Guidance to those who will continue this work
Guidance to Those Who Will Continue This Work
This work was never meant to be finished, owned, or concluded by those who began it. It exists to be **carried forward with care** by others, in service to Ts’msyen law, people, and future generations.
What follows is guidance — not direction — for those who continue this work.
Foundational Understanding
This framework is not authority.
It is:
- a gathered record
- a listening effort
- a protective structure
- a learning aid
Ayaawx remains living law. No written work replaces Elders, houses (*wilp*), clans (*pdeex*), or lawful process.
Your Role
If you continue this work, your role is to:
- listen before writing
- protect before expanding
- ask before assuming
- correct rather than defend
- step back when authority enters the room
You are a caretaker, not a law-maker.
What to Preserve
Preserve:
- humility in tone
- clarity about limits
- respect for Elders and houses
- separation between description and authority
- openness to correction
- protection of restricted knowledge
Preservation matters more than completeness.
What to Avoid
Avoid:
- fixing meaning permanently
- summarizing adaawx without authority
- naming details that do not belong to you
- importing foreign legal tests or standards
- turning guidance into rules
- becoming the “voice” of the Nation
If something feels powerful, pause.
Consent and Trust
Trust is the foundation of this work.
Maintain it by:
- seeking consent before recording
- honoring limits and withdrawal
- protecting context and attribution
- choosing care over convenience
Without trust, the work must stop.
Language and Framing
Use language that:
- locates authority elsewhere
- avoids finality and supremacy
- pairs rights with responsibility
- keeps law relational, not abstract
- leaves room for future clarification
Words shape how power moves.
Correction Is Strength
Expect correction. Welcome it. Document it. Learn from it.
Refusal to be corrected is a sign to step back.
Relationship to Elders and Houses
Elders and houses:
- are not sources to extract from
- are not citations to rely on
- are not validations to display
They are living authority. This work must always defer to them.
When to Pause or Step Away
Pause or step away when:
- interpretation is being requested
- conflict arises
- authority is unclear
- exposure could cause harm
- pressure appears to finalize or conclude
Stopping is sometimes the most lawful act.
Responsibility to Future Generations
Those yet to come did not consent to your wording.
Leave them:
- flexibility
- openness
- space to speak
- space to correct
- space to carry law in their time
Do not bind them with certainty.
Stewardship of the Record
If you steward this record:
- protect it from misuse
- resist being cited as authority
- preserve context
- maintain appropriate access
- allow removal when required
Custodianship is not ownership.
Living Continuity
This work continues only if it remains:
- living
- humble
- correctable
- in service
The moment it claims authority, it has failed.
Closing Reminder
You are not here to finish this work. You are here to **care for it until someone else takes over**.
When the time comes, step aside willingly.
That is how law remains alive.