They are one continuous foundation.
We speak plainly:
We existed before external governments.
We continue outside them.
We engage them only where we have agreed, and only within the authority we carry.
DECLARATION OF SOVEREIGNTY AND GOVERNANCE
Bestowed upon us by the Creator (Gichi‑Manidoo), all sovereign powers belong to the Anishinaabe Peoples of Turtle Island.
Every member shall honor the Great Law (Gichi‑inaakonigewin), that all life is sacred (Bimaadiziwin).
We are committed to ensuring a strong and healthy quality of life for today and for the next seven generations (Niizhwaaswi Mishomisag).
This sovereignty does not originate from law, statute, or recognition. It exists by virtue of creation itself.
It is carried through the people, through lineage, through the clan system, through the Lodge, and through Midewiwin.
This sovereignty is inherent, continuous, and cannot be granted, transferred, diminished, or extinguished by any external authority.
All agreements made with outside governments exist within this sovereignty and do not override it.
This sovereignty carries responsibility to all of creation, including the land, the water, the air, the plant life, the animal life, the people, and the spirit world.
To govern is to maintain balance within these relationships.
FOUNDATIONS OF LAW AND LIFE
CREATOR (GICHI‑MANIDOO)
The Creator is the source of all life and all authority.
All governance, responsibility, and law originate from the Creator. They do not originate from governments, institutions, or written systems.
Authority exists inherently and is carried through life itself and through the lineage of the people.
This authority predates all colonial systems and exists independent of them.
It is not ownership, domination, or control.
It is responsibility:
to maintain balance,
to protect life,
to uphold the teachings given at creation,
to live in accordance with the sacred order of all existence.
This responsibility extends to all creation, including land, water, air, plant life, animal life, human beings, and the spiritual world.
Because this authority originates from the Creator, it cannot be granted, removed, extinguished, or altered by any external system.
All treaties and agreements exist within this authority and do not supersede it.
FIRST LAW OF THE ANISHINAABE
There is one Creator, one source of life, and one law governing all creation.
All things exist as spirit. All things exist in co‑existence.
The people were placed within creation with responsibility, not dominance. Within this law, life itself carries what are often described as the inherent conditions necessary for existence:
1. the ability to live upon the land,
2. access to clean water,
3. the means of sustenance,
4. the ability to maintain shelter,
5. and the freedom to exist within creation.
These are not granted, assigned, or defined through agreement or system. They exist because life exists. They apply to all living beings, as all life originates from the same source.
Humanity, as a conscious participant within creation, carries the responsibility to uphold and maintain balance within these relationships. These conditions cannot be granted, removed, altered, or limited by any external authority. They are inseparable from life itself.
THE GREAT LAW (GICHI‑INAAKONIGEWIN)
The Great Law is the original law established at creation. It is not written, enacted, or created by human authority. It exists as the natural order governing all life.
All life is sacred (Bimaadiziwin). All beings exist in relationship. From this follows the requirement that balance must be maintained across those relationships—between people, between nations, and among all living beings. This law does not originate from systems. It precedes them. It is not a system of rules imposed upon life, but the order within which life already exists. Human beings do not define this law. They live within it.
The Great Law governs how life is carried: how a person lives, how relationships are maintained, how leadership is carried, how decisions are made, and how balance is preserved across generations. It is not external to life. It is carried through it. It is expressed through conduct, through teaching, through ceremony, and through memory, and becomes visible in how a person walks within creation. To live within the Great Law is to remain in alignment with what was established at the beginning. To move outside of it is to create imbalance—not by rule, but by consequence.
The Seven Laws of Creation — Human Conduct Within the Great Law
From the First Law and the Great Law arises how a human being is to live within creation. These are not ideals, and they are not adopted principles. They are conditions of alignment that emerge from recognizing that life originates from the Creator and that all beings exist within a shared order.
They are not separate from governance, from identity, or from law. They operate at every level of life—within the individual, within relationships, within communities, within nations, and within creation itself. Across the records, the same understanding appears: that imbalance does not begin with systems, but with how a person moves within what has already been given.
They are carried as follows:
Wisdom (Nibwaakaawin)
There is wisdom in knowing there is one Creator of all things seen and unseen.
This wisdom establishes order. It affirms that life originates from the Creator, not from human authority, and that all systems must remain secondary to that origin (Miskwaabik, ca. 700 BCE).
Animal teaching: The Beaver demonstrates wisdom through careful construction and foresight, building in alignment with the flow of the water, not against it. Wisdom, like the Beaver, does not impose order—it works within what already exists.
Respect (Mnaadendimowin)
We show respect to all things seen and unseen, as all come from the one Creator. Yet nothing seen or unseen is the true face of the Creator.
Respect governs all relationships—human, natural, and spiritual. It acknowledges that all life carries spirit, but none replaces the Creator (Pop Wuj, ca. 500 BCE).
Animal teaching: The Buffalo gives all of itself for the life of others, demonstrating respect through reciprocity. Respect is not passive—it is lived through how one takes, uses, and returns to the world.
Humility (Dbaadendiziwin)
Humanity is a sacred reflection within creation. We do not interfere with another’s relationship with the Creator.
Humility places human beings within creation, not above it. Across the records, imbalance begins when humanity forgets its place and assumes control over what is not theirs.
Animal teaching: The Wolf lives within the pack, not for itself alone. It shows humility through its role—never above the whole, always within relationship. Humility is knowing one’s place and carrying it without dominance.
Honesty (Gwayakwaadiziwin)
What one has obtained in their walk is theirs. It is not another’s to covet, remove, or destroy.
Honesty governs rightful relationship between people. It ensures that what is lived and earned remains intact, preventing imbalance through taking or distortion.
Animal teaching: The Sabe (Sasquatch / forest being) is often taught as the keeper of honesty, moving unseen but without deception toward creation. Honesty is not performance—it is alignment whether one is seen or not.
Truth (Debwewin)
All beings carry purpose within creation. We act with restraint and do not dishonor their walk.
Truth is recognition of purpose. Every being has a role in creation, and to violate that role is to disrupt the order itself.
Animal teaching: The Turtle carries the Earth and moves steadily within its purpose. It does not rush, nor does it abandon its role. Truth is lived through consistency with what one was created to be.
Courage (Aakode’ewin)
We choose to live as spirit within a vessel of earth.
Courage is not domination—it is the choice to remain aligned even when it is difficult. The records show that survival and continuity depend on those who remain aligned under pressure (Midewag).
Animal teaching: The Bear embodies courage not through aggression alone, but through protection, endurance, and the willingness to stand when necessary. Courage is the strength to remain in alignment, not to overpower.
Love (Zaagi’idiwin)
We give love to all things seen and unseen, freely and without condition.
Love sustains continuity. It is what ensures that life is maintained, carried, and passed forward.
Animal teaching: The Eagle carries love through its connection between earth and sky, lifting prayers and maintaining relationship between realms. Love is not confined—it connects all levels of existence.
These are not separate from the Great Law. They are its living expression.
They operate at every level:
- within the self (thought and action)
- within relationships (family, community, nation)
- within governance (decision and responsibility)
- within creation (land, water, living beings)
- across generations (what is preserved and passed forward)
Without them, law is spoken but not lived. With them, law becomes visible in action.
They are not optional. They are the condition by which balance is either maintained—or lost.
MIDEWIWIN
Midewiwin is the living system through which knowledge, spirituality, and law are carried. It is not a separate authority or institution created by people, but the continuation of what was given at creation, preserved through teaching, ceremony, memory, and lived practice.
Through Midewiwin, the First Law and the Great Law are not only known—they are maintained, protected, and transmitted across generations. It ensures that the law remains aligned with its source and is not altered, replaced, or redefined by external systems.
Midewiwin does not exist apart from life. It operates within it. It carries instruction, responsibility, and understanding through those who receive, remember, and live the teachings. Knowledge is not held as possession, but carried as obligation. Through this, the people remain connected to the Creator, to the law, and to the relationships that sustain life. Without Midewiwin, law is spoken. Through Midewiwin, law is carried.
THE LODGE (WIIGIWAAMAN)
The Lodge is the original place of governance, teaching, and continuity. It does not exist as a structure of control, but as the place where the law is understood, carried, and maintained in alignment with what was established at creation.
The Lodge originates in the first formation of the people, where life, relationship, and responsibility were brought into order. From this beginning, it continues as the place where the teachings of Mino Bimaadiziwin—the good way of life—are preserved and put into practice. Within the Lodge, awareness, understanding, knowledge, and wisdom are not held as ideas, but carried as lived responsibility. It is where teachings are strengthened through memory, where understanding is brought into alignment with the law, and where decisions are guided by the relationships that sustain life.
The Lodge does not create law. It ensures that the law is followed. Those who carry responsibility within the Lodge do not do so through position, status, or recognition from external systems. Responsibility is carried through knowledge, discipline, and alignment with the teachings.
Within the Lodge, individuals speak and act not from authority over others, but from their responsibility to maintain balance. Governance is expressed through how one carries the teachings, not through control. Through the Lodge, continuity is preserved across generations. It ensures that teaching is not lost, that decisions remain aligned with the Great Law, and that the people remain connected to the Creator and to the relationships that define life.
The Lodge is not symbolic. It is functional. Without the Lodge, knowledge becomes scattered and disconnected. Through the Lodge, knowledge remains ordered, balanced, and carried forward.
CLAN AND LINEAGE GOVERNANCE
The clan system (doodem) is the structure through which responsibility, identity, and governance are carried among the people. It is not a system imposed from outside, nor constructed through agreement, but an order established within creation and carried through lineage.
Each clan holds a defined responsibility necessary for the balance and continuation of the people. These responsibilities are not hierarchical, but interdependent. Leadership, protection, teaching, decision-making, and care for the people are distributed across the clans, ensuring that no single position holds authority over the whole, but that balance is maintained through relationship. Through this system, governance is not centralized. It is shared, carried, and maintained collectively according to responsibility.
Identity within the clan system is not assigned through external recognition. It is inherited through birth, relationship, and continuity of the people. With identity comes obligation—to fulfill the role carried by the clan, to uphold the law, and to maintain balance within the community and within creation. Lineage ensures continuity.
Through lineage, the responsibilities of the clans are preserved and transmitted across generations. Governance does not begin with election or appointment. It continues through those who carry the responsibility given through their place within the people. The clan system does not exist apart from the law. It operates within it. It ensures that governance is not separate from life, but expressed through how each person fulfills their role in relation to others and to all living beings.
Without the clan system, responsibility becomes unclear and balance is lost. Through the clan system, responsibility remains ordered, carried, and sustained across generations.
GOVERNANCE — CHIEF AND COUNCIL
Chief and Council exist within the law and governance structure established by the Creator, the First Law, the Great Law, Midewiwin, the Lodge, and the clan system. They do not stand apart from this structure, and they do not hold authority independent of it.
The Chief does not originate authority. The Chief carries responsibility. That responsibility is to maintain alignment with the law, to uphold balance among the people, and to ensure that governance remains consistent with what was established at creation. The Chief is not above the people, nor separate from them. The Chief is accountable to the law, to the teachings, to the clans, and to the continuity of the people.
Council operates in the same manner. Council does not create law. Council supports the carrying of the law. Through Council, decisions are considered, responsibilities are shared, and balance is maintained across the different roles held within the clans and the community.
Governance is not exercised through control, enforcement, or external authority. It is carried through responsibility, accountability, and alignment with the law. Chief and Council do not define identity, and they do not grant rights. Identity, law, and authority originate from the Creator and are carried through the people. Chief and Council exist to ensure that these are upheld, not replaced. Their role is to serve the law, not to redefine it. Their role is to maintain balance, not to impose control. Their role is to ensure continuity, not to create authority. When carried correctly, Chief and Council operate within the same structure as all others—guided by the law, accountable to the people, and bound to the responsibility of maintaining balance across all relations.
APPLICATION OF GOVERNANCE AND AUTHORITY
This governance structure does not exist separate from life. It is applied continuously through how the people live, relate, and make decisions. All actions, agreements, and engagements must remain in alignment with the Creator, the First Law, and the Great Law. This includes all interaction with external governments, institutions, and systems. External systems do not define identity, authority, or law. They may be engaged, but only within the limits of the authority already carried by the people.
No agreement, policy, or recognition can override the law established at creation. All governance decisions—whether internal or external—must be measured against the requirement to maintain balance within creation, to uphold responsibility to the people, and to protect the continuity of future generations. This applies to: land and resource use, relationships with other nations, community decisions, leadership responsibilities, and all forms of representation. Governance is not something separate from daily life. It is expressed through every action, every decision, and every relationship. To act outside this structure is to create imbalance. To act within it is to maintain continuity.
TREATY RELATIONSHIP, CESSION, AND RETENTION
The relationship between the Red Bear lineage and the United States exists through treaty and only through treaty.
Treaties establish relationship. They do not create the people.
In 1789, at the Treaty of Fort Harmar, the people agreed to peace, defined boundaries, and regulated interaction. No language within that treaty extinguished governance, identity, or law.
In 1863, at the Treaty of Old Crossing, the people ceded land title within defined geographic boundaries. This cession applied only to land and did not extend to governance, identity, law, or internal authority over the people.
The treaty does not contain language terminating the people, dissolving governance structures, eliminating clan systems, or replacing Midewiwin or Lodge authority.
In 1892, further cession was sought and the Red Bear lineage did not assent. Through refusal, authority and rights were preserved.
No Act of Congress has terminated the Red Bear lineage, extinguished its governance, or eliminated its treaty rights.
Under treaty law, all rights not expressly ceded remain with the people.
STATEMENT OF WHAT WAS CEDED AND WHAT WAS RETAINED
Land title within specific and defined treaty boundaries was ceded.
Governance was not ceded.
Leadership was not ceded.
Clan authority was not ceded.
Lodge authority was not ceded.
Midewiwin was not ceded.
Identity was not ceded.
Jurisdiction over membership was not ceded.
Rights arising from the First Law were not ceded.
Authority derived from the Creator was not ceded.
Land may be transferred under agreement.
Authority cannot be transferred.
FAILURE OF PERFORMANCE
Obligations agreed to in treaty were not fulfilled.
Failure of performance does not extinguish obligation.
Those obligations remain outstanding.
DISRUPTION AND CONTINUITY
Displacement, forced removal, and separation of families occurred.
These actions disrupted the people.
They did not terminate the lineage.
Continuity remained through family, clan, Lodge, teaching, and Midewiwin.
UNTERMINATED STATUS
The Red Bear lineage has never been terminated.
No act of Congress has ended its existence or authority.
Administrative exclusion, registry removal, or failure to recognize does not constitute termination.
The lineage continues.
LEADERSHIP AND SUCCESSION
Leadership arises through the Adik doodem matrilineal line and is confirmed through the Montrieul lineage.
Where these cannot act, authority rests with the Governance Lodge.
MEMBERSHIP
Membership exists through lineage and descent, acceptance by the Clan and confirmation by the Lodge.
It is not created or removed by external systems.
CONDUCT AND RESPONSIBILITY
All are expected to live according to the teachings of humility, bravery, honesty, wisdom, truth, respect, and love.
These teachings guide all conduct and governance.
CODE OF CONDUCT
All members, leadership, and those acting within the Red Bear lineage shall conduct themselves in accordance with the laws carried from the beginning.
Conduct is not governed by external systems but arises from the Creator, the First Law, the Great Law, and Midewiwin.
All actions shall reflect responsibility to: the people, the land, the water, and all relations. Each person is expected to live according to the teachings of humility, bravery, honesty, wisdom, truth, respect, and love.
Leadership shall act in balance and accountability to the people and in harmony with the Lodge and council.
No action shall bring harm to the people, the lineage, or the law carried through it.
Conflicts shall be addressed through restoration of balance, guided by elders, Lodge, and traditional law.
All who act under this governance accept responsibility to uphold these standards.
HARMONY AND RESOLUTION
All matters are resolved through restoration of balance.
This is carried through elders, Lodge, and teaching.
JURISDICTION AND AUTHORITY
All matters of governance, identity, membership, and leadership are determined internally through lineage, clan, Lodge, and traditional law.
Any external assertion of authority over these matters is without foundation within this law.
CONTINUANCE
The Red Bear and Adik Doodem lineage continues as it has always existed.
It continues through the people, through the teachings, through the Lodge, through the clan, and through the laws given at the beginning.
It has not been extinguished.
It has not been terminated.
It continues.
Binding Authority and Continuity
This law is not subject to external validation, recognition, or approval. It does not originate from political systems, legal frameworks, or institutional authority, and it cannot be altered, diminished, or replaced by them. It exists by virtue of creation and continues through the people, through lineage, and through the responsibilities carried across generations.
All structures of governance, all decisions, and all engagements must remain in alignment with this law. No agreement, system, or external authority supersedes it. Where there is conflict between external systems and the law carried by the people, the law carried by the people remains.
This is not a matter of interpretation. It is a matter of continuity. This law has not changed. It will not change. It continues whether recognized or not.
This is the Traditional Continuity of Belief, Action, and Governance—and it remains in place.