Continuing our recap of the awards announced at this year's meeting of the American Society for Legal History, we focus today on those given by the William Nelson Cromwell Foundation. This post covers the Cromwell Article Prize, "awarded annually to the best article in American legal history published in the preceding calendar year by an early career scholar."
On the recommendation of the subcommittee chaired by Laura Edwards, the Cromwell Article Prize went to Christopher Clements (Harvard University) for “‘There isn't no trouble at all if the state would just keep out’: Indigenous People and New York's Carceral State," Journal of American History 108 (September 2021): 296-319. The citation:
In this deeply researched, gracefully written article, Christopher Clements explores the jurisdictional dynamics that resulted in the over-policing of the Akwesasne Mohawk Nation, located on the border between New York and Canada, in the twentieth century. While the title suggests that the focus is Native people and the carcel state, the analysis has much broader implications for understanding the evolving balance of power in the federal system and changing conceptions of sovereignty. Clements places Native people and their claims to sovereignty at the center of these issues, underscoring the continuing importance of federal Indian policies and Native assertions of sovereignty, while revealing the human cost of the transition from federal to state jurisdiction for the Akwesanse people.
Congratulations to Professor Clements, and thank you to the members of the article prize subcommittee for their service!
-- Karen Tani
