On Indigenous Tax Consciousness: The Socio-Legal History of the Native Village of Venetie Tribal Government, 1938-1987

Zahnd, Maximilien

On Indigenous Tax Consciousness: The Socio-Legal History of the Native Village of Venetie Tribal Government, 1938-1987

Authors

Zahnd, Maximilien

Publisher

University of Cambridge
Scott Polar Research Institute
Darwin College

Description

This thesis explores the relationship between taxation, Indigenous sovereignty, and settler colonialism. Specifically, it chronicles the socio-legal history of the Native Village of Venetie Tribal Government, a Gwich’in tribe from the Alaska interior region. The tribe gained national attention when it attempted to tax a school construction project in the 1980s, triggering a fierce but ultimately unsuccessful judicial battle with the state of Alaska. The thesis seeks to answer the following research questions: How does a tribe develop the idea to use taxation, and why does it decide to use it? The thesis thus strives to explore the origins and contours of what I call ‘Indigenous tax consciousness’. Drawing on archival and field research, I argue that a tribe’s tax consciousness consists of a long and delicate process that often takes years to crystallize. It requires a favorable politico-legal climate, good timing, a few key individuals, and some serendipity. Most importantly, however, Indigenous tax consciousness goes hand in hand with a profound desire to seek political, economic, and cultural empowerment.