II.   Sovereign

A Nation is a 16th Century political term meaning an indigenous people sharing a common cultural identity and system of law, demonstrating a historic continuity of habitation within a distinct place with defined boundaries, represented by a Body Politic formally recognized politically through one (1) or more treaties.

The word “Nation” is derived from the Latin word natio meaning “tribe, race, breed or class”.

The key elements by original definition of what constitutes a Nation are Indigenous People, Common Cultural Identity, System of Law, Historic Continuity of Habitation, Body Politic and Political Recognition:

(i) An Indigenous People means literally a body of people born to a land or region, especially sharing ancestry before any settlement or claims before territories or countries; and

(ii) Common Cultural Identity means a distinct and unique cultural identity in the form of stories, history, conflict and resolution, language and phrases, arts and music, sacred sites and texts compared to other people within the larger region; and

(iii) Historic Continuity of Habitation means permanent settlement of the land beyond three (3) generations whereby claimed ownership and possession of land exceeds one hundred (100) years; and

(iv) A Body Politic of a Nation is the existence of a form of government or collective representation by which the people agree at some level to be governed; and

(v) Political Recognition in the form of one (1) or more treaties either with new settlers claiming certain sovereign rights or privileges, or with countries, states or corporations claiming higher rights and sovereignty such as the United Nations.

By definition a Nation implies a willing surrender of certain Sovereign Rights by a people to another body politic within the context of one (1) or more Treaties, providing the force and effect of the Treaties remain in place. In other words, the identity of a Nation implies the party is the “feme covert” of any Treaty.

Upon the repudiation, breach or termination of the conditions of a Treaty by the higher party, the Sovereign Rights return to the people and body politic no longer as a Nation but now as the higher party as a Sovereign Country or Sovereign Territory unless there exists no formal Body Politic and Political Geography in place with which to receive such powers.