This case arises from three separate child custody proceedings governed by the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), a federal statute that aims to keep Indian children connected to Indian families. ICWA governs state court adoption and foster care proceedings involving Indian children. Among other things, the Act requires placement of an Indian child according to the Act’s hierarchical preferences, unless the state court finds “good cause” to depart from them. 25 U. S. C. §§1915(a), (b). Under those preferences, Indian families or institutions from any tribe (not just the tribe to which the child has a tie) outrank unrelated non-Indians or non-Indian institutions. Further, the child’s tribe may pass a resolution altering the prioritization order. §1915(c). The preferences of the Indian child or her parent generally cannot trump those set by statute or tribal resolution.
Dundon appeal | Water Protector Lega
Indigenous Peoples’ Day 2023: Recommended Reading
A selection of recent Just Security articles analyzing Indigenous issues at the intersection of law, policy, climate, justice, and more.
ARIZONA ET AL. v. NAVAJO NATION ET AL. CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT No. 21–1484. Argued March 20, 2023—Decided June 22, 2023*
HAALAND, SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR, ET AL. v. BRACKEEN ET AL. CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT No. 21–376. Argued November 9, 2022—Decided June 15, 2023*
MANDAN, HIDATSA AND ARIKARA NATION, APPELLEE v. UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, ET AL., APPELLEES STATE OF NORTH DAKOTA, APPELLANT
Arizona v. Navajo Nation
Last month, Tribal Justice Clinic Director Heather Whiteman Runs Him filed an amicus brief on behalf of 37 tribes in support of the Navajo Nation, which has been arguing for the right to draw water from the Colorado River. The case, Arizona v. Navajo Nation, pits the treaty rights of the largest Native American reservation in the United States against water rights claims by the state in which much of the reservation is located.
H.R.5444 - 117th Congress (2021-2022): Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies Act
Summary of H.R.5444 - 117th Congress (2021-2022): Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies Act
Treaty Rights, Land and Water Pollution, and Climate at Issue in Clearwater County Case
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Thursday, July 28th, 2022 Contact Natalie Cook 651-295-3483 Treaty Rights, Land and Water Pollution, and Climate at Issue in Clearwater County Case BAGLEY, MN – Today a Clearwater County Judge heard arguments with far-reaching implications for Indigenous treaty rights as they relate to extractive industry, land and water pollution, and climate change. In treaties with the United States, Anishinaabe peoples retained the right to engage in spiritual and cultural activities. I
Cert Petition for Penobscot Nation 4891-5332-9665
QUESTION PRESENTED
Whether the Maine Indian Settlement Acts—
consistent with this Court’s precedents on statutory interpretation and the Indian canons of construction— codify the historical understanding of the Penobscot,Nation, the United States, and the State that the Penobscot Reservation encompasses the Main Stem of the Penobscot River.
Native American Rights - Tribal Sovereignty, Treaty Rights, Reserved Rights Doctrine, Federal Power Over Native American Rights, Hunting And Fishing Rights
In the United States, persons of Native American descent occupy a unique legal position. On the one hand, they are U.S. citizens and are entitled to the same legal rights and protections under the Constitution that all other U.S. citizens enjoy. On the other hand, they are members of self-governing tribes whose existence far predates the arrival of Europeans on American shores. They are the descendants of peoples who had their own inherent rights—rights that required no validation or legitimation from the newcomers who found their way onto their soil.
Read more: Native American Rights - Tribal Sovereignty, Treaty Rights, Reserved Rights Doctrine, Federal Power Over Native American Rights, Hunting And Fishing Rights - JRank Articles https://law.jrank.org/pages/8754/Native-American-Rights.html#ixzz7vNsFDj9G
Colonization’s dark history puts heavy burden on tribes seeking repatriation of remains, objects
One of the criticisms of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act is that it puts a huge burden of proof on Tribes, which may not have access to the necessary records.
Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act: After Almost 20 Years, Key Federal Agencies Still Have Not Fully Complied with the Act
A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) required federal agencies and museums to (1) identify their Native American human remains and other objects, (2) try to culturally affiliate them with a present day Indian tribe or Native Hawaiian organization, and (3) repatriate them under the terms in the act. The National NAGPRA office, within the Department of the Interior's National Park Service (NPS), facilitates the government-wide implementation of NAGPRA. GAO was asked to determine, among other things, the (1) extent to which agencies have complied with their NAGPRA requirements, (2) actions taken by National NAGPRA, and (3) extent of repatriations reported by agencies. GAO reviewed records for eight key agencies with significant historical collections, surveyed agencies to obtain repatriation data, and interviewed agency, museum, and tribal officials."
Resume Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) Operations
Update in Indian Students’ Claims against BIE School at Havasupai
Here are the updated materials in Stephen C. v. Bureau of Indian Education (D. Ariz.): 128 Third Amended Complaint 182 BIE Motion for Partial Summary J 184 Plaintiffs Motion for Partial Summary J 1…
Montana Voting Rights (Western Native Voice v. Stapleton) - Native American Rights Fund
Tribes and Native voter organizations successfully argued that a new Montana law that restricted ballot collection made it prohibitively difficult for Native voters.
H.R.1884 - 117th Congress (2021-2022): Save Oak Flat Act
Summary of H.R.1884 - 117th Congress (2021-2022): Save Oak Flat Act
REPORT 2d Session 101-473 PROVIDING FOR THE PROTECTION OF NATIVE AMERICAN GRAVES AND THE REPATRIATION OF NATIVE AMERICAN REMAINS AND CULTURAL PATRIMONY - NPS.gov
The purpose of S. 1980 is to provide for the protection of Native American graves and the repatriation of Native American
remains and cultural patrimony.
H.R.5510 - 116th Congress (2019-2020): PAVA Program Inclusion Act
Summary of H.R.5510 - 116th Congress (2019-2020): PAVA Program Inclusion Act
H.R.5237 - 101st Congress (1989-1990): Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act
Summary of H.R.5237 - 101st Congress (1989-1990): Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act
25 USC Ch. 32: NATIVE AMERICAN GRAVES PROTECTION AND REPATRIATION
Supreme Court Rules That About Half Of Oklahoma Is Native American Land
"Today we are asked whether the land these treaties promised remains an Indian reservation. ... Because Congress has not said otherwise, we hold the government to its word," wrote Justice Gorsuch.
United States v. Cooley
Justices Rule Tribal Police Can Search Non-Natives on Reservation Roads
Territory of American Samoa v. National Marine Fisheries Service...
On Petition for Writ of Certiorari to the
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
United States v. Sioux Nation of Indians, 448 U.S. 371 (1980)
United States v. Sioux Nation of Indians
Sioux Tribe of Indians v. United States, 316 U.S. 317 (1942)
Sioux Tribe of Indians v. United States
18-9526 McGirt v. Oklahoma - SupremeCourt.org
The decision was 5-4, with Justices Gorsuch, Sonia Sotomayor, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Elena Kagan and Stephen Breyer in the majority, while Justices John Roberts, Brett Kavanaugh, Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas dissented.
Tribes exempt from pause in U.S. federal drilling program -official | Reuters
Native American tribes are exempt from the Biden administration's temporary suspension of U.S. oil and gas leasing and permitting on federal lands, a spokesman for the U.S. Department of Interior said on Monday.
Tribal Treaties Database
Complete Text of Indian Civil Rights Act
The Tribal Court Clearinghouse - Complete Text of Indian Civil Rights Act
Native American Issues Reservation Legal Process Tribal Law