I'm not really sure where to categorize in lieu of my studies on The Constitution. This has so many ramifications considering Assembly and Grand Juriies and organic foundations of self-governance.
So.... History it is.

1941 movie production: Badlands of Dakota, ca. 1874

Monday, 13 Jan.
Finished a 13 hour day in the shop and turned on the TV for some distraction while getting cleaned up an making dinner. Grit has some interesting productions. This story focused on post-Civil War gold rush into the Dakotas, specifically Deadwood. I happened to be focusing on the flick when General George Custer requests Calamity Jane to assemble some of the "leading citizens" in lieu of an "attack on a Stage".
Indians or bandits? Jane isn't really sure. Custer declares: "These towns need to learn to protect themselves."
42:00 to 43:00 if interested

Next scene
Custer: I think the first step is to clean out the known outlaws and make the town safe within itself.
Citizen: We're with you on that General, but we haven't any legally recognized courts nor authority.
Custer: I'm Coming to that. I suggest you apply to the Federal government for papers of incorporation, but I don't see any reason why you can't go ahead and elect a Marshall here and now.



Why not the commonly accepted Apply for Statehood?