Federal Indian Law & Tribal Law Research

The Indian Child Welfare Act Handbook is a one-of-a-kind guide to the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978. This guide examines case law from courts around the country -- it is an issue not confined to reservations and their border towns.

For the past 180 years, the inherent power of indigenous tribes to govern themselves has been a central tenet of federal Indian law. Despite the U.S. Supreme Court's repeated confirmation of Native sovereignty since the early 1830s, it has, in the past half-century, incrementally curtailed the power of tribes to govern non-Indians on Indian reservations. The result, Dewi Ioan Ball argues, has been a "silent revolution," mounted by particular justices so gradually and quietly that the significance of the Court's rulings has largely evaded public scrutiny.

This hornbook provides a knowledgeable overview of federal Indian law.

Winner of the Labriola Center American Indian National Book Award, it is aimed at the problem of violence against Native women head-on -- and ending it. This book collects and expands the writings in which Deer, who played a crucial role in the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act in 2013, has advocated for cultural and legal reforms to protect Native women from endemic sexual violence and abuse. Deer draws on her extensive experiences in advocacy and activism to present specific, practical recommendations and plans of action for making the world safer for all.

This is an easy-to-understand treatise on American Indian law.

This is an updated and revised edition of what has been referred to as the "bible" of federal Indian law.

Ezra Rosser explores the connection between land-use patterns and development in the Navajo Nation. Roughly the size of Ireland or West Virginia, the Navajo reservation has seen successive waves of natural resource-based development over the last century: grazing and over-grazing, oil and gas, uranium, and coal; yet Navajos continue to suffer from high levels of unemployment and poverty. Rosser shows the connection between the exploitation of these resources and the growth of the tribal government before turning to contemporary land use and development challenges.

Nearly every American Indian tribe has its own laws and courts. Taken together, these courts decide thousands of cases. American Indian Tribal Law, now in its Second Edition, surveys the full spectrum of tribal justice systems. With cases, notes, and historical context, this text is ideal for courses on American Indian Law or Tribal Governments--and an essential orientation to legal practice within tribal jurisdictions (new edition on its way to the library).

In clear and straightforward language, Justin B. Richland and Sarah Deer discuss the history and structure of tribal justice systems; the scope of criminal and civil jurisdictions; and the various means by which the integrity of tribal courts is maintained. This book is an indispensable resource for students, tribal leaders, and tribal communities interested in the complicated relationship between tribal, federal, and state law.

Tribal Justice provides an in-depth review and survey of tribal appellate court jurisprudence. The particular topics covered include enrollment and disenrollment, civil rights, elections and political participation, criminal law and procedure, rights of juveniles, tribal constitutions, and tradition and custom. It focuses on the procedure and substance of tribal court appellate decision making as revealed in the text of actual court opinions. The decisions and accompanying notes are further amplified by the development of a model of tribal court jurisprudence and a discussion of various theories of tribal court judging.

Tribal Criminal Law and Procedure examines complex Indian nations' tribal justice systems, analyzing tribal statutory law, tribal case law, and the cultural values of Native peoples. Using tribal court opinions and tribal codes, it reveals how tribal governments use a combination of oral and written law to dispense justice and strengthen their nations and people. Carrie E. Garrow and Sarah Deer discuss the histories, structures, and practices of tribal justice systems, comparisons of traditional tribal justice with American law and jurisdictions, elements of criminal law and procedure, and alternative sentencing and traditional sanctions. Published in cooperation with the Tribal Law and Policy Institute (visit them at www.tlpi.org).

A comprehensive approach addressing the affirmative and defensive aspects of tribal sovereignty involved in the governance of labor relations in Indian country.

Reproduced in this two-volume set are hundreds of treaties and agreements made by Indian nations--with, among others, the Continental Congress; England, Spain, and other foreign countries; the Republic of Texas and the Confederate States; railroad companies seeking rights-of-way across Indian land; and other Indian nations. Many were made with the United States but either remained unratified by Congress or were rejected by the Indians themselves after the Senate amended them. Many others are "agreements" made after U.S. treaty making with Indian tribes officially ended in 1871.