How the Xi-Amaru Republic Declared Independence
Six weeks before the nation existed, a tribal meeting taught how nations are formed under international law, then proposed forming one.
The Xi-Amaru Republic was proposed at a tribal meeting on November 1, 2022, called “The Next Move.” The meeting set out how states are formed under international law, including the Montevideo Convention and UNDRIP, and put forward a date, a name, a Declaration of Independence and a Constitution. Each was carried out: the Republic was established on December 17, 2022.
The meeting before the meetings
On November 1, 2022, Nnakina Xi-Amaru (now Chief Nnakina Xi-Amaru Fears) hosted a tribal meeting for the Aboriginal Ministry of Justice. It opened with definitions: a nation is a community formed on shared language, history, culture and society, a people that has become conscious of its autonomy, unity and interests. It then asked how a nation becomes a state.
Many of those in the room had first organized through the Aboriginal Republic of North America (ARNA), which had brought people knowledge and was credited for it. The proposal that day was to declare independence and found a new nation, investing in institutions that could be built, documented and sustained. See The Xi-Amaru Republic and ARNA.
The Montevideo Convention
The Convention on the Rights and Duties of States, signed at Montevideo, Uruguay, on December 26, 1933, sets out what a state is in international law. Article 1 lists four qualifications: a permanent population, a defined territory, a government, and the capacity to enter into relations with other states. Article 3 addresses recognition directly:
“The political existence of the state is independent of recognition by the other states.”
Montevideo Convention on the Rights and Duties of States, Article 3
The conclusion drawn at the meeting: recognition is not what brings a state into existence. A people organizes itself. See Do Tribes Without Federal Recognition Have Rights?.
The rights that protect the move
“Indigenous peoples have the right to self-determination.”
“Indigenous peoples, in exercising their right to self-determination, have the right to autonomy or self-government in matters relating to their internal and local affairs, as well as ways and means for financing their autonomous functions.”
What was proposed, and what happened
| Proposed November 1, 2022 | Carried out |
|---|---|
| A date to declare independence: December 10, 11 or 17 | December 17, 2022 |
| A name for the nation, voted on by everyone | The Xi-Amaru Republic |
| A Declaration of Independence, drafted together | Signed in Houston, Texas, December 17, 2022 |
| A Constitution, the foundation for everything else | Ratified May 21, 2023; signed April 28, 2024, Rome, Georgia |
Building with who is there
The meeting closed on community rather than scale. A nation does not need thousands of people to begin; it needs a community that understands what it is building and wants to protect one another’s families. That is still how the Republic grows: one verified family at a time.
Read the meeting record at the Ministry
Become part of the nation
Every application begins at the Ministry’s Verification page, which confirms your eligibility and directs you to the right pathway.
Continues on the Ministry’s website, aboriginalministryofjustice.org, in a new tab.
Questions people ask
How was the Xi-Amaru Republic founded?
It was proposed at a tribal meeting on November 1, 2022, and established on December 17, 2022, when its Declaration of Independence was signed in Houston, Texas.
What is Article 3 of the Montevideo Convention?
It states that the political existence of the state is independent of recognition by the other states.
Does the Xi-Amaru Republic need outside recognition to exist?
No. Under Article 3 of the Montevideo Convention, a state’s political existence does not depend on recognition, and UNDRIP Article 3 affirms that Indigenous peoples freely determine their political status.
Sources: Aboriginal Ministry of Justice, The Next Move (November 1, 2022); Montevideo Convention on the Rights and Duties of States (Avalon Project, Yale Law School), Article 3 checked word for word. UNDRIP text checked word for word against the official source. This article is general education, not legal advice.
