Legal treatises (aka books) come in a variety of forms with a variety of purposes. Scholarly treatises have comprehensive coverage of specific subjects that both methodically outlines the basic aspects of a legal doctrine and dives into the specifics of the topic in a way only the length of a treatise allows. Similarly, Hornbooks are written for a student audience and provide value for those seeking an overview of a doctrine. Conversely, practitioners' handbooks and manuals provide real-time and practical guidance for lawyers operating in an area of law. Books hold immense knowledge and serve as the bedrock of good legal research. If you need to understand a subject, deep dive into a topic, or explore ideas, start with a treatise.
Cohen, Felix S. Cohen’s Handbook of Federal Indian Law. 2012 ed. San Francisco, Calif: LexisNexis, 2012. Print.
Description: Cohen's Handbook of Federal Indian Law is an encyclopedic treatise written by experts in the field, and provides general overviews to relevant information as well as in-depth study of specific areas within this complex area of federal law. This is an updated and revised edition of what has been referred to as the "bible" of federal Indian law. This publication focuses on the relationship between tribes, the states and the federal government within the context of civil and criminal jurisdiction, as well as areas of resource management and government structure. --From Publisher's Website
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Pevar, Stephen L., The Rights of Indians and Tribes (4th ed. 2012)
Description: "Federal Indian Law encompasses nearly 400 Indian treaties, hundreds of federal statutes, and thousands of court decisions. When the first edition of The Rights of Indians and Tribes was published in 1983, it firmly established itself as the only book explaining Federal Indian Law in a clear and easy-to-understand way for students and practitioners of Indian law, tribal advocates, government officials, and the general public. Numerous tribal leaders highly recommend this book. Incorporating a user-friendly question-and-answer format, veteran legal counsel Stephen Pevar addresses the most significant legal issues facing Indians and Indian tribes, including tribal sovereignty, the federal trust responsibility, the regulation of non-Indians on reservations, Indian treaties, the Indian Civil Rights Act, the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, and the Indian Child Welfare Act. This fully updated new edition includes a wealth of new information on recent legislation and judicial decisions, and it also features an introduction by John Echohawk, Executive Director of the Native American Rights Fund"
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Duthu, N. Bruce., American Indians and the Law (2008)
Description: Few Americans know that Indian tribes have a legal status unique among America's distinct racial and ethnic groups: they are sovereign governments who engage in relations with Congress. This peculiar arrangement has led to frequent legal and political disputes-indeed, the history of American Indians and American law has been one of clashing values and sometimes uneasy compromise. In this clear-sighted account, American Indian scholar N. Bruce Duthu explains the landmark cases in Indian law of the past two centuries. Exploring subjects as diverse as jurisdictional authority, control of environmental resources, and the regulations that allow the operation of gambling casinos, American Indians and the Law gives us an accessible entry point into a vital facet of Indian history.
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Cases and Materials on Federal Indian Law (7th ed. 2017)
Description: "This federal Indian law casebook has an unprecedented focus on Native nation-building, including cutting-edge materials on tribal economies and tribal justice systems unavailable elsewhere. The seventh edition retains classic material on the history of federal Indian law and policy, including the medieval origins of the "doctrine of discovery," and the shifting eras of Indian law leading to the current nation-building era. The book covers the federal tribal relationship; tribal sovereignty and jurisdiction; Indian religion and culture; water rights; treaty rights; rights of Alaska natives and native Hawaiians; and international legal perspectives"--Publisher's website.
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Case, David S.; Voluck, David A., Alaska Natives and American Laws (3rd 2012)
Description: Now in its third edition, Alaska Natives and American Laws is still the only work of its kind, canvassing federal law and its history as applied to the indigenous peoples of Alaska. Covering 1867 through 2011, the authors offer lucid explanations of the often-tangled history of policy and law as applied to Alaska’s first peoples. Divided conceptually into four broad themes of indigenous rights to land, subsistence, services, and sovereignty, the book offers a thorough and balanced analysis of the evolution of these rights in the forty-ninth state. This third edition brings the volume fully up to date, with consideration of the broader evolution of indigenous rights in international law and recent developments on the ground in Alaska.
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Goldberg, Carole E.; Washburn, Kevin,; Frickey, Philip P., Indian Law Stories, 1953-2010 (2011)
Description: This book covers the often complex and unfamiliar doctrine of federal Indian law, exposing the raw conflicts over sovereignty and property that have shaped legal rulings. Fifteen distinguished authors describe gripping cases involving Indian nations over more than two centuries, each story emphasizing initiative in tribal communities and lawyering strategies that have determined the fate of nations.
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D'Errico, Peter P., Federal anti-Indian Law: the Legal Entrapment of Indigenous Peoples (2022)
Description: In this wide-ranging historical study of federal Indian law-the field of U.S. law related to Native peoples-attorney and educator Peter P. d'Errico argues that the U.S. government's assertion of absolute prerogative and unlimited authority over Native peoples and their lands is actually a suspension of law.
Combining a deep theoretical analysis of the law with a historical examination of its roots in Christian civilization, d'Errico presents a close reading of foundational legal cases and raises the possibility of revoking the doctrine of domination. The book's larger context is the increasing frequency of Indigenous conflicts with nation-states around the world as ecological crises caused by industrial extraction impinge drastically on Indigenous peoples' existences. D'Errico's goal is to rethink the role of law in the global order-to imagine an Indigenous nomos of the earth, an order arising from peoples and places rather than the existing hegemony of states.
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Light, Steven Andrew.; Kathryn R. L., Indian Gaming & Tribal Sovereignty: the Casino Compromise (2005)
Description: From Connecticut to California, Native American tribes have entered the gambling business, some making money and nearly all igniting controversy. The image of the "casino Indian" is everywhere. Some observers suspect corruption or criminal ties, or have doubts about tribal authenticity. Many tribes disagree, contending that Indian gaming has strengthened tribal governments and vastly improved the quality of reservation life for American Indians.
This book provides the clearest and most complete account to date of the laws and politics of Indian gaming. Steven Light and Kathryn Rand explain how it has become one of today's most politically charged phenomena: at stake are a host of competing legal rights and political interests for tribal, state, and federal governments. As Indian gaming grows, policymakers struggle with balancing its economic and social costs and benefits.
Light and Rand emphasize that tribal sovereignty is the very rationale that allows Indian gaming to exist, even though U.S. law subjects that sovereignty to strict congressional authority and compromised it even further through the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988. Their book describes Indian gaming and explores today's hottest political issues, from the Pequots to the Plains Indians, with examples that reflect a wide range of tribal experience: from hugely successful casinos to gambling halls with small markets and low grosses to tribes that chose not to pursue gaming. Throughout, they contend that tribal sovereignty is the key to understanding Indian gaming law and politics and guiding policy reform--and that Indian gaming even represents a unique opportunity for the emergence of tribal self-determination.
As political pressure on tribes to concede to state interests grows, this book offers a practical approach to policy reform with specific recommendations for tribal, federal, state, and local policymakers. Meticulously argued, Indian Gaming and Tribal Sovereignty provides an authoritative look at one of today's most vexing issues, showing that it's possible to establish a level playing field for all concerned while recognizing the measure of sovereignty--and fairness--to which American Indians are entitled.
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Casselman, Amy L., Injustice in Indian Country: Jurisdiction, American Law, and Sexual Violence against Native Women (2016)
Description: Living at the intersection of multiple identities in the United States can be dangerous. This is especially true for Native women who live on the more than 56 million acres that comprise America’s Indian Country – the legal term for American Indian reservations and other land held in trust for Native people.
Today, due to a complicated system of criminal jurisdiction, non-Native Americans can commit crimes against American Indians in much of Indian Country with virtual impunity. This has created what some call a modern day «hunting ground» in which Native women are specifically targeted by non-Native men for sexual violence.
In this urgent and timely book, author Amy L. Casselman exposes the shameful truth of how the American government has systematically divested Native nations of the basic right to protect the people in their own communities. A problem over 200 years in the making, Casselman highlights race and gender in federal law to challenge the argument that violence against Native women in Indian country is simply collateral damage from a complex but necessary legal structure. Instead, she demonstrates that what’s happening in Indian country is part of a violent colonial legacy – one that has always relied on legal and sexual violence to disempower Native communities as a whole.
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Center for the Study of the Pacific Northwest, Reclaiming the Reservation: Histories of Indian Sovereignty Suppressed and Renewed (2019)
Description: In the 1970s the Quinault and Suquamish, like dozens of Indigenous nations across the United States, asserted their sovereignty by applying their laws to everyone on their reservations. This included arresting non-Indians for minor offenses, and two of those arrests triggered federal litigation that had big implications for Indian tribes' place in the American political system. Tribal governments had long sought to manage affairs in their territories, and their bid for all-inclusive reservation jurisdiction was an important, bold move, driven by deeply rooted local histories as well as pan-Indian activism. They believed federal law supported their case.
In a 1978 decision that reverberated across Indian country and beyond, the Supreme Court struck a blow to their efforts by ruling in Oliphant v. Suquamish Indian Tribe that non-Indians were not subject to tribal prosecution for criminal offenses. The court cited two centuries of US legal history to justify their decision but relied solely on the interpretations of non-Indians.
In Reclaiming the Reservation, Alexandra Harmon delves into Quinault, Suquamish, and pan-tribal histories to illuminate the roots of Indians' claim of regulatory power in their reserved homelands. She considers the promises and perils of relying on the US legal system to address the damage caused by colonial dispossession. She also shows how tribes have responded since 1978, seeking and often finding new ways to protect their interests and assert their sovereignty.
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Lemont, Eric D., American Indian Constitutional Reform and the Rebuilding of Native Nations (2006)
Description: Since 1975, when the U.S. government adopted a policy of self-determination for American Indian nations, a large number of the 562 federally recognized nations have seized the opportunity to govern themselves and determine their own economic, political, and cultural futures. As a first and crucial step in this process, many nations are revising constitutions originally developed by the U.S. government to create governmental structures more attuned to native people's unique cultural and political values. These new constitutions and the governing institutions they create are fostering greater governmental stability and accountability, increasing citizen support of government, and providing a firmer foundation for economic and political development.
This book brings together for the first time the writings of tribal reform leaders, academics, and legal practitioners to offer a comprehensive overview of American Indian nations' constitutional reform processes and the rebuilding of native nations. The book is organized in three sections. The first part investigates the historical, cultural, economic, and political motivations behind American Indian nations' recent reform efforts. The second part examines the most significant areas of reform, including criteria for tribal membership/citizenship and the reform of governmental institutions. The book concludes with a discussion of how American Indian nations are navigating the process of reform, including overcoming the politics of reform, maximizing citizen participation, and developing short-term and long-term programs of civic education.
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Fletcher, Mather L.M., Principles of Federal Indian Law (2017)
Description: Fletcher’s Principles of Federal Indian Law covers the basics of federal Indian law, the relationships between tribal, state, and federal sovereigns, also touching on federalism, agency law, civil rights, and criminal jurisdiction aspects of Indian law. This concise hornbook offers comprehensive coverage of the blackletter law, with statutory, regulatory, and historical context. The origins behind important doctrines of Indian law and critical statutes are explored in detail. This book is a useful introduction to the field for both students and practitioners.
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Ball, Dewi Loan, The Erosion of Tribal Power: The Supreme Court's Silent Revolution (2016)
Description: For the past 180 years, the inherent power of indigenous tribes to govern themselves has been a central tenet of federal Indian law. Despite the U.S. Supreme Court's repeated confirmation of Native sovereignty since the early 1830s, it has, in the past half-century, incrementally curtailed the power of tribes to govern non-Indians on Indian reservations. The result, Dewi Ioan Ball argues, has been a "silent revolution," mounted by particular justices so gradually and quietly that the significance of the Court's rulings has largely evaded public scrutiny.
Ball begins his examination of the erosion of tribal sovereignty by reviewing the so-called Marshall trilogy, the three cases that established two fundamental principles: tribal sovereignty and the power of Congress to protect Indian tribes from the encroachment of state law. Neither the Supreme Court nor Congress has remained faithful to these principles, Ball shows. Beginning with Williams v. Lee, a 1959 case that highlighted the tenuous position of Native legal authority over reservation lands and their residents, Ball analyzes multiple key cases, demonstrating how the Supreme Court's decisions weakened the criminal, civil, and taxation authority of tribal nations. During an era when many tribes were strengthening their economies and preserving their cultural identities, the high court was undermining sovereignty. In Atkinson Trading Co. v. Shirley (2001) and Nevada v. Hicks (2001), for example, the Court all but obliterated tribal authority over non-Indians on Native land.
By drawing on the private papers of Chief Justice Earl Warren and Justices Harry A. Blackmun, William J. Brennan, Thurgood Marshall, William O. Douglas, Lewis F. Powell Jr., and Hugo L. Black, Ball offers crucial insight into federal Indian law from the perspective of the justices themselves. The Erosion of Tribal Power shines much-needed light on crucial changes to federal Indian law between 1959 and 2001 and discusses how tribes have dealt with the political and economic consequences of the Court's decisions.
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National Indian Law Library, Landmark Indian Law Cases (2nd ed. 2022)
Descriptions: Landmark Indian Law Cases focuses on a core set of Indian law cases from the U.S. Supreme Court that provide the legal framework for fundamental Indian law topics. Spanning nearly two centuries, U.S. Supreme Court jurisprudence is expansive, and it is helpful for both those working in the field and those interested in learning about it to have a book that narrows down the landmark cases and explains their importance. This latest edition includes several changes and improvements. First, this edition adds five cases that were either decided or gained elevated significance in the twenty years since the last edition. Five cases whose prominence have waned are no longer included in this edition. Finally, for each case a summary has been added to explain why it is a landmark Indian law case and the key holding(s) of the decision. Westlaw Headnotes are included with the opinion in each case, while the Subject Index of Cases allows readers to immediately identify the landmark case in a specific area of federal Indian law. Additionally, notes within the book indicate the cases for which pleadings are available from the National Indian Law Library.
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Hart, E. Richard, American Indian History on Trial: Historical Expertise in Tribal Litigation
Description: Drawing from forty-five years of experience, E. Richard Hart elucidates the use of history as expert testimony in American Indian tribal litigation. Such lawsuits deal with the aboriginal territory; hunting, fishing, and plant gathering rights; reservation boundaries; water rights; federal recognition; and other questions that have a historical basis. The methodology necessary to assemble successful expert testimony for tribes is complex and demanding and the legal cases have serious implications for many thousands of people, perhaps for generations.
Hart, a historian who has testified in cases that have resulted in roughly a billion dollars in judgments, uses specific cases to explain at length what kind of historical research and documentation is necessary for tribes seeking to protect and claim their rights under United States law. He demonstrates the legal questions that Native Americans face by exploring the cultural history and legal struggles of six Indian nations. He recounts how these were addressed by expert testimony grounded in thorough historical understanding, research, and argumentation. The case studies focus on the Wenatchi, Coeur d'Alene, Hualapai, Amah Mutsun, Klamath, and Zuni peoples but address issues relevant to many American tribes.
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Price, Monroe E., Clinton, Robert N., Law and the American Indian: Readings, Notes, and Cases (1983)
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Washington State Bar Association, Continuing Legal Education Committee.; Washington State Bar Association. Indian Law Section.; Schlosser, Thomas P. Law in Indian Country (2000)
William C. Canby, American Indian Law in a Nutshell (7th ed. 2020)
Description: "This guide provides a reliable resource on American Indian law. Its authoritative text covers the essentials of this complex body of law, with attention to the governmental policies underlying it. The work emphasizes both the historical development of Federal Indian Law and recent matters such as the evolution of Indian gaming, issues arising under the Indian Child Welfare Act, and the present enforcement of treaty rights. It addresses the policy and law applicable to Alaska Natives, but does not deal with Native Hawai'ians."--Publisher's website.
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Conference of Western Attorneys General, American Indian Law Deskbook (2014-)
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Cohen, Felix S., 1907-1953.; Newton, Nell Jessup, Cases and materials on federal Indian law editor (2012)
Description: "This federal Indian law casebook has an unprecedented focus on Native nation-building, including cutting-edge materials on tribal economies and tribal justice systems unavailable elsewhere. The seventh edition retains classic material on the history of federal Indian law and policy, including the medieval origins of the "doctrine of discovery," and the shifting eras of Indian law leading to the current nation-building era. The book covers the federal tribal relationship; tribal sovereignty and jurisdiction; Indian religion and culture; water rights; treaty rights; rights of Alaska natives and native Hawaiians; and international legal perspectives"--Publisher's website.
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EagleWoman, Angelique Townsend., Mastering American Indian Law (2013)
Description: Mastering American Indian Law is a text designed to provide readers with an overview of the field. By framing the important eras of U.S. Indian policy in the Introductory Chapter, the text flows through historical up to contemporary developments in American Indian Law. This book will serve as a useful supplement to classroom instruction covering tribal law, federal Indian law and tribal-state relations. In ten chapters, the book has full discussions of a wide range of topics, such as: Chapter 2 - American Indian Property Law; Chapter 3 - Criminal Jurisdiction in Indian Country; Chapter 4 - Tribal Government, Civil Jurisdiction and Regulation; Chapter 8 - Tribal-State Relations; and Chapter 9 - Sacred Sites and Cultural Property Protection. Throughout the text, explanations of the relevant interaction between tribal governments, the federal government and state governments are included in the various subject areas. In Chapter 10 - International Indigenous Issues and Tribal Nations, the significant evolution of collective rights in international documents is focused upon as these documents may be relevant for tribal governments in relations with the United States. For Indian law courses, law school seminars on topics in American Indian Law, undergraduate and graduate level American Indian Studies classes, and those interested in the field, this book will provide an easy-to-read text meant to guide the reader through the historical to the contemporary on the major aspects of American Indian law and policy.
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Conference of Western Attorneys General, American Indian Law Deskbook (2014)
Description: American Indian Law Deskbook is a concise, direct, and easy-to-understand handbook on Indian law. Indian law is a dynamic, ever-evolving field of law that overlaps other areas of the law as tribes expand their economic and political reach in our society. If a lawyer needs a concise, direct, and easy-to-understand handbook on Indian law, this book meets that need. As the chief legal officers of the states, the State Attorneys General offer a unique insight into Indian law. The states have been parties before the United States Supreme Court and the lower courts to many of the cases that have shaped Indian Law over the years. The chapter authors of this book are experienced state lawyers who have been involved in Indian law for many years. --Publisher's Website
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Wilkins, Andrea, Fostering State-Tribal Collaboration: an Indian Law Primer (2016)
Description: Fostering State-Tribal Collaboration: An Indian Law Primer surveys federal Indian law in order to facilitate collaborative policy development between the states and Native American tribes. Wilkins addresses civil and criminal jurisdiction, taxation, the Indian Child Welfare Act and other human services issues, environmental regulation, Indian gaming and revenue sharing, intergovernmental agreements and limited waivers of sovereign immunity, encouraging a move away from conflict and litigation and towards communication and collaboration. She provides a historical context for the existing law and foundational knowledge to foster programs and policies that meet the needs of all citizens and engage in successful cross-jurisdictional policy development. Unlike most other authors of texts on Indian law, who write for academics or lawyers, Wilkins explains current issues using practical, jargon-free language, making her book of immediate practical value to policymakers and students.--Publisher's Website
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Den Ouden, Amy E; O'Brien, Jean M; Amy. E. Den Ouden; Jean M. O'Brien., Recognition, Sovereignty Struggles, and Indigenous Rights in the United States: A Sourcebook (2013)
Description: This engaging collection surveys and clarifies the complex issue of federal and state recognition for Native American tribal nations in the United States. Den Ouden and O'Brien gather focused and teachable essays on key topics, debates, and case studies. Written by leading scholars in the field, including historians, anthropologists, legal scholars, and political scientists, the essays cover the history of recognition, focus on recent legal and cultural processes, and examine contemporary recognition struggles nationwide.--Publisher's Website
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Fletcher, Mathew L. M., Federal Indian Law
Description: Fletcher’s Hornbook on Federal Indian Law is a deep survey of the history and substantive law governing the relations between the three American sovereigns, federal, state, and tribal. Interwoven are issues of federalism, administrative law, constitutional rights, and international relations. This hornbook includes original research and novel analysis of foundational Supreme Court decisions and critical federal statutory schemes – the stories beyond the stories. In addition to delving into the origins and histories of cases and statutes, the hornbook analyzes modern Indian rights settlements, the international and comparative frontiers of Indian law, and the future of the field. --West Academic
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Homeland Security: Indian Law Handbook (2016)
Description: The Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers (FLETC) has a vital mission: to train those who protect our homeland.As a division of the Office of Chief Counsel, the Artesia Legal Division is committed to delivering the highest quality legal training to law enforcement agencies and partner organizations in Indian Country and across the nation.In fulfilling this committment, our Attorney-Advisors provide training on all areas of criminal law and procedure, including Constitutional law, authority and jurisdiction, search and seizure, use of force, self-incrimination, courtroom evidence, courtroom testimony, electronic law and evidence, criminal statutes, civil liability and instruction unique to Indian Country: Indian Country Criminal Jurisdiction, Conservation Law, and the Indian Civil Rights Act.My colleagues and I are pleased to present the second edition of this text; we hope that the Indian Law Handbook can serve all law enforcement students and law enforcement officers in Indian Country.
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Washington State Bar Association, Continuing Legal Education Committee, Indian Law and How it Affects Your Clients (1997)
Chastek Library, Gonzaga University School of Law | 721 N. Cincinnati St. Spokane, WA 99220-3528 | 509.313.3758