Family Legacy
Navajo Courts & Navajo Common Law:
A Tradition of Tribal Self-Governance
By Raymond D. Austin, Justice Emeritus of the Navajo Nation Supreme Court
Justice Raymond D. Austin, the father of Joseph K. Austin, is a world-renowned jurist and scholar who dedicated his life to the recognition, development, and implementation of common law in the Navajo judicial system. After his time on the bench, Mr. Austin authored the groundbreaking book, “Navajo Courts and Navajo Common Law: A Tradition of Tribal Self-Governance”, which is considered a monumental contribution to the field of tribal law and federal Indian law. It is studied in law schools around the world to teach students about how indigenous peoples can use their own laws and dispute resolution methods to govern their nations and communities thereby preserving culture, language, customs, traditions, and teachings.
Justice Austin has taught and lectured at universities around the world including Harvard Law School and Stanford Law School to teach future legal practitioners about the Navajo way of justice. He also appeared in numerous indigenous communities to remind the people that what they needed to survive and prosper existed in their hearts and minds. It was in the language they speak, the songs they sung, the prayers they said, and the way of life they followed. His work had a profound impact on the Navajo Nation and Indian Country in general. Through his scholarship, he helped to educate non-indigenous people about the importance of indigenous common law and the need to preserve it in indigenous nations. He also worked to ensure that the Navajo people had access to a fair and impartial judicial system that used customs and traditions to govern their disputes.
As the son of Justice Raymond D. Austin, Joseph Austin strives to carry on the tradition his father left and build upon a legacy that will survive for years to come. He is committed to promoting the rights and self-determination of Indigenous peoples and is passionate about continuing his father’s legacy of preserving and promoting Navajo common law. Through his work, Joseph Austin is helping to rebuild the Navajo Nation’s court system and make it a system that the Navajo people can trust and the outside world can study.
