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Native American Legal Resources

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Navajo sign saying Buckle Up – It’s the Navajo Nation Law.

November is Native American Heritage Month, a month designated to celebrate and pay tribute to the ancestry and traditions of Native Americans. The United States has a long and embarrassing history of abusing Native Americans, starting long before the establishment of the country and continuing through today. Standard legal resources about Native Americans often focus on historical treaties or the government’s side of Native American Law. A broader perspective is necessary to begin to understand the experience of Native Americans living in the United States today. Below are a few resources that turn the focus of Native American Heritage Month toward a contemporary view of the ongoing challenges such as: natural resources, the judiciary, healthcare, and opioids, among others.

The National Indian Law Library is part of the Native American Rights Fund and is “devoted to federal Indian and tribal law. NILL maintains a unique and valuable collection of Indian law resources and assists people with their Indian law-related research needs.” The National Indian Law Library online contains open access resources such as The Tribal Law Gateway, which is a source of Tribal law materials organized by Tribe, and Indian Law Research Guides on many diverse topics.

The Native American Rights Fund (NARF) provides legal assistance to Indian tribes, organizations, and individuals who otherwise lack representation. Some examples of work of NARF includes:

  • “Protecting and establishing the inherent sovereignty of tribes
  • Obtaining official tribal recognition for numerous Indian tribes
  • Helping tribes continue their ancient traditions, by protecting their rights to hunt, fish and use the water on their lands
  • Helping to uphold Native American religious freedom
  • Assuring the return of remains and burial goods from museums and historical societies for proper and dignified re-burial
  • Protecting voting rights of Native Americans”

The National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) is “…the oldest, largest and most representative American Indian and Alaska native organization serving the broad interests of tribal governments and communities.” The website contains a wealth of information, including the NCAI guide, Tribal nations and the United States: An Introduction, which “…seeks to provide a basic overview of the history and underlying principles of tribal governance. The guide also provides introductory information about tribal governments and American Indian and Alaska Native people today.” In addition, the NCAI created the Tribal Supreme Court Project as a response to court and legislative attacks on tribal governments to protect tribal sovereignty.

Below are several other websites that can be used to research Native American law:

Twitter:

NCAI

The Opioid Crisis

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Today, the Dickinson Law Review is hosting a symposium, Crisis of Authority:  The Effects of Federalism on Opioid Policy.  A number of experts will be speaking at the symposium including Dickinson Law alum and adjunct professor, the Honorable Jessica E. Brewbaker, from the Cumberland County Court of Common Pleas, who presides over Pennsylvania’s first Opioid Intervention Court.

Addiction to opioids and overdoses from opioid use have been recognized as a national crisis.  Over 130 people die every day in the United States from an opioid overdose.1 For those who wish to learn more, the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) has put together a guide with a number of resources about the opioid crisis, which can be found at:  https://libguides.fdlp.gov/opioids.

The Law Library also recently acquired the following books on the opioid crisis:

The United States of Opioids : A Prescription for Liberating a Nation in Pain by Harry Nelson Call Number: RC568.O4545 2019

Author Harry Nelson is the leading healthcare legal expert in the country addressing the worsening problems in how we treat pain and addiction. His insights have earned the attention of lead policymakers and regulators at every federal agency touching the opioid crisis. The United States of Opioids offers a roadmap out of the crisis that empowers and offers practical resources for people, families, employers, and communities to connect, prevent, and intervene in addiction, chronic pain and the rising death toll. The author explains: why coverage of greedy drug companies and doctors has been reductive, missing the real story, shortchanging the American public and impeding progress; the structural roots of the crisis in multiple points of health system failure; why healthcare industry and government efforts will never be enough to tackle the crisis; how grassroots action can force a new conversation about the parallel crisis of rising suicide rates; why the opioid crisis, including spiraling overdose death rates, will continue to worsen until we take on root causes, including rising rates of anxiety, social isolation, chronic stress, and despair; and offers practical steps we can take to address the opioid crisis.

A riveting memoir of life inside the drug wars, and a never-before-seen glimpse of the inner workings of the DEA, Drug Warrior is a critical examination of how America’s opioid crisis came to be, and the extraordinary people fighting it. The book tells the story of Riley’s decades-long hunt for the world’s most wanted drug lord, set against the rise of modern international drug trafficking, and America’s spiraling opioid epidemic. Jack Riley started his career as an undercover street agent in Chicago busting small-time dealers. By the time he worked his way up to second in command of the DEA-a post few field agents ever reach-he had overseen every major mission to capture foreign drug kingpins since the 1990s, and had witnessed first-hand how El Chapo changed the game. As brilliant as he was lethal, Chapo not only decimated his competition, he foresaw Americans’ dependence on opioids and heroin, and manipulated supply to increase demand. Riley’s story culminates as he and the DEA win their greatest victory – the capture and extradition of his long-time nemesis – and Chapo faces his darkest fear: U.S. justice.

1 National Institute on Drug Abuse, Opioid Overdose Crisis, https://www.drugabuse.gov/drugs-abuse/opioids/opioid-overdose-crisis

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