Indigenous Rights Movements & the Law

Our Impact Report captures some of the highlights and significant achievements of our work, providing a glimpse into the comprehensive impact we are making. We are proud of the accomplishments featured, knowing they reflect only a portion of the full scope of our efforts.

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.

For decades, the ideas of equality, justice, and human rights have been the core pillars of Canada’s national identity. However, the reality embedded within our criminal justice system creates a significant obstacle to the actualization of those ideas. Overrepresentation of Indigenous and Black individuals in Canadian jails and prisons, and systemic racism in the criminal […]

The University of Arizona is the state’s only land-grant university and has served in that role since it opened its doors to students in 1891.

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

It's a tradition that has dated back centuries for Indigenous people, but for many non-Indigenous Canadians, officially recognizing the territory or lands we stand on is a fairly new concept that is a small but essential step towards reconciliation.

Many of the nation’s universities were created with stolen wealth.

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.

The ASU Library has crafted its first-ever Indigenous land acknowledgement — the beginning of a healing process and what many in the library see as a launch pad for deeper conversations about integrating and prioritizing Indigenous knowledge systems.

After hosting an Indigenous land acknowledgment event, we put together this written guide to based on our panelists' responses.

Work on a $10 billion project to funnel renewable energy across western states has come to a halt in southwestern Arizona.

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

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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 National Congress of American Indians - Defending Sovereignty since 1944

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.

Group takes steps to protect members after ‘traumatizing’ reports of people being stopped or detained by agents

Statements recognizing indigenous rights to territories seized by colonial powers may be well-meaning. But some indigenous leaders fear these acknowledgements may become routine and performative.

Danny Lopez spent over 30 years teaching the Tohono O'odham Nation's traditional way of life to its people and surrounding community.

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

A library book she found when she was 10 inspired Melanie McKay-Cody to pursue a career studying Native American sign languages. Now a researcher in the College of Education, she's one of the foremost experts at the intersection of Native and Deaf identity. She shares her story in this article and video.

Gov. Katie Hobbs said Wednesday she wants $7 million to speed up the repatriation of Native American human remains and artifacts.

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.

"Land Acknowledgements often begin academic conferences, cultural events, government press conferences, and even hockey games. They are supposed to be an act of Reconciliation between Indigenous people in Canada and non-Indigenous Canadians, but they have become so routine and formulaic that they have sometimes lost meaning. Seen more and more as empty words, some events have dropped Land Acknowledgements altogether. Me��tis artist and educator Suzanne Keeptwo wants to change that. She sees the Land Acknowledgement as an opportunity for Indigenous people in Canada to communicate their worldview to non-Indigenous Canadians--a worldview founded upon Age Old Wisdom about how to sustain the Land we all want to call home. For Keeptwo, the Land Acknowledgement is a way to teach and a way to learn: a living, evolving record of First Nation, Me��tis, and Inuit people in Canada and the Land that for millennia they held in pristine condition. As Keeptwo says: "Everything comes back to the Land--as our common denominator and most perfect unifier for Reconciliation." This is an indispensable guide to getting the contemporary Land Acknowledgement right."--