INDIAN RIGHTS IN THE U.S. ARISE from a foundation fashioned in the 19th Century. Much of that foundation remains sound today and should be retained, especially the "inherent tribal sovereignty" doctrine of Worcester v. Georgia (1833) and its "protectorate framework" for protecting Indian nations that exist in the Republic as "domestic dependant  nations."  However, other foundational principles are embarrassingly outmoded and make Indian rights vulnerable. Those include the doctrines of discovery, conquest, and of unlimited Congressional power in Indian Affairs, as well as engrained legal fictions that deem Indians racially and culturally inferior. Rights that spring from that dark w...

MANY IN INDIAN COUNTRY fail to see how international law can help solve tribal problems at home on Indian reservations. That is short-sighted.  By contrast, the leading Indian Country organizations fought hard for many years to develop the UNDRIP and obtain UN and US approval. Those advocates include the National Congress of American Indians, Native American Rights Fund, Indian Law Resource Center, Navajo Nation, Lummi Nation, Citizen Potawatomi Nation, and many others. They saw the need for the UNDRIP.

There is a need for the UNDRIP protections in the US, even though the UN standards arise from international sources.  International law has always been a major influence on federal India...

HELLO and WELCOME to my Blog! This is my first posting.  Through weekly postings, I hope to encourage dialogue on NATIVE AMERICAN LEGAL AND JUSTICE ISSUES. My Blog is not intended to provide legal advice to any person on any particullar issue (for that, please consult your attorney). Instead, I hope to bring public  awareness to Native American justice issues, and provide public education about the need to strengthen the rights of Indian tribes and Native American peoples.

We will begin next week with an extended discussion of the UNITED NATIONS DECLARATION ON THE RIGHTS OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES ("UNDRIP").  How many people have read the UNDRIP?

The UNDRIP sets minimum standards for prot...