"To be Native American is to live in a world of contradictions. At the same time that the number of people in the U.S. who claim Native identity has exploded -- increasing 85 percent in just ten years -- the number of people formally enrolled in Tribes has not. While the federal government recognizes Tribal sovereignty, being a member of a Tribe requires navigating blood quantum laws and rolls that the federal government created with the intention of wiping out Native people altogether. Over two million Native people are Tribally enrolled, yet there are Native people who will never be. Native people who, for a variety of reasons ranging from displacement to disconnection, cannot be card-carrying members of their Tribe. Carrie Lowry Schuettpelz grapples with these contradictions. Through in-depth interviews, she shares the stories of people caught in the mire of identity formation, trying to define themselves outside of bureaucratic processes. With archival research, she pieces together the history of blood quantum and tribal rolls and federal government intrusion on Native identity-making. Reckoning with her own identity -- her own story of enrollment and the enrollment of her children -- she investigates the cultural, racial, and political dynamics of today's Tribal identity policing. She faces the question that many Native people do: Who is Indian enough?" --

Tribes that rely on the Colorado River — and the complex set of rules that govern it — are worried as the Donald Trump administration takes actions affecting their access to water.

House Committee on Natural Resources - Democrats

Expressing support for the designation of May 5, 2023, as the ‘‘National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls’’.

Washington, D.C. – House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) today sent a letter to U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack urging him to withhold publication of a Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) on proposed copper mining operations in Arizona’s Tonto National Forest. These mining operations threaten to violate religious freedoms […]

For Indian Tribes, there is great trepidation about the coming era.

Analysis of Trump’s 2025 executive orders and their impacts on tribal entities, from tax status and energy policy to federal recognition and contracting opportunities

Welcome to The Tribal Court Clearinghouse

Tribal and CFR Courts There are approximately 400 Tribal justice systems throughout the Nation. These courts are partially funded through Public Law 638 Tribal Priority Allocations (TPA). Tribal sovereignty is protected throughout the Tribal justice system or through a traditional court.

The Tribal Law and Policy Institute is proud to offer free copies of our publications, work product created through various grants and partnerships since 1996.

At least 15 Indigenous people in Arizona and New Mexico have reported being stopped at their homes and workplaces, questioned or detained by federal law enforcement and asked to produce proof of citizenship during immigration raids since Wednesday, according to Navajo Nation officials.

Learn about the University of Arizona's Land Acknowledgment honoring 22 Indigenous tribes, including the O’odham and Yaqui, and its commitment to diversity.

The statement was assembled in consultation with leaders of the Tohono O'odham Nation and the Pascua Yaqui Tribe and with Native American scholars at the university.

Native American news, information and entertainment.

Deb Haaland, the country's first indigenous cabinet secretary, used her term at the Interior Department to make what activists say is irreversible impact in recognizing the painful history of the government's treatment Native Americans

Nationwide, nearly 17,000 homes on tribal lands still need electricity hook-ups. A majority are spread across the Navajo Nation, where climate change is making it harder for families to keep cool. A mutual aid program, however, has helped to change lives.

Nationwide, nearly 17,000 homes on tribal lands still need electricity hook-ups. A majority of them are spread across the Navajo Nation, where climate change is making it harder for families to keep cool. In recent years, however, a mutual aid program has been helping change lives.

The word "squaw" was declared derogatory by the Department of Interior in 2021. Since then, hundreds of geographic features have been renamed with input from local tribes and Indigenous communities.

The University of Arizona (“University”) values its relationship with sovereign Indian Tribes and is committed to honoring the fundamental principles of tribal consultation (“Consultation”) and respect required by the Arizona Board of Regents Tribal Consultation Policy (ABOR 1-118). The purpose of the Tribal Consultation Policy is to provide a framework for the University to preserve a foundation of respect and to acknowledge the cultures, traditions, beliefs, governance processes, laws, codes, regulations, and protocols of sovereign Indian Tribes, while maintaining compliance with federal, state, and local laws.

The Minnesota Historical Society is posting old issues of Native newspapers online so that more people can have a chance to access this history.

Firm moves ore through land without telling tribal leaders as mine resurfaces painful legacy of nuclear development

The Navajo Nation has temporarily banned any transport of uranium and other radioactive material over its land without an explicit approval. The executive order issued by Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren will be in effect for at least the next six months. Earlier this week, Navajo police attempted to stop two trucks carrying uranium ore across the reservation from an Arizona mine to a Utah processing mill. Nygren said Energy Fuels Inc., which owns the mine and processing mill, did not provide any notice that the trucks would be crossing through Navajo Nation. Nygren said in a statement, “We’re taking this stance of interpreting and executing the law to ensure the safety of our people and respect for Navajo sovereignty.”

Wisconsin is home to 12 tribal nations, each with its own unique history, culture, and government. As sovereign entities, these nations have the inherent right to create, enforce, and adjudicate laws to protect and enhance …

In the United States, the Constitution recognizes three types of sovereigns: federal, state, and tribal. Each of these sovereign entities possesses the inherent

Native communities see clean energy as a way to remedy some of the abuses depicted in the new Martin Scorsese film, "Killers of the Flower Moon."

Numerous advocates have asked universities built on tribal lands to make amends.