Indigenous Rights Movements & the Law

"Drawing its title from the 1863 Federal Act that banished the Dakota people from their homelands, this remarkable debut collection reckons with the present-day repercussions of historical violence. Through an array of brief lyrics, visual forms, chronologies, and sequences, these virtuosic poems trace a path through the labyrinth of distances and absences haunting the American colonial experiment. Removal Acts takes its speaker's fraught methods of accessing the past as both subject and material: family photos, the fragile artifacts of primary documents, and the digital abyss of web browsers and word processors. Alongside studies of two of her Dakota ancestors, Lynch has assembled an intimate record of recovery from bulimia, insisting that self-erasure cannot be separated from the erasures of genocide. In these rigorous, scrutinizing examinations of "removal" in its many forms-as physical displacement, archival absence, Whiteness, and vomit-Lynch has crafted a harrowing portrait of the entwined relationship between the personal and historical. The result is a powerful affirmation of resilience and resolute presence in the face of eradication"--

"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.

Language is at the heart of Diné identity, carrying with it stories, traditions, and a worldview deeply rooted in the land and history of the Navajo people. As Diné poets, educators, and language advocates work to sustain Diné Bizaad, many are embracing poetry, playwriting, and performance as tools for preservation and revitalization.Aresta Tsosie-Paddock is Naakaii Dine’é and born for Bįįh Bitoodnii. Her cheii is Tł’ízíłání and her nálí is Kinyaa’áanii.

The Tohono O’odham language is at risk of disappearing, with far fewer people speaking it today. To help keep it alive, the Tohono O’odham Nation has opened the O’odham Ňi’okĭ Ki: Language Center, which offers classes and resources for learning the language. There have also been events put on by the community to discuss how to continue the language into the future. Efforts by educators, elders and the community continue to look for solutions to keep O’odham alive.

When forces unite with no care for the Constitution, the rule of law or anything you learned in civics class, you can end up with the entrenched overreach of the Plenary Power Doctrine.

On the heels of removing two diversity-related websites this week, the University of Arizona has deleted the phrase “committed to diversity and inclusion” from its widely used “land acknowledgement” statement.

In 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court made a decision to return more than 3 million acres of land in Oklahoma to the Muscogee (Creek) Nation. The case, McGirt v. Oklahoma, has been described as one of the most significant Native American-related rulings in 100 years.The returned acreage in Oklahoma, including part of the city of Tulsa, is now recognized as “Indian Country,” as defined by federal law.

"The groundbreaking Indigenous style guide every writer needs The first published guide to common questions and issues of Indigenous style and process for those who work in words and other media is back in an updated new edition. This trusted resource offers crucial guidance to anyone who works in words or other media on how to work accurately, collaboratively, and ethically on projects involving Indigenous Peoples. Editor Warren Cariou (Mtis) and contributing editors Jordan Abel (Nisga'a), Lorena Fontaine (Cree-Anishinaabe), and Deanna Reder (Cree-U+fffdMtis) continue the conversation started by the late Gregory Younging in his foundational first edition. This second conversation reflects changes in the publishing industry, Indigenous-led best practices, and society at large, including new chapters on author-editor relationships, identity and community affiliation, Two-Spirit and Indigiqueer identities, sensitivity reading, emerging issues in the digital world, and more. This guide features: Twenty-two succinct style principles; Advice on culturally appropriate publishing practices, including how to collaborate with Indigenous Peoples, when and how to seek the advice of Elders, and how to respect Indigenous Oral Traditions and Traditional Knowledge; Terminology to use and to avoid; Advice on specific editing issues, such as biased language, capitalization, citation, accurately representing Indigenous languages, and quoting from historical sources and archives; Examples of projects that illustrate best practices."--

All My Relations Podcast · Episode

5,053 likes, 23 comments - ndngirlsbookclub on March 14, 2025: "Indigenous women who published debut books in 2024-2025 ✨💫 mainly focused on poetry, because poetry is always underrated🤞 Native & indie booksellers we recommend: 🌵 Palabras Bookstore @palabras_bookstore 🪶Green Feather Books @greenfeatherbooks 💧 Birchbark Books @birchbark_books 🌙 Iron Dog Books @irondogbooks 🌹 Black Walnut Books @blackwalnutbooks 🐦 Quiet Quail Books @quietquailbooks 🧚‍♀️ Paperbacks n Frybread @paperbacks_n_frybread 🍓 Massy Books @massybooks 🌺 Native Books HI @nativebookshi 💫 Books & Burrow (KS) @booksandburrow #indigenouslit #nativelit #ndngirlsbookclub For our LA friends: AWP is at the end of the month, which brings writers from all over to one city. This year, it’s in Tovaangar/Los Angeles & many Native writers will be all in one place; we will be raising money for the Tongva Taraxat Paxaavxa Conservancy, which is restoring land damaged by the recent fires. We are very excited💗✨💫 tickets are at @juniorhighla 🔗".

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEMarch 19, 2025Contact: Nizhoni Begay, WPLC Communications, communications@waterprotectorlegal.org, (210) 324-3393Breaking – Verdict in Landmark SLAPP Case Against Greenpeace: Water Protector Legal Collective Continues the Call for Corporate Transparency and Accountability, and Respect for Indigenous SovereigntyMandan, ND – A North Dakota jury has ruled in favor of Energy Transfer, awarding the company hundreds of millions of dollars in damages in its lawsuit against Greenpea

4,196 likes, 34 comments - lakotalaw on March 13, 2025: "🚨 They’re banning history. Read it anyway. Books that share truths about Indigenous land and Native history are disappearing from U.S. schools and libraries as part of a nationwide ban on books. One banned book example: “An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States.” Ask yourself why. 💡 It’s not just about banning a few classics or a single book—it’s about erasing the real histories and controlling the narrative. 🚫 We created the Decolonized Reading List for 2025—a curated selection of 25 nonfiction books that challenge colonial myths and highlight movements of resistance, including Indigenous sovereignty, Black liberation, LGBTQ2S+ rights, abolition, and the fight for reparations. Read them. Share them. Pass them down. 📚 Explore the full Decolonized Reading from the link in our bio. 📢 Amplify your impact. Petition for truthful education in U.S. schools. 🔗 Teach Real History Link in Bio 👉🏾 For the most current information on book bans, follow @americanlibraryassociation #BannedBooks #DecolonizeYourBookshelf #IndigenousHistory #TeachRealHistory".

Tristan Ahtone of Grist magazine and K. Wayne Yang (a.k.a. la paperson) of the University of California San Diego will engage in an expansive dialogue on the...

TUCSON – Many members of Native American communities have ties to traditional culture, spirituality and values that have been passed down for thousands of years. So when a tribal member

The University of Arizona hosted a celebration for the 25th anniversary of UNESCO’s International Mother Language Day, showing Indigenous language preservation efforts. The event had language games, resources and discussions with educators and students working to revitalize Native languages like Tohono O’odham, Diné, Hopi and Yaqui.

Washington, D.C. – Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva today released a “friend of the court” brief in the Supreme Court’s Arizona v. United States case, which will decide the constitutionality of Arizona’s infamous SB 1070 law. The amicus curiae brief, co-signed by 67 of Rep. Grijalva’s House colleagues, argues that the law is unconstitutional because, as […]

House Committee on Natural Resources - Democrats

House Committee on Natural Resources - Democrats

TUCSON – Congressman Raúl M. Grijalva (D-AZ) released the following statement today in response to reports that tear gas, freezing water and rubber bullets were used Sunday night against a crowd of approximately 400 Water Protectors and demonstrators at the Dakota Access Pipeline. The altercation injured more than 150 demonstrators and one law enforcement officer. […]

Titles for H.R.3587 - 117th Congress (2021-2022): RESPECT Act

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 […]

WASHINGTON – Representative Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) today issued the following statement on President Biden’s decision to commute the life sentence of renowned Native American activist Leonard Peltier. Mr. Peltier will be able to serve the remainder of his sentence at home. “For too long, Mr. Peltier has been denied both justice and the pursuit […]

ASU Law Student Radio · Episode

Institutions across the U.S. returned more than 10,300 Native American ancestors to tribes in 2024, making it the third-biggest year for repatriation under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act.

On the test case that provoked the courts to decide whether the federal government had jurisdiction to exercise American criminal law over Native peoples on Native lands.

1,163 likes, 17 comments - lakotalaw on March 6, 2025: "Hundreds of supporters in Mesa, Arizona showed their support in a community vigil for Emily Pike, a 14-year-old girl from the San Carlos Apache Tribe in Arizona who was found in two separate trash bags on Feb. 14 near Globe, Arizona. She was identified last Friday and had ran away from a group home in Arizona. The perpetrators of the crime have not been apprehended. Shannon Bollinger, Navajo Nation, shares what brought her to show her support. #mmiw #mmip".

Native American activist moves to home imprisonment after Joe Biden commuted sentence at end of presidency

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 15, 2025 Belcourt, ND – To welcome Leonard Peltier back to his homelands after 49 years...