Federal Indian Law & Tribal Law Research
- Welcome
- Getting Started with Online Databases & Research Guides
- Federal Primary Sources
- Tribal Primary Sources
- Secondary Sources: Databases, Select Treatises & Law Journals
- Nevada Tribal NationsToggle Dropdown
- Confederated Tribes of Goshute
- Duck Valley Shoshone-Paiute Tribes
- Duckwater Shoshone Tribe
- Ely Shoshone Tribe
- Fallon Paiute-Shoshone Tribe
- Fort McDermitt Paiute-Shoshone Tribe
- Fort Mojave Indian Tribe
- Las Vegas Paiute Tribe
- Lovelock Paiute Tribe
- Moapa Band of Paiutes
- Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe
- Reno-Sparks Indian Colony
- Summit Lake Paiute Tribe
- Te-Moak Tribe of Western Shoshone Indians of Nevada (Four Bands)
- Timbisha Shoshone Tribe
- Walker River Paiute Tribe
- Washoe Tribe of NV & CA
- Winnemucca Indian Colony
- Yerington Paiute Tribe
- Yomba Shoshone Tribe
- Nevada Tribal Organizations & Resources
- Additional Resources: Juvenile Justice, Indian Child Welfare, Indian Gaming & Current Events
- Student-Centered Resources
Federal Indian Law
Treaties from 1778 – 1845: United States Statutes at Large, Volume 7
- HeinOnline (paywall)Browse by Volume, Popular Name, Public Law Number, Indian Treaties, and/or Other Treaties.
- Library of Congress (free)The United States Statutes at Large is the collection of every law, public and private, ever enacted by the Congress, published in order of the date of its passage.
Treaties from 1778 – 1883: Kappler’s Indian Affairs: Law and Treaties, Volume 2
- GovInfo (free)Includes a summary, related documents, and the ability to download or share the content.
- HeinOnline (paywall)Includes the ability to download by section.
- Oklahoma State University (OSU) (free)Compiled and edited by Charles J. Kappler, this historically significant, seven volume compilation contains U.S. treaties, laws and executive orders pertaining to Native American Indian tribes.
- Oklahoma State University Libraries Tribal Treaties Database (free)Browse by treaties, tribes and/or index.
Additional Treaty Resources:
- HeinOnline (paywall)Search Indigenous Peoples Treaties by utilizing fields and/or browse by Tribe or Date.
- Lexis (paywall)Native American People Treaties, Ratified and Unratified Advanced Search
- National Archives and Records Administration American Indian Treaties (free)The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) houses original treaties made between the United States and American Indian nations.
Regulations:
Title 25 of the Code of Federal Regulations contains most of the regulations relating to Indians & Indian Tribes.
- Federal Register (free)On this website, documents published in the Federal Register displayed are using HTML display and hyper-text links to pertinent information referenced in Federal Register documents. Search bar in the middle allows limitation by Rule, Proposed Rule, Notice, or Presidential Document.
- Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (eCFR) (free)This governmental resource provides a way of exploring the Code of Federal Regulations as it exists today and at points in time dating back to January 2017.
- Office of Federal Acknowledgment (OFA)The acknowledgment process is the Department’s administrative process by which petitioning groups that meet the criteria are given Federal "acknowledgment" as Indian Tribes and by which they become eligible to receive services provided to members of Indian Tribes (within BIA).
- Interior Board of Indian Appeals: Finding IBIA DecisionsThis is an appellate review body that exercises the delegated authority of the Secretary of the Interior to issue final decisions for the Department of the Interior in appeals involving Indian matters (within DOI). Also includes a cumulative chronological index.
- Interior Board of Land Appeals (IBLA) (1970-present)This is an appellate review body that exercises the delegated authority of the Secretary of the Interior to issue final decisions for the Department of the Interior regarding minerals management on Indian lands (within DOI). Also includes a chronological index.
- Indian Claims Insight via ProQuest (paywall)Explains this one-of-a-kind research tool that provides researchers with the opportunity to understand and analyze Native American migration and resettlement throughout U.S. history, as well as federal government Indian removal policies and subsequent actions to address Native American claims (within DOI).
- Solicitor's Memorandum Opinions (1917-1974)Opinions of the Solicitor of the Department of the Interior Relating to Indian Affairs 1917-1974. Part of the Native American Constitution and Law Digitization Project by Project Coordinators David Selden (NILL) and Marilyn Nicely (OU).
- Solicitor's Memorandum Opinions (1993-present)The Office performs the legal work for the United States Department of the Interior, and manages the Departmental Ethics Office and Departmental FOIA Office (within DOI).
- Courts of Indian Offences (CFR Courts)These courts operate where Tribes retain jurisdiction over American Indians that is exclusive of state jurisdiction, but where Tribal courts have not been established to fully exercise that jurisdiction (within BIA).
Boyd School of Law's legal research databases, e.g., Westlaw and Lexis (links directly to Native American Law when signed in).
Statutes:
Title 25 of the United States Code contains most of the statutes relating to Indians & Indian Tribes.
- GovInfo (free)Open Search in the uppermost right-hand corner, for a simple or advanced search, refine further by options on the left-hand side OR use the Citation tab and Select Collection, United States Code, then Select Title Number, Title 25, Indians.
- Lexis (paywall)Link directly if signed in OR Home > Federal > United States Code Service > scroll down to Title 25. Indians.
- Westlaw (paywall)Link directly if signed in OR Home > Federal Materials > United States Code Annotated (USCA) > Ctrl-F Indians.
Legislative History:
- HeinOnline (paywall)Legislative histories recompiled for many federal Indian law statutes.
- ProQuest CongressionalIncludes the full text of public laws and congressional reports, hearings, and other federal legislative history materials from 1789 to the present.
- ProQuest Legislative InsightProvides access to federal legislative history documents: bills, committee reports, hearings, CRS reports, committee prints, Congressional Record, Presidential signing statements, and statutes.
- Office of Tribal Justice (OTJ)This office was initially formed in 1995 in response to requests from Tribal leaders for a dedicated point of contact for Indian country-specific legal and policy matters.
- Courts of Indian Offences (CFR Courts)These courts operate where Tribes retain jurisdiction over American Indians that is exclusive of state jurisdiction, but where Tribal courts have not been established to fully exercise that jurisdiction (within BIA).
- National Indian Law Library, Indian Law Reporter: Tribal Court Cases Index (1975 – 2013) (free)A topical index is available.
- HeinOnline (paywall)Full-text cases are available.
- Last Updated: Apr 23, 2025 1:30 PM
- URL: https://law-unlv.libguides.com/federal-indian-tribal-law
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