---
title: "Customary Law | History of Canada 1867 to Present"
description: "Customary law is Indigenous traditional legal practice recognized in Canada, shaping land, dispute resolution, and rights debates in History of Canada after 1867."
canonical: "https://fiveable.me/history-canada-after-1867/key-terms/customary-law"
type: "key-term"
subject: "History of Canada – 1867 to Present"
unit: "Unit 12"
---

# Customary Law | History of Canada 1867 to Present

## Definition

Customary law is the traditional, often unwritten, law of an Indigenous community, based on long-used norms and practices. In History of Canada after 1867, it matters in land rights, self-government, and legal battles over Indigenous rights.

## What It Is

Customary law is the traditional legal order of a community, especially Indigenous communities in Canada, where rules come from long-standing practices rather than written statutes passed by Parliament or a legislature. It covers things like relationships, land use, responsibility, and how disputes are settled. In this course, the term usually shows up when you are looking at how Indigenous peoples kept governing themselves even after Confederation and through later colonial pressure.

A big part of customary law is that it is often unwritten. That does not make it vague or casual. Instead, it is carried through memory, teaching, ceremony, and community practice, so people know what counts as proper conduct even without a code book. Because it grows from the community itself, it can adapt over time while still keeping core values like balance, respect, and collective responsibility.

In History of Canada after 1867, customary law matters because the Canadian state often tried to replace Indigenous legal systems with federal and provincial law. That created conflict. When Indigenous communities insisted that their own legal traditions still governed their lands and social life, they were challenging the idea that Canadian law was the only legitimate system.

Customary law also connects to reconciliation inside communities. Instead of relying only on punishment from an outside court, disputes may be handled through processes that restore harmony and repair relationships. That makes it different from the adversarial style of Canadian courts, where one side wins and the other loses.

You will also see customary law come up in legal and political struggles over Indigenous rights. Courts and governments have had to deal with the fact that Indigenous rights are not only about modern legislation, they are also tied to older systems of authority and land stewardship. So when customary law appears in a reading or case study, it is usually pointing to a deeper question: whose rules count, and who gets to define ownership, authority, and justice?

## Why It Matters

Customary law gives you a way to read Indigenous rights movements as more than protests for better treatment. It shows that many Indigenous claims were, and still are, arguments about legal continuity. Communities were not asking Canada to invent rights from scratch. They were asserting that their own laws, especially about land and governance, already existed and should be recognized.

That makes the term useful in topics like land claims, Aboriginal Title, and court cases such as Delgamuukw v. British Columbia. Those debates are not just about property in the narrow sense. They are about whether Indigenous legal traditions can count as real evidence of stewardship, authority, and responsibility.

Customary law also helps you see why Indigenous rights activism often links law to culture. Protecting language, ceremony, family obligations, and land use can all be part of the same legal and political struggle. In that sense, customary law is a bridge between governance and cultural preservation, not a separate side issue.

If you are tracing the history of Canada after 1867, this term helps explain why legal change has been so contested. Recognition of Indigenous law can shift power, because it pushes Canada toward a nation-to-nation relationship instead of a one-way colonial system.

## Connections

### Indigenous sovereignty

Customary law is one of the clearest signs that Indigenous nations have their own legal and political authority. When a community follows its own rules for land, leadership, or dispute resolution, it is exercising sovereignty in practice. That is why the term often appears in arguments about self-government and control over internal affairs.

### [Aboriginal Title](/history-canada-after-1867/key-terms/aboriginal-title)

Aboriginal Title is about Indigenous rights to land, and customary law can help show how a people used, governed, and cared for that land over time. In court, evidence of customary practices can support claims that the relationship to territory was structured and continuous, not random or temporary.

### [indigenous jurisprudence](/history-canada-after-1867/key-terms/indigenous-jurisprudence)

Indigenous jurisprudence is the broader study of Indigenous legal thought and decision-making, while customary law is the specific body of community-based rules and practices. If a reading discusses how Indigenous law works in a case or community, customary law is often the concrete example you point to.

### [Treaty rights](/history-canada-after-1867/key-terms/treaty-rights)

Treaty rights and customary law both challenge the idea that Canadian law is the only legal framework that matters. Treaty rights come from agreements, while customary law comes from long-standing Indigenous practice. Together, they show how Indigenous peoples have multiple grounds for asserting authority, land use, and responsibilities.

## On the AP Exam

A quiz question or short-answer prompt may ask you to identify customary law in a case, passage, or class discussion about Indigenous rights. The move is to explain that the community is following its own traditional legal system, not just an informal custom.

In an essay, you might use it to show how land claims or court battles were about more than ownership. If a source mentions elders, oral tradition, reconciliation, or community-based dispute resolution, you can connect that evidence to customary law and explain how it supports Indigenous self-determination.

If you get a compare-and-contrast question, separate customary law from Canadian statutory law. Statutory law comes from legislatures and written codes, while customary law grows from community practice and older governance systems. That distinction often matters in readings about colonial policy, Indigenous resistance, and legal recognition after Confederation.

## customary law vs statutory law

Customary law comes from long-standing community practices and traditions, often unwritten, while statutory law is created by governments through formal legislation. In Canadian history after 1867, this difference matters because Indigenous rights debates often turn on whether Indigenous legal traditions should be recognized alongside state law.

## Key Takeaways

- Customary law is the traditional legal system of a community, especially important in Indigenous history in Canada.
- It is often unwritten and passed through practice, teaching, and community memory rather than through legislation.
- In this course, it appears in discussions of land claims, dispute resolution, and Indigenous resistance to colonial legal control.
- Customary law shows that Indigenous communities had and still have their own systems of authority and justice.
- When you see it in a case or reading, think about sovereignty, land, and the recognition of Indigenous legal traditions.

## FAQs

### What is customary law in History of Canada after 1867?

Customary law is the traditional legal system of an Indigenous community, built from long-standing practices and norms. In Canadian history after 1867, it matters because it shows that Indigenous peoples had their own systems of governance, land use, and dispute resolution before and after Confederation.

### Is customary law the same as Canadian law?

No. Canadian law usually means statutory and court-based law made by the state, while customary law comes from Indigenous community traditions. The two often came into conflict when colonial governments tried to replace Indigenous legal systems with federal or provincial rules.

### How does customary law show up in Indigenous rights cases?

It often appears as evidence that a community had recognized authority over land, social rules, or decision-making before state interference. In land claims and court cases, customary law can support arguments about Aboriginal Title, stewardship, and Indigenous sovereignty.

### Why does customary law matter in reconciliation?

Customary law matters because it shows that reconciliation is not only about compensation or policy changes, it is also about respecting Indigenous legal traditions. When communities resolve disputes through their own practices, they reinforce cultural continuity and self-determination.

## Related Study Guides

- [12.3 Indigenous Rights Movements and Legal Battles](/history-canada-after-1867/unit-12/indigenous-rights-movements-legal-battles/study-guide/OqbhmW0uQ1Pos4R4)

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