Indigenous Rights & Tribal Sovereignty

This site is a collaborative effort between three offices at the university dedicated to the advancement of Native faculty and students, and to respectful and ethical research and engagement with Native nations.

There's growing tension about the politics of territorial acknowledgements. Hayden King, an Anishinaabe writer and educator, spoke to Unreserved host Rosanna Deerchild about what they mean in today's political climate, and how they can be improved. Here's part of that conversation.

New statement honors valley’s original inhabitants, and recognizes their presence, spirit and history as being integral to UND

A list of allegedly fake Native Americans has begun circulating in tribal and academic circles, accusing 195 people of falsely claiming an Indian identity for personal gain.

Southern New England, today, is a de facto exception to much of U.S. Indian law and policy, with progress sustained by Indigenous peoples in the region at a bar

"An excellent resource for students of Native American women's history, Wilma Mankiller provides an overview of contemporary federal Indian policy and explores how Mankiller negotiated the relationship between the Cherokee Nation and the United States in the late 20th century"--

"The illuminating and deeply personal debut from Gabriela Maya Bernadett, Stories My Grandmother Told Me explores culture, race, and chosen family, set against the backdrop of the twentieth-century American Southwest. In a hilly Southern California suburb in the late twentieth century, Gabriela Maya Bernadett listens as her grandmother tells her a story. It's the true story of Esther Small, the great-granddaughter of slaves, who became one of the few Black students to graduate from NYU in the 1940s. Having grown up in Harlem, Esther couldn't imagine a better place to live; especially not somewhere in the American Southwest. But when she learns of a job teaching Native American children on a reservation, Esther decides to take a chance. She soon finds herself on a train to Fort Yuma, Arizona; unaware that each year, the Bureau of Indian Affairs kidnaps the native Tohono O'odham children from the reservation and forces them to be educated in the 'ways of the White man.' It doesn't take long for Esther to notice how Fort Yuma parallels her own grandmother's story as a slave in the South--the native children, constantly belittled by teachers and peers, are forced to perform manual labor for local farmers. One of two Black people in Fort Yuma, Esther feels isolated, never sure where she belongs in a community deeply divided between the White people and the Tohono O'odhams. John, the school bus driver and Tohono O'odham tribe member, is one of the only people she connects with. Friendship slowly grows into love, and together, Esther and John navigate a changing America. Seamlessly weaving in the present day with the past, Stories My Grandmother Told Me blends a woman's memory of her life, and that woman's granddaughter's memories of how she heard these stories growing up. Bernadett's captivating narrative explores themes of identity, tradition, and belonging, showing what it really means to exist in a multicultural America."--

"Examines the McGirt v. Oklahoma case from historical and legal perspectives, placing the case within the historical context from which it derived, the legal context that took the case to the Supreme Court, and the legal and political implications of the decision."

"This work provides an essential national-level look at an intriguing and impactful form of Indigenous resistance. It describes, in great detail, the continuing assaults made on Native peoples and tribal sovereignty in the United States during the twenty-first century, and it sketches the visions of the future that Indians at the BIA and in Indian Country have been crafting for themselves"--

"The first collection of its kind, this anthology by members of the Mohawk Warrior Society uncovers a hidden history and paints a bold portrait of the spectacular experience of Kanien'keh:ka survival and self-defense. Providing extensive documentation, context, and analysis, the book features foundational writings by prolific visual artist and polemicist Karoniaktajeh Louis Hall (1918-1993)--such as his landmark 1979 pamphlet, The Warrior's Handbook, as well as selections of his pioneering artwork. This book contains new oral history by key figures of the Rotisken'rhakhte's revival in the 1970s, and tells the story of the Warriors' famous flag, their armed occupation of Ganienkeh in 1974, and the role of their constitution, the Great Peace, in guiding their commitment to freedom and independence. We hear directly the story of how the Kanien'keh:ka Longhouse became one the most militant resistance groups in North America, gaining international attention with the Oka Crisis of 1990. This auto-history of the Rotisken'rhakhte is complemented by a Mohawk history timeline from colonization to the present, a glossary of Mohawk political philosophy, and new maps in the Kanien'kha language. At last, the Mohawk Warriors can tell their own story with their own voices, and to serve as an example and inspiration for future generations struggling against the environmental, cultural, and social devastation cast upon the modern world."--

A unique autobiography unparalleled in American Indian literature, and a deeply moving account of a woman's triumphant struggle to survive in a hostile world. This is the powerful autobiography of Mary Brave Bird, who grew up in the misery of a South Dakota reservation. Rebelling against the violence and hopelessness of reservation life, she joined the tribal pride movement in an effort to bring about much-needed changes.

"Can the specific concerns of Indigenous women be addressed within current mainstream feminist and post-colonial discussions? Indigenous Women and Feminism: Politics, Activism, Culture proposes that a dynamic new line of inquiry -- Indigenous feminism -- is necessary to truly engage with the crucial issues of cultural identity, nationalism, and decolonization particular to Indigenous contexts;Through the lenses of politics, activism, and culture, this wide-ranging collection examines the historical roles of Indigenous women, their intellectual and activist work, and the relevance of contemporary literature, art, and performance for an emerging Indigenous feminist project. The questions at the heart of these essays -- What is at stake in conceptualizing Indigenous feminism? How does feminism relate to Indigenous claims to land and sovereignty? What lessons can we learn from the past? How do Indigenous women engage ongoing violence and social and political marginalization? -- cross disciplinary, national, academic, and activist boundaries to explore in depth the unique political and social positions of Indigenous women;A vital and sophisticated discussion that will change the way we think about modern feminism, Indigenous Women and Feminism will be invaluable to scholars, activists, artists, community organizers, and those concerned with Indigenous and feminist issues at home and abroad."--Pub. desc

"Despite what major media sources say, violence against Native women is not an epidemic. An epidemic is biological and blameless. Violence against Native women is historical and political, bounded by oppression and colonial violence. This book, like all of Sarah Deer's work, is aimed at engaging the problem head-on--and ending it. The Beginning and End of Rape collects and expands the powerful 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 provides a clear historical overview of rape and sex trafficking in North America, paying particular attention to the gendered legacy of colonialism in tribal nations--a truth largely overlooked or minimized by Native and non-Native observers. She faces this legacy directly, articulating strategies for Native communities and tribal nations seeking redress. In a damning critique of federal law that has accommodated rape by destroying tribal legal systems, she describes how tribal self-determination efforts of the twenty-first century can be leveraged to eradicate violence against women. Her work bridges the gap between Indian law and feminist thinking by explaining how intersectional approaches are vital to addressing the rape of Native women. Grounded in historical, cultural, and legal realities, both Native and non-Native, these essays point to the possibility of actual and positive change in a world where Native women are systematically undervalued, left unprotected, and hurt. 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."--

Diné bi Naltsoos

American Indian people know all too well the impact of pandemics on human populations, having barely survived smallpox outbreaks and other diseases tr

On March 30, 2020, the New Mexico Governor, Michelle Lujan Grisham, informed the US President Donald Trump of the “incredible spikes” in cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) within the Navajo Nation in the rural Four Corners region of the American Southwest.

UArizona Health Sciences shipped 250 COVID-19 sample collection kits to the Navajo Nation in Window Rock, which has been particularly hard hit by the new coronavirus.

Experts at the Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development look at COVID-19’s economic impact on Native American communities across the U.S.

Misclassification raises fears of hidden health emergencies in one of the country’s most vulnerable populations

At the U.N. Water Development Conference, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland delivered the U.S. statement and called for Indigenous governance of shared waters, underscoring the importance of Indigenous-led conservation in addressing the climate and drought crises. This comes after the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments last Monday on whether to allow the Navajo Nation to argue the federal government must address the Native American tribe’s water rights. For more, we are joined in Fort Defiance, Arizona, by Crystal Tulley-Cordova, principal hydrologist for the Navajo Nation Department of Water Resources, water management branch, covering 27,000 square miles of reservation land that straddles New Mexico, Arizona and Utah, much of which borders the Colorado River. She talks about what must be done to address the ongoing lack of access to water there now as the west battles a historic drought.

We feature interviews, talks, and short audio documentaries about politics, culture, and history from an Indigenous left perspective. The Red Nation podcast is co-hosted by Nick Estes and Jen Marley with help from our friend and comrade Sina. Email: rednationpodcast@gmail.com For more information about the Red Nation visit: therednation.org. https://www.patreon.com/redmediapr

The FBI said these rehab groups are not giving the proper care promised to patients and are still receiving federal funds.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden said Tuesday he is establishing national monuments on more than half a million acres in Nevada and Texas and creating a marine sanctuary in U.S. waters near the Pacific Remote Islands southwest of Hawaii.

The US Forest Service is expected to re-issue a key …

What water the United States owes the Navajo Nation under the 1868 Treaty of Bosque Redondo formed the crux of the argument in Arizona v. Navajo Nation. The treaty, known by the Navajo people as the Naal Tsoos Sani, or the Old Paper, established the Navajo Reservation as a “permanent home” for the N

Disproportionate violence against Indigenous persons in Canada includes uncounted disappearances of Indigenous children, women, and men. Canada’s decades of failure to prevent and halt disappearances forms part of a long litany of grave international human rights violations against Indigenous Peoples. Continued reports of officially hushed-up violence lead to increasingly clarion allegations of genocide. An unknown […]

The tribe says an 1868 treaty means the federal government has a duty to ensure its people have sufficient water on a reservation where thousands do not have running water.

The U.S. Supreme Court will soon decide a critical water rights case in the arid Southwest.