Houses hold responsibility for specific areas of laxyuup.

Houses Hold Responsibility for Specific Areas of Laxyuup

Category: Tsm’syen Law Page status: Working

Statement

• • Houses hold responsibility for specific areas of Laxyuup.**

This principle establishes how territorial responsibility is organized under Tsm’syen law.

Meaning

Responsibility for land is not general or undefined.

Specific areas of Laxyuup are held through houses, which carry responsibility for care, use, and conduct within those areas.

Responsibility arises from law, history, and relationship, not ownership.

Houses and Territorial Responsibility

Houses are the primary holders of responsibility for land.

• Each house is connected to particular areas of Laxyuup
• Territorial responsibility is inherited through the house
• Authority is exercised through stewardship and accountability
• Responsibility is collective within the house

Houses do not own land; they are accountable for it.

Scope of Responsibility

House responsibility includes:

• Stewardship of land and waters
• Regulation of use and access
• Protection of places of meaning
• Response to harm and imbalance
• Representation in territorial matters

Responsibility applies whether land is actively used or not.

Members and Conduct

Members act within the responsibility of their houses.

• Individual actions affect the standing of the house
• Houses are responsible for addressing harm caused by their members
• Individual use does not remove collective obligation

Responsibility follows conduct, not permission.

Limits

House responsibility is governed by ayaawx.

• Houses may not permanently destroy their territories
• Houses may not sever land from responsibility
• Responsibility does not permit unchecked exclusion
• No house may act outside law

House authority exists within limits set by law and balance.

Witness and Memory

Territorial responsibility is maintained through witnessing and memory.

• Boundaries are preserved through adaawx and practice
• Witnessing confirms responsibility and conduct
• Public memory prevents quiet erosion of responsibility

Unwitnessed assertions lack standing.

Continuity

House responsibility endures across generations.

• Responsibility is inherited, not casually reassigned
• Teaching preserves territorial knowledge
• Youth are prepared through observation and practice

Laxyuup remains ordered through house-held responsibility.