Protection against external denial
Protection against external denial
Protection against external denial is the principle that Tsm’syen law, authority, and history cannot be dismissed, overridden, or invalidated by outside systems simply because they were not created within those systems.
Law does not cease to exist because another authority refuses to recognize it.
What external denial looks like
External denial may take the form of:
- claims that authority must be written in colonial law to be valid
- dismissal of adaawk as “stories” rather than legal record
- refusal to recognize feast acknowledgment or witnesses
- reinterpretation of names, territory, or responsibility through foreign legal standards
- demands for proof that erase oral law or living memory
Denial is often framed as neutrality or procedure.
Why denial must be resisted
Allowing external denial would mean:
- authority can be erased by refusal
- responsibility can be avoided by silence
- history can be rewritten by outsiders
- law becomes dependent on recognition rather than truth
This undermines continuity and stewardship.
Internal sources of legitimacy
Tsm’syen law derives legitimacy from:
- houses and clans
- names and succession
- adaawk and living witnesses
- feast acknowledgment
- continuous practice across generations
These sources do not require external validation.
How protection is maintained
Protection against denial is maintained by:
- consistent internal recognition of authority
- public witnessing and feast acknowledgment
- intergenerational continuity of names and obligations
- refusal to reframe law as folklore or custom
- clear articulation of responsibility and consequence
Clarity is defense.
Relationship to accountability
Protection against denial does not protect wrongdoing.
Internal accountability remains essential:
- violations are witnessed
- authority may be challenged internally
- responsibility is enforced within the legal order
External denial is resisted without shielding internal failure.
Consequences of yielding to denial
If denial is accepted:
- authority weakens
- law fragments
- obligations are lost
- future generations inherit uncertainty instead of clarity
Denial erodes law silently.
Core principle
Law that lives through people and practice does not vanish when denied. Recognition may be refused; responsibility remains.