A jurisprudential adventure story, Justice in Paradise recounts how a commitment to Native rights and an extraordinary passion for the rule of law have determined the course of Clark's life. From a childhood in an Indian residential school, to the defense of aboriginal rights before the World Court, to being disbarred, Bruce Clark's struggle has led him to a fight against the justice system itself. Justice in Paradise explains the legal and philosophical position behind Clark's opposition to the Indian rights industry. He argues that the North American legal system causes the genocide of those indigenous peoples who embrace traditional religion and identity and accuses those who administer it with chicanery and abandoning the rule of law. Smeared in the media for his beliefs and attacked from the bench - he has been called "a disgrace to the bar" by the Chief Justice of Canada's Supreme Court - his book Native Liberty, Crown Sovereignty has been hailed as "the most important and meticulous recent study of native rights in common law" (Canadian Journal of Political Science). Clark turned his back on a comfortable lawyer's life to defend the rule of law and Native rights. He moved with his family to Indian reservations and then to squats while he argued his case before the World Court in Europe. Now, no longer able to practice law, he has been adopted by the Mohicans and together they are fighting for Liberty Island and the Hudson River drainage basin. In his extraordinary memoir, Justice in Paradise, Bruce Clark - hero to some, extremist to others - details the battles of a renegade's life.

Clark, Bruce A., 1944-

McGill-Queen's native and northern series ;, 20, Montreal [Canada], Ithaca [N.Y.], Québec, 1999

Canada - English Language, Canada

Montreal ; London, 1999

First, 1999

Includes index.

1 online resource (viii, 382 pages)
"Bruce Clark believes that the North American legal system has led to the genocide of indigenous people who embrace traditional religion and identity and that those who administer the system have abandoned the rule of law. To defend his beliefs, Clark gave up material wealth - a big home on a lake and an airplane - to finance his fight. He and his family lived on Indian reservations during his battle in North American courts and, in Europe, lived in squats while he argued his case before the World Court. No longer able to practice law, Clark has now been adopted by the Mohicans and together they are fighting for the Hudson River drainage basin and Liberty Island - site of the world's most potent symbol of freedom, the Statue of Liberty."--Jacket
Includes bibliographical references and index
Print version record
CONTENTS -- PART ONE: EARLY ENCOUNTERS OF THE PATHOLOGICAL KIND -- 1 Indian Places and Formative Faces -- 2 My Introduction to Indian Law and Culture -- 3 Moving Deeper into Indian Culture -- 4 My Capture by Indian Law and Culture -- PART TWO: KICKING AGAINST THE PRICKS -- 5 The Bear Island Trial -- 6 Getting Fired and Going Back to School -- 7 Crises at Oka and the Lil'Wat Country -- 8 The Western Shoshone in Nevada -- PART THREE: IN THE WOMB OF THE DEVIL'S SPAWN -- 9 Our First Trip to Europe -- 10 Our Trip to Bulgaria
11 Petitions to the Queen and Meetings in Central AmericaPART FOUR: MEANWHILE BACK AT THE RANCH -- 12 The Bear Island Incident and My First Criminal Conviction -- 13 The Gustafsen Lake Story -- 14 Europe Again and More Petitions -- 15 The Mi'gmaq, the Supreme Court, and Other Matters -- PART FIVE: THE UNITED STATES: LAST EMPIRE, LAST HOPE -- 16 Mohegans of New York and Vermont -- 17 Law Society of Upper Canada v. Bruce Clark -- 18 Epitaph for a Dead Lawyer Walking -- Conclusion -- Acknowledgments -- Illustrations -- Appendix -- Liberty Island Case
Plains CaseNotes -- Legal Authorities -- Index -- A -- B -- C -- D -- E -- F -- G -- H -- I -- J -- K -- L -- M -- N -- O -- P -- Q -- R -- S -- T -- U -- W

"Bruce Clark believes that the North American legal system has led to the genocide of indigenous people who embrace traditional religion and identity and that those who administer the system have abandoned the rule of law. To defend his beliefs, Clark gave up material wealth - a big home on a lake and an airplane - to finance his fight. He and his family lived on Indian reservations during his battle in North American courts and, in Europe, lived in squats while he argued his case before the World Court. No longer able to practice law, Clark has now been adopted by the Mohicans and together they are fighting for the Hudson River drainage basin and Liberty Island - site of the world's most potent symbol of freedom, the Statue of Liberty."--Résumé de l'éditeur

In discussing Clark's commitment to Native rights and the rule of law, this book explains the legal and philosophical position behind his opposition to the Indian rights industry and his theory that the US legal system causes the genocide of indigenous peoples who embrace traditional identity.

2023-06-28