Where Do Rights Come From?
The Republic's teaching on rights runs in a clear order: Divine Authority, Universal Rights, Indigenous Rights, then Tribal Law.
The Xi-Amaru Republic teaches that rights originate from God, not from governments. Governments exercise authority and may protect or fail to protect rights, but they do not create them. Indigenous Rights are Universal Rights applied to Indigenous peoples, and Tribal Law is how a nation exercises them.
The order of authority
The Entry-Level Tribal Law Course presents authority as a chain:
- Divine Authority. God, as Creator, is the source of authority, order and justice.
- Universal Rights. Rights that belong to all peoples by virtue of their existence: to exist, to hold an identity, to organize, to establish governance and to self-determination.
- Indigenous Rights. Universal Rights applied to Indigenous peoples.
- Tribal Law. The exercise of those rights through an Indigenous nation’s own governance.
Scripture is cited for the first link. Romans 13:1 teaches that there is no authority except that which God has established, and Genesis 1:26 describes humanity being given dominion over creation.
Rights that originate from Divine Authority and belong to all peoples by virtue of their existence, including the right to exist, to identity, to organize, to establish governance and to self-determination.
Authority can be used well or badly
History shows authority exercised both ways. Nations have declared independence and built just institutions; nations have also used authority to cause injustice. The source of authority does not change. How it is exercised determines its effect. The United States declaring independence in 1776 and African nations declaring independence in the twentieth century are examples of peoples exercising authority to form nations. The Xi-Amaru Republic, which declared independence on December 17, 2022, stands within that same process.
Why declarations say “affirm”
International declarations such as ADRIP and UNDRIP are written by member states. Read in the light of this teaching, they do not hand rights to Indigenous peoples. They affirm rights that already exist. UNDRIP Article 1 is a good example: it speaks of Indigenous peoples’ full enjoyment of human rights already recognized in international law.
“Indigenous peoples have the right to the full enjoyment, as a collective or as individuals, of all human rights and fundamental freedoms as recognized in the Charter of the United Nations, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and international human rights law.”
Why this matters for Indigenous peoples
If rights came from governments, a people whose government was disrupted would lose its rights with it. Because rights come from a higher source, a people can rebuild its institutions and exercise rights it never lost. That is the work the Xi-Amaru Republic is doing: restoring governance, not inventing it. Read What Is Tribal Law? and What Is Inherent Sovereignty? next.
Study the full course
This teaching opens the Entry-Level Tribal Law Course, offered through the Aboriginal Ministry of Justice.
Questions people ask
Do governments create rights?
The Republic teaches that they do not. Governments exercise authority, which can protect or restrict rights, but rights originate from Divine Authority.
What are Universal Rights?
Rights that belong to all peoples by virtue of their existence: to exist, to hold an identity, to organize, to establish governance and to self-determination.
How are Indigenous Rights related to Universal Rights?
Indigenous Rights are Universal Rights applied to Indigenous peoples.
Adapted from the Entry-Level Tribal Law Course Workbook, Chapter 1. © Aboriginal Ministry of Justice. Declaration text checked word for word against the primary sources: ADRIP, AG/RES. 2888 (XLVI-O/16) and UNDRIP, A/RES/61/295. This article is general education, not legal, tax or financial advice.
