Historically, law was a tool of colonization. It was broken, manipulated and rewritten to allow the victimization of Indigenous peoples. It laid the foundation for their modern day victimization by government, corporations and individuals.
Paper long abstract:
It is well-known that one of the most effective processes for bringing Indigenous people under colonial control was the use of law. During the early era of colonization international laws and church laws were broken and manipulated both overtly and covertly by colonizing governments and leaders. Later new laws were written making colonial efforts not only legal but government policy priorities. It is argued that, using social harm theory, all of these efforts were "criminal", including the actions redefined as legal. The Conquistadors manipulation of Church rulings on Indigenous sovereignty in Mexico and elsewhere, American president's Andrew Jackson defiance of Congress to set in motion the Trail of Tears for the theft of Cherokee lands, the deliberate mistranslation of the Treaty of Waitangi in New Zealand to give the colonial government more control over Maoris, and other examples are discussed showing the historical "criminal" use and impact of law. Early use of laws to legitimize illegal government activities laid the ideological, political and legal for the modern day victimization of Indigenous people by corporations, governments and individuals.