Among the Indians there have been no written laws. Customs handed down from generation to generation have been the only laws to guide them. Every one might act different from what was considered right did he choose to do so, but such acts would bring upon him the censure of the Nation…This fear of the Nation’s censure acted as a mighty band, binding all in one social, honorable compact.
– George Copway
The Traditional History and Characteristic Sketches of the Ojibway Nation, by George Copway, Ojibwe chief.