Origin of Law
Ayaawk originate from the cosmic, relational, and living order of existence.
Tsm’syen law does not arise from governments, legislation, courts, or written instruments. It arises from the order of creation, the relationships between beings, and the responsibilities carried by names, houses, and clans.
Ayaawk exist whether or not they are spoken, written, or enforced by institutions.
Source of Ayaawk
Ayaawk arise from:
- The original instructions given at the beginning of time
- The relationships between humans, lands, waters, animals, and unseen beings
- The responsibilities carried by names and crests
- The accumulated witnessing of consequences when balance is kept or broken
Law is not created by authority. Authority emerges from correct relationship and responsibility.
Law as Balance and Continuity
The purpose of Ayaawk is not punishment, control, or domination.
The purpose of Ayaawk is to:
- Maintain balance among all beings
- Restore balance when harm occurs
- Ensure continuity of life across generations
- Prevent the concentration of power without responsibility
When balance is broken, law responds. When balance is restored, law is fulfilled.
Law and the Unseen Order
Ayaawk recognize that not all law is visible.
Law exists within:
Human law must align with these orders or it loses legitimacy.
Decisions made without regard to unseen consequences are incomplete and dangerous.
Transformation Through Law
Transformation through law is a fundamental function of Ayaawk. Ayaawk is activated through experience and lived consequence rather than abstract rule. Suffering, conflict, and loss are not ignored or erased; they are understood as sources of knowledge that inform responsibility, correction, and renewal.
When harm occurs, Ayaawk responds by transforming the effects of that harm into obligation and guidance for future conduct. Through this process, experience becomes law, and law remains grounded in reality rather than detached authority.
This transformation occurs through:
Witnessing ensures that harm and response are publicly recognized and remembered. Compensation addresses material and relational loss. Ceremony affirms correction and restores balance within the community. Public accountability maintains legitimacy by requiring responsibility to be visible rather than private. Renewal of relationships restores proper alignment between individuals, wilp, land, and community.
Law that does not transform harm into balance is considered unfinished. Ayaawk is fulfilled only when harm has been addressed in a way that restores relationships, prevents repetition, and strengthens continuity across generations.
Authority and Origin
No individual, council, or government grants Ayaawk authority.
Authority flows from:
- Adherence to Ayaawk
- Fulfillment of obligations
- Recognition by witnesses
- Continuity through Adaawk
Those who abandon responsibility lose authority, regardless of title or position.
Relationship to Written Law
Written records may describe Ayaawk, but they do not create them.
This page records understandings of the origin of law. It does not freeze or limit Ayaawk.
Where written words conflict with lived Ayaawk, lived Ayaawk prevail.
Continuity
Ayaawk existed before contact, colonization, and modern states. Ayaawk will exist after them.
This framework records law for clarity, continuity, and protection — not for surrender or substitution.
Ayaawk are not inherited as privilege. They are carried as responsibility.