Founding Documents

Constitution and By-Laws of the San Carlos Apache Tribe of Arizona

Constitution and By-Laws of the San Carlos Apache Tribe of Arizona

Approved January 17, 1936 We, the Apache Indians of the San Carlos Reservation, wish to make use of the right of self-government and have herewith laid down, in the form of a constitution, our resolutions thereon, to be accepted and confirmed by a general tribal vote, so anybody may know how all of our internal […]
Constitution and By-Laws of the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, Arizona

Constitution and By-Laws of the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, Arizona

Approved June 11, 1940 PREAMBLE We, the Indians of the Salt River Reservation, of the State of Arizona, in order to maintain ourselves under divine guidance; to inculcate a sense of individual obligation to our Community, State and Nation; to seek a better means of future development; to provide for an orderly way of carrying […]
Constitution and Bylaws of the Sac and Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa

Constitution and Bylaws of the Sac and Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa

PREAMBLE We, the Meskwaki Indians, enrolled members of the Sac and Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa, hereinafter referred to as the Sac and Fox Tribe in Iowa, now living on the Sac and Fox Settlement located near Tama, Tama County, Iowa, in order that we may perpetuate our ancient tribal affairs, transact tribal […]
Constitution and By-Laws of the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe

Constitution and By-Laws of the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe

Preamble We, the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe of the Lower Brule Sioux Reservation, in order to establish a more perfect tribal organization, promote the general welfare, develop better school facilities, conserve and develop our lands and resources, and secure to ourselves and our posterity the power to exercise certain rights of home rule not inconsistent […]
Constitution and Bylaws of the Nez Perce Tribe

Constitution and Bylaws of the Nez Perce Tribe

1999 Revised PREAMBLE We, the members of the Nez Perce Tribe, in order to exercise our tribal rights and promote our common welfare, do hereby establish this Constitution and Bylaws. ARTICLE I – PURPOSE The purpose of this Constitution and Bylaws shall be to protect and promote the interests of the Nez Perce Indians to […]
Constitution and By-Laws of the Hualapai Tribe of the Hualapai Reservation, Arizona

Constitution and By-Laws of the Hualapai Tribe of the Hualapai Reservation, Arizona

PREAMBLE We, the Hualapai Tribe of the Hualapai (Walapai) Indian Reservation, Arizona, in order to form a representative government, to develop our tribal lands and resources for ourselves and our children, to provide better homes within the reservation, to secure all rights guaranteed to us by treaties and by the statutes of the United States, […]
Constitution and By-Laws of the Hopi Tribe, Arizona

Constitution and By-Laws of the Hopi Tribe, Arizona

APPROVED DECEMBER 1936, UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE WASHINGTON: 1937 CONSTITUTION AND BY-LAWS OF THE HOPI TRIBE PREAMBLE This Constitution, to be known as the Constitution and By-laws of the Hopi Tribe, is adopted by the self-governing Hopi and Tewa villages of Arizona to provide a way of working together for peace and agreement between the […]
Constitution and Bylaws of the Gila River Indian Community of Arizona

Constitution and Bylaws of the Gila River Indian Community of Arizona

Approved March 17, 1960 PREAMBLE We, the People of, the Gila River Indian Reservation, in order to show our gratitude to Almighty God, and to preserve in ourselves the rights of self-government and to provide a means for the orderly transaction of community business and the free expression of the community establish this Constitution and […]
Constitution and Bylaws of the Fort McDermitt Paiute and Shoshone Tribe

Constitution and Bylaws of the Fort McDermitt Paiute and Shoshone Tribe

NEVADA PREAMBLE We, the Indians of the former Fort McDermitt Military Reserve, in order to establish a legal tribal organization, to secure certain privileges and powers offered to us by the Indian Reorganization Act, and to create a governing unit through which we may properly assume our new responsibilities, do hereby ordain and establish this […]
Constitution and Bylaws of the Ely Shoshone Tribe

Constitution and Bylaws of the Ely Shoshone Tribe

PREAMBLE We, the Ely Shoshone Indians of Nevada, located at Ely, Nevada, to exercise our traditional and historical inherent sovereign powers and to improve the constitution previously adopted, pursuant to the Indian Reorganization Act of June 18. 1934 (48 Stat. 984). as amended, and approved on April 8, 1966; to provide an opportunity for other […]
Constitution and By-Laws of the Cheyenne-Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma

Constitution and By-Laws of the Cheyenne-Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma

RATIFIED APRIL 19, 1975 PREAMBLE We, the Indians of the Cheyenne-Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma, in order to promote more unified tribal economic progress, to better transact our tribal business and industrial affairs, to protect our religious rights, to protect and maintain our allotted lands, to look after our just claims and our rights under treaty […]
Articles of Incorporation of the Tunica – Biloxie Indians of Louisiana, Inc.

Articles of Incorporation of the Tunica – Biloxie Indians of Louisiana, Inc.

STATE OF LOUISIANA PARISH OF EAST BATON ROUGE BE IT KNOWN that on this the 26th day of October, 1974, before me, the undersigned authority, a Notary Public in and for the State and Parish aforesaid, duly commissioned and qualified, personally came and appeared Joseph Pierite, Jr., Horace Pierite, Jr., Samuel Barbry, Sr., and Rose […]
Declaration and Resolves of the First Continental Congress – October 14, 1774

Declaration and Resolves of the First Continental Congress – October 14, 1774

Whereas, since the close of the last war, the British parliament, claiming a power, of right, to bind the people of America by statutes in all cases whatsoever, hath, in some acts, expressly imposed taxes on them, and in others, under various presences, but in fact for the purpose of raising a revenue, hath imposed […]
Charter of Delaware – 1701

Charter of Delaware – 1701

WILLIAM PENN, Proprietary and Governor of the Province of Pennsylvania and Territories thereunto belonging, To all to whom these Presents shall come, sendeth Greeting. WHEREAS King CHARLES the Second, by his Letter Patents, under the Great Seal of England, bearing Date the Fourth Day of March, in the Year One Thousand Six Hundred and Eighty, […]
Charter of Georgia – 1732

Charter of Georgia – 1732

GEORGE the second, by the grace of God, of Great Britain, France and Ireland, king, defender of the faith, and so forth. To all to whom these presents shall come, greeting. Whereas we are credibly informed, that many of our poor subjects are, through misfortunes and want of employment, reduced to great necessity, insomuch as […]
Explanatory Charter of Massachusetts Bay – 1725

Explanatory Charter of Massachusetts Bay – 1725

GEORGE BY THE GRACE OF GOD of Great Britain France and Ireland king Defender of the Faith &c To all to whom these Presents shall come Greeting Whereas Our late Royal Predecessors William and Mary King and Queen of England &c Did by their letters Patents under their Great Seal of England bearing Date at Westminster the Seventh day of October […]
Frame of Government of Pennsylvania – 1696

Frame of Government of Pennsylvania – 1696

The Frame of Government of the Province of Pennsylvania, and the territories thereunto belonging; passed by Governor Markham, November 1, 1696 WHEREAS, the late king Charles the Second, in the three and thirtieth year of his reign, by letters patent under the great seal of England, did, for the considerations therein mentioned, grant unto William Penn, his […]
Constitution of the Iroquois Nations:

Constitution of the Iroquois Nations:

THE GREAT BINDING LAW, GAYANASHAGOWA [NOTE: Most historians place the origination of The Great Binding Law to an unwritten verbal set of laws established by the original 5 members of the Iroquois nation in the 1500s. Some claim this constitution had an influence on colonial charters and later the US Constitution. This is still a […]
Constitution of Guatemala – 1985

Constitution of Guatemala – 1985

POLITICAL CONSTITUTION of the REPUBLIC OF GUATEMALA Decreed by the NATIONAL CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY May 31, 1985 As Amended By Legislative Decree No. 18-93 of 17 November 1993 INVOKING THE NAME OF GOD, We, the representatives of the people of Guatemala, elected freely and democratically, meeting in the National Constituent Assembly in order to organize the […]
Political Constitution of the United Mexican States – 1917

Political Constitution of the United Mexican States – 1917

As Amended through 2009 [NOTE – Mexico has had five constitutions prior to the present one which went into force in 1917. Constitution of Apatzingan – proposed in 1814; Federal Constitution of the United Mexican States – 1824 to 1835 and 1847 to 1857; Seven Constitutional Laws – 1836 to 1843; Federal Constitution of the […]
Constitution of the Commonwealth of Australia

Constitution of the Commonwealth of Australia

An Act to constitute the Commonwealth of Australia             [9th July 1900] Whereas the people of New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Queensland, and Tasmania, humbly relying on the blessing of Almighty God, have agreed to unite in one indissoluble Federal Commonwealth under the Crown of the United Kingdom of […]
Constitution of Japan – 1946

Constitution of Japan – 1946

November 3, 1946 PREFACE We, the Japanese people, acting through our duly elected representatives in the National Diet, determined that we shall secure for ourselves and our posterity the fruits of peaceful cooperation with all nations and the blessings of liberty throughout this land, and resolved that never again shall we be visited with the […]
Constitution of Barbados – 1966

Constitution of Barbados – 1966

CONSTITUTIONAL ORDER STATUTORY INSTRUMENTS 1966 No. 1455 CARIBBEAN AND NORTH ATLANTIC TERRITORIES THE BARBADOS INDEPENDENCE ORDER 1966 Made 22nd November 1966 Laid before Parliament 22nd November 1966 Coming into Operation 30th November 1966 At the Court at Buckingham Palace, the 22nd day of November 1966 Present, The Queen’s Most Excellent Majesty in Council Her Majesty, […]
The Constitution of Afghanistan – 2003

The Constitution of Afghanistan – 2003

Year 1382 (2003) (Unofficial Translation – Please refer to official Pashtu and Dari texts for accuracy) In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate Preamble We the people of Afghanistan: 1- With firm faith in God Almighty and relying on His mercy, and Believing in the Sacred religion of Islam, 2- Observing the United […]
Constitution Act of New Zealand – 1986

Constitution Act of New Zealand – 1986

An Act to reform the constitutional law of New Zealand, to bring together into one enactment certain provisions of constitutional significance, and to provide that the New Zealand Constitution Act 1852 of the Parliament of the United Kingdom shall cease to have effect as part of the law of New Zealand 1 Short Title and […]