Indigenous History and Rights & Tribal Sovereignty

The Department of Justice has selected an additional 12 federally recognized Tribes to participate in the expansion of the Tribal Access Program for National Crime Information (TAP), a program that provides tribal governments with means to access, enter and exchange data with national crime information systems, including those maintained by the FBI Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) Division and the states.

Native American genealogy in Federal records depends primarily upon the use of records created by the Office of Indian Affairs (later renamed the Bureau of Indian Affairs). These records relate to tribes officially recognized by the United States, including the Five Civilized Tribes (Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek, and Seminoles) and other Native American nations involved in treaties or guardianship relationships with the Federal Government.

A blog post about how to research Native American settlement acts.

Links to high quality Internet sites on Native American people

The Law Library of Congress collection contains a variety of Indigenous legal materials from the United States and jurisdictions from around the world, including historical constitutions and charters.

Indian Law News Bulletins are a current awareness service of the National Indian Law Library. The purpose of the Indian Law Bulletins is to provide succinct and timely information about new developments in Indian Law. See the "about" page for each bulletin for specific information on monitoring, content selection criteria, and timeliness of publication.

The Indian and Native American Employment Rights Program (INAERP) advances awareness of employment rights and job opportunities for American Indians and Alaska Natives who work for or seek employment with companies doing business with the federal government. INAERP accomplishes this mission through compliance assistance and outreach to federal contractors and coordination with tribal representatives, community based organizations, apprenticeship programs, workforce development agencies, and other federal stakeholders. View INAERP Brochure

American Indian tribes and Alaska Native communities have a unique relationship to the U.S. federal government, and face distinctive socioeconomic challenges as a function of their history, as well as other contextual circumstances.

Learn about the treaties between Native American nations and the United States government.

The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, represented by Earthjustice from 2016 to 2022, sued the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for violating the National Historic

Search, browse and learn about the Federal Register. Federal Register 2.0 is the unofficial daily publication for rules, proposed rules, and notices of Federal agencies and organizations, as well as executive orders and other presidential documents.

Please note: Very few of these records have been digitized and made available online. Snippet [get-content name="historyhubnativeamericanrecords" include-tag="false" /] Among the billions of historical records housed at the National Archives throughout the country, researchers can find information relating to American Indians from as early as 1774 through the mid 1990s. The National Archives preserves and makes available the documents created by Federal agencies in the course of their daily business. Since the U.S.

The Water Protector Legal Collective is an Indigenous-led legal nonprofit that provides support and advocacy for Indigenous peoples and Original Nations, the Earth, and climate justice movements.

A milestone document in the history of human rights, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights set out, for the first time, fundamental human rights to be universally protected. It has been translated into over 500 languages.

Native Nations Law & Policy Center trains law students to provide support and legal services to American Indian tribes and their governmental institutions.

Protect Native American rights, resources, and lifeways.

The National Congress of American Indians, founded in 1944, is the oldest, largest and most representative American Indian and Alaska Native organization serving the broad interests of tribal governments and communities.

The International Indian Treaty Council (IITC) serves as an advocate for the human rights of Indigenous Peoples locally, nationally, and internationally.

The Center provides legal assistance to indigenous peoples of the Americas to combat racism and oppression, to protect their lands and environment, to protect their cultures and ways of life, to achieve sustainable economic development and genuine self-government, and to realize their other human rights. The Indian Law Resource Center seeks to overcome the grave problems that threaten Native peoples by advancing the rule of law, by establishing national and international legal standards that preserve their human rights and dignity, and by challenging the governments of the world to accord justice and equality before the law to all indigenous peoples of the Americas. The Indian Law Resource Center is a non-profit law and advocacy organization established and directed by American Indians. We provide legal assistance to Indian and Alaska Native nations who are working to protect their lands, resources, human rights, environment and cultural heritage. Our principal goal is the preservation and well-being of Indian and other Native nations and tribes. Founded in 1978, the Center provides assistance to Indian nations and indigenous peoples in the United States and throughout the Americas. The Center has an international Board of Directors, and is a Non-Governmental Organization in consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council. The Indian Law Resource Center is a tax-exempt organization under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. We are funded by grants and contributions from individuals, foundations, and Indian nations.

IDLE NO MORE CALLS ON ALL PEOPLE TO JOIN IN A PEACEFUL REVOLUTION To honour Indigenous sovereignty And to protect the land & water & sky

On July 7, 2022, North Dakota District Court Chief Judge Peter D. Welte issued an order denying the North Dakota Secretary of State’s motion to dismiss Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians, et al. v. Alvin Jaeger, which challenges the state’s new legislative map as violating Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act (VRA) by … Continued

Arizona, the home of twenty-two federally recognized tribes, is rich in the culture of indigenous peoples, and Arizona State University’s law school […]

This week we welcome back guest writer Tiffany Lo to talk about experiential learning in law school. Before I was in law school, I remember hearing about stories of law students making a difference in the world, whether through exonerating death row prisoners, assisting small businesses, or working on immigration and deportation cases. Inspired and motivated, { Continue Reading }

The American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

In the spirit of celebrating Indigenous peoples and their accomplishments on Indigenous Peoples’ Day — and every day — we want to highlight some of those voices who have had their works released this year.

The staff members of First Nations Development Institute have compiled a list of what they consider to be essential reading for anyone interested in the Native American experience. Certain entries on the list are boldfaced, indicating that the employees of First Nations consider them to be “a goo...

First Nations is pleased to announce its new Indigenous reading campaign called #NativeReads. #NativeReads will honor and celebrate Indigenous writers from a specific tribe or region. For more than 200 years, Native literatures have been shaped and influenced by individuals from outside our trib...

My Favorite Native American Podcasts – Updated 2021 O