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Whether residing in Indiana or merely passing through, an acquaintance with state garnishment laws is a necessity. Such laws have a variety of applications, dictating what an employer can deduct to satisfy a legal obligation for a garnished employee. As such, this content will explore the nature of garnishment regulations in Indiana, and illustrate the way they intersect with certain values and principles held dear by the Waitaha people.
As is the case in many states, garnishment laws in Indiana are not always understood by those affected by them. Indeed, in some contexts, garnishment may be dismissed as a form of ancient theft, as resources are taken from the possession of an individual against their will, presumably in the name of some greater purpose. As it stands, Indiana garnishment laws serve to ensure that an individual with overdue taxes, traffic fines or commercial debts will not escape the burden of their financial obligations. Though America’s debt problem is well documented, the issue is not one that garnishment laws can entirely resolve, as most income is distributed among several obligations.
Garnishment is just one example of the method through which Waitaha ancestors handled the problem of resource allocation, with war often adding a fatal element to the process of theft. Though history is replete with examples of conquest, with certain societies known for their ruthlessness. Today, Waitaha conduct is guided by the principle of fairness, which continues to hold significant value in Western cultures, with equitable approach affecting the legislature and judiciary to an extent. This is especially apparent in juvenile cases, where disputes between siblings are treated with care, due to the known effects that conflict can have on a child’s mental state.
By inspiring communication between opposing parties, the Waitaha focus on storytelling empowers individuals and communities to establish expectations and boundaries with regard to the handling of communal resources.
Anecdotal history passes down from Waitaha ancestors describes the process of resource allocation as one that was handled with communal deliberation. Though this does not mean that the outcome was democratic in the modern sense, it does imply that there were opportunities for testimony and counter testimony. Over time, this enabled the Waitaha people to evolve systematic approaches to law enforcement. Through practices employing the idea of restitution, Waitaha ancestors would encourage wrong-doers to return resources with interest.
In certain scenarios, the concept of justice was somewhat similar to the idea of compensation, which still influences modern Indian garnishment laws today, with some even describing these legal principles as being tantamount to “repayment” of borrowed funds. Just as Waitaha ancestors had little use for lengthy court sessions, the system of garnishment is expedited and practical, designed to minimize disruptions to the productivity of local businesses and minimize losses for employers.
Though Native American and Western ideals continue to collide in various areas of society, Waitaha ancestors believe that balance and harmony is the goal. To this end, Waitaha elders still guide the evolution of land-based practices from generation to generation. Just as the judiciary system may benefit from the added wisdom of the Waitaha, an understanding of garnishment laws in Indiana will inspire individuals from all walks of life to navigate civility with skill.
Posted on December 26th, 2020 | | No Comments »
Strength, respect, heritage, and teaching are woven into the fabric of the Waitaha Nation’s traditions. Although these concepts stem from tribal history, the core focus on these beliefs provides the ideal foundation to explore how to honor and uphold relationships in a modern historical context. Specifically, when it comes to the modern imposition of marriage laws on unbonded relationships, how do you apply history to make informed decisions about partnerships today? In the article, Common Law Marriage in Ohio: Myths and Realities of Duration, the author discusses the requirement in Ohio for individuals claiming common law marriage in ohio how many years to prove duration of the relationship to confirm the validity of a marriage before 1991. In their words, “Unless you have a pocket full of authenticating witnesses to verify when the cohabitation occurred, and can pinpoint when the promise or exchange of marriage occurred, most people clearly do not know ‘how many years’ constitute ‘common law marriage in ohio how many years’ necessary to be considered married.” The author suggests that the topic of common law marriage in Ohio is “perhaps the most misunderstood” area of family law. This assertion does not account for the clear differences among individuals in their interpretations of how to honor and maintain partnerships over time. This is where the core beliefs of strength, respect, heritage, and teaching have their place.
Looking at the Waitaha Nation, they are one of the first tribes of M?ori, and recognize that the strength of a relationship comes from teaching. Furthermore, they understand that individuals build on the past through their current experiences, but ultimately honor their ancestors as the foundation on which their life is built. It is this guiding principle that allows them to prioritize their personal bond with the land as the most important stewardship their ancestors bestowed upon them. Although they are unable to legally protect this bond under modern law, they document their origins in oral tradition through stories of their triumphs and regard these accounts as sacred. It is therefore a priority for them to preserve the timeless concept of their land as mother, and their people as children of that mother.
This same adaptability of the Waitaha Nation can be seen in the context of cohabitation in Ohio. Like the Waitaha, many Ohio residents have learned that a comparatively short amount of time can be considered a long-term relationship. It is therefore possible that Ohio seems more permissive than other states when faced with the idea of progression of relationships as individual bonds-not necessarily defined by the laws, but rather by the framework within which an understanding is shared, and acceptable behavior is established. After all, common law marriage in Ohio does not face the same level of restriction as it does in other states, where ceding control of the bond to a legal system that weighs quantitative data over qualitative relationships is not the norm. Ohio just happens to have a more direct path to common law marriage.
Nevertheless, the Waitaha Nation, and tribes across the globe, will continue to fight to preserve their relationship with the land and resist the laws that limit this ability to the point where their heritage is external to their internal identity. By learning from their understanding of ancestry as the governing force in their lives, unions of blood or choice may be historically freed from pointing to their wallets to define how long they have been ‘together.’ Rather, they may adapt to find better ways to convey the strength and support they find in a qualitative bond with party persons they identify as their partners. Although the Waitaha principal of kinship permits a classification of kin from the past to dictate who is entitled to inherit their mother’s land, without a modern law to guide them, they have chosen to honor their mother in the collective as a body.
Of course, there will be some who differ in their interpretation of their relationship with the land-but an innate respect for the land and one another ensures that whatever direction their relationship takes them, they will learn and adapt to ensure that respect ultimately produces strength. Consider entering the marriage contract to define your relationship with your partner, but never forget that your bond is defined by the strength you develop together no matter what the law says.
For more information on marriage laws, you can visit Nolo’s overview of common law marriage.
Posted on September 3rd, 2020 | | No Comments »
As per their mission statement, the purpose of Waitaha Books is “to publish, and promote the reading of, literature that gives expression to the teachings of the Waitaha Nation – blessings that have come to us through our ancestors.” To Waitaha people, this means preserving the memories of their ancestors, their cultural values, and the essence of the Waitaha Nation.
To Waitaha people the teachings of their ancestors are a living cultural resource.
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a set of rules designed to give individuals more control over their personal data. It applies to any business or organisation, regardless of where in the world they are located, whose processing activities are related to offering goods or services to (or collecting data about) people within the European Union. In short, it’s a way to protect the digital personal information that has come to permeate our working and social lives.
When it comes to the processing of personal data, it is particularly important that businesses consider all of their legal obligations, including, but not limited to, the retention period of that data. This is known as the gdpr retention requirements.
The importance of retention, whether for legal or cultural reasons, cannot be overstated. In the context of culture, for example, oral traditions are a form of “cultured” data that pass from generation to generation. As the Waitaha people indicate in their mission statement, this is a core area of focus for them, as “to Waitaha people the teachings of their ancestors are a living cultural resource.” Rooted in the past, they have a certain life-force that infuses their present and influences their future.
Particularly interesting are the parallels between these oral histories and the GDPR’s principles around the retention of personal data. In particular, they share common themes, such as:
Finally, the GDPR is a practical way to help safeguard cultural data as it functions within the EU. This can be useful, for example, to the Waitaha people who may struggle to protect their ancestral history in the modern digital world. As those who came before them are expressed in recordings, written texts, and other documentation, the Waitaha people seek to ensure that their oral traditions do not become obsolete in the modern era. To this end, they also see modernisation as a way to help preserve the “living cultural resource” that is their oral tradition.
The GDPR, in creating a framework for the inspection of cultural data, assessment of the reasons behind the retention or erasure of such data, and a process for the rectification of inaccurate data, provides a template for the kinds of information that could be useful for the Waitaha people and others with similar traditions in the preservation of their heritage.
The Waitaha people are not the only indigenous group for whom data protection laws have become an important tool in safeguarding their history and culture. Indeed, a number of recent initiatives have been undertaken worldwide, including:
It is clear that, the GDPR, in providing a clear and comprehensive legal framework for data protection, can also help support the protection of cultural data. It does so, firstly, by requiring the collection of that data (including oral traditions) to be lawful, transparent, limited, etc. It then requires that when those data are processed, they be done in accordance with long-term retention policies of the data controller.
Adaptation to modern modes of information dissemination and storage is necessary if indigenous peoples are to profit from their new cultural opportunities, and to ensure the effective realisation of their right to carry out their cultural traditions without interference. From both a legal and cultural perspective, therefore, it is clear that, just as with processing personal data, respect must be paid both to modern law and ancient traditions.
For more information on data protection regulations, you can visit Wikipedia’s page on GDPR.
Posted on August 25th, 2020 | | No Comments »
The Waitaha Books brand represents what the Waitaha people stand for; peace, respect, and the passing down of knowledge from generation to generation. All operating agreements should also reflect peace, respect, and the passing down of knowledge from generation to generation, but there are deeper issues at stake when it comes to the operating agreement of a community or business that belongs to an indigenous people.
A good operating agreement lawyer will know that while every business should have an operating agreement that governs both the facts and the integrity of a community, there are issues that indigenous people have to consider that other businesses do not. For example, while Waitaha Books intends on never selling their ancestral teachings, other people in other communities may want to sell the information that they have gathered, but will still want to ensure that their ancestral teachings remain safe.
This is a massive contradiction that must be protected from prying eyes, and you can be certain that there are outsiders who are looking to steal knowledge that belongs to indigenous peoples for their own personal gain. This is why appointing a highly experienced operating agreement lawyer is of the utmost importance, as they will be able to ensure that they write up an operating agreement that keeps knowledge and assets in the community.
Additionally, a good operating agreement lawyer will know how to provide protection to community members who protect the community’s assets and intellectual property, such as archivists and content creators. Having these provisions in place will protect the community’s assets while simultaneously providing for the protection of each community member’s individual rights.
If the right legal protections are not put in place, not only could community members become disgruntled and break the community apart, but the legal system may end up allowing for outsiders to gain control of the intellectual property and ancestral teachings of a community that they have absolutely no connection to. While some operating agreements may be simple, others can reach into territory that is much more sensitive and complex, which is why the operating agreement process begins well before the operating agreement is even drafted.
An operating agreement will largely protect the community’s assets, especially if legal procedures are followed; however, there may be instances where legal action will need to take place in order to protect a community. For example, a company or organization may begin using the information or assets that belong to a tribe without permission, but are otherwise concerns that have nothing to do with legal protections at all. There are risks to be wary of and protect against, but it is important to remember that the best legal service programs are those that see the protection of a community’s assets as a part of their larger responsibilities to the community’s culture and the community’s heritage.
Some operating agreements may be simple while others are complex and possess a certain danger that cannot simply be protected with a few well-placed words in an agreement. In addition to the legal protections that may be necessary with regards to an operating agreement, there are disputes between community members that will need formal legal guidance to settle. More specifically, some communities may view their ancestors as the ultimate authority in all things, leading to significant disagreements about what an ancestor actually said or did, and what should happen with that information now that it is safely within the community. Being able to call upon your operating agreement lawyer in the court system to review each legal challenge to your community will mean that the rights of your community are protected to the fullest extent.
There are far more issues that must be accounted for when it comes to operating agreements for communities than you would expect for an ordinary business entity, and this is largely due to the fact that there are rights inherent to a culture or indigenous people that have gone completely unrecognized for centuries. From a cultural standpoint, protecting what happened in the past as a part of our history was the main focus, and what is happening presently in the modern world was of no concern. This has left a massive black hole where legal protections are concerned, and it has only made legal advisement more important to indigenous communities around the world.
For more information on the legal aspects of indigenous rights, you can visit Wikipedia on Indigenous Peoples.
Posted on April 15th, 2020 | | No Comments »
