How this framework was built and who contributed
How This Framework Was Built and Who Contributed
This framework was built as a **living, descriptive record** of Ts’msyen law, governance, and responsibility as understood through *ayaawx*, adaawx, lived practice, and community guidance. It is not a declaration of final interpretation, nor a replacement for lawful authority held by Elders, houses (*wilp*), and clans (*pdeex*).
This page explains **how the framework was developed**, **whose voices informed it**, and **the limits under which it was created**.
Purpose of the Framework
This framework was created to:
- organize Ts’msyen legal principles in one place
- reduce loss, confusion, and misrepresentation
- protect against external reinterpretation
- support learning by youth and community members
- provide a reference for discussion, not decision
It exists to **support living law**, not to define it.
Method of Building
The framework was built through:
- careful listening rather than extraction
- repeated drafting and revision
- separating description from interpretation
- avoiding summaries of restricted knowledge
- constant attention to limits and protocol
- refusal to fix law into rigid form
Each page was written to explain *how* Ts’msyen law functions, not *what it commands* in specific cases.
Sources of Understanding
Understanding reflected in this framework draws from:
- Ts’msyen adaawx (without retelling)
- house-held legal narratives (without disclosure)
- Elder guidance and recorded statements (with limits)
- community reflection and lived experience
- observation of lawful process and protocol
- long-standing Ts’msyen governance practices
No single source was treated as complete or final.
Role of Elders and Knowledge Holders
Elders and knowledge holders:
- remain the lawful interpreters of ayaawx
- were treated as guides, not sources to be quoted
- are not frozen into recorded authority
- retain the right to correct, clarify, or reject any part
This framework defers to living guidance at all times.
Community Contributions
Community members contributed through:
- asking questions
- sharing lived experience
- identifying gaps or risks
- flagging misuse of language
- emphasizing protection over exposure
- reminding the work of its limits
These contributions shaped direction, tone, and restraint.
Role of the Compilers
Those compiling this framework:
- do not claim authority to interpret ayaawx
- act as recorders and organizers, not law-makers
- remain external to lawful interpretation
- acknowledge limits of understanding
- welcome correction and guidance
This work was done **in service**, not in leadership.
Language and Framing Choices
Language was chosen deliberately to:
- avoid supremacy or finality
- prevent importing foreign legal tests
- protect house-held knowledge
- maintain humility and openness
- keep authority clearly located elsewhere
Where language risks distortion, restraint was chosen.
Review and Correction
This framework is open to:
- correction
- clarification
- refinement
- expansion
- removal of content if harmful
Review by Elders and houses is welcomed and necessary.
What This Framework Is Not
This framework is not:
- a constitution
- a code of law
- an exhaustive record
- a substitute for feast and witness
- a declaration of authority
- a public domain source of sacred knowledge
It is a map, not the land.
Responsibility to the Future
The framework was built with future generations in mind.
Its aim is to:
- leave pathways open
- prevent inherited surrender
- support learning without fixing meaning
- preserve room for living authority
Future Ts’msyen are not bound by this work.
Invitation and Boundary
This framework invites:
- respectful reading
- careful reflection
- community dialogue
- Elder guidance
It sets a boundary against:
- external reinterpretation
- misuse as law
- selective quotation
- authority claims based on text alone
Living Status
This framework remains living.
It will:
- change with guidance
- adapt with learning
- remain unfinished by design
Where ayaawx lives, law lives. This framework simply tries to listen.