Tribal Law/Courts

Finding a Pathway

Aspiring Native American lawyers face a host of unique challenges in their journeys to, through and beyond law school, even as law schools and legal associations offer support throughout the pipeline all the way to their first job. Research about Native and Indigenous law students and lawyers uses a variety of criteria, making it hard to compare facts and figures. But all point to the same fact: Native and Indigenous people are underrepresented in the legal profession, starting in law school.

Oct 1, 2024 3:40 AM CDT

ASU Law, Diné College create pathway for Navajo law degrees

Aiming to increase the number of legal professionals practicing tribal law, the Arizona State University Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law and Diné College are partnering to create a package of undergraduate and graduate law degrees focused on the Navajo Nation.

May 21, 2024 2:13 PM CDT

Who made the National Judicial College’s list of ‘60 Courageous Judges’?

The National Judicial College marked its 60th anniversary this week by releasing a list of 60 judges from around the United States and the world who have demonstrated courage, upheld the rule of law and provided justice for all.

Dec 21, 2023 9:00 AM CST

Martin Scorsese and Principal Chief Geoffrey Standing Bear discuss making of ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’

The film Killers of the Flower Moon “underscores the critical importance of the rule of law and the pursuit of justice,” said ABA President Mary Smith, who interviewed director Martin Scorsese and Principal Chief Geoffrey Standing Bear of the Osage Nation in the latest installment of the ABA Presidential Speaker Series.

Nov 15, 2023 2:09 PM CST

Biden plans to build part of border wall, says he was unable to redirect appropriated funds

President Joe Biden told reporters Thursday that he doesn’t think that a border wall is effective, but he is planning to build one anyway in Starr County, Texas.

Oct 5, 2023 2:59 PM CDT

Chemerinsky: SCOTUS ruling on Indian Child Welfare Act is win for Native Americans, but key issues remain unresolved

The United States has a long and despicable history of removing Native American children from their families. As Justice Neil Gorsuch observed, “there was mass removal of Indian children from their families during the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s by state officials and private parties.” This horrific practice actually began almost 150 years ago.

Jul 5, 2023 11:08 AM CDT

Indian adoption law upheld by Supreme Court, but equal protection issue remains undecided

The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld a federal law giving preferences to tribes in Native American adoptions but left consideration of challengers’ equal protection argument for a future case in which plaintiffs have standing to raise it.

Jun 15, 2023 10:23 AM CDT

Judge discusses negotiating trauma and the law as chief tribal court judge of Yurok Nation

Judge Abby Abinanti was the first tribal woman to be admitted to the State Bar of California. For almost two decades, she served as a judicial officer for the San Francisco Superior Court, and Abinanti has been a Yurok tribal court judge since 1997.

Jan 3, 2023 9:29 AM CST

Relax with our favorite long reads of 2022

Feel like curling up next to the fireplace with a good read? ABA Journal Managing Editor Kevin Davis has curated a selection of our favorite feature stories that ran in the magazine and online in 2022.

Dec 23, 2022 8:40 AM CST

Supreme Court will consider future of Indian Child Welfare Act

The Indian Child Welfare Act faces a broad, multipronged legal attack led by the state of Texas, which along with seven individuals sued the federal government challenging various provisions of ICWA as unconstitutional. The most attention-getting is the attack on the law’s preferences for placing Native American children with family members or other tribe members.

Nov 3, 2022 10:33 AM CDT

Chemerinsky: Supreme Court poised to sharply advance the law to the right

Last year’s term was momentous: The court overruled Roe v. Wade, greatly expanded gun rights and aggressively protected free exercise of religion. There is no doubt that the coming term, too, will be filled with blockbuster decisions.

Sep 29, 2022 9:52 AM CDT

Supreme Court should uphold Indian Child Welfare Act, ABA says in amicus brief

The ABA has urged the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold the Indian Child Welfare Act, writing in an amicus brief filed Thursday that Congress enacted the statute “under valid constitutional authority and on the basis of an extensive body of evidence and law.”

Aug 19, 2022 9:28 AM CDT

Chemerinsky: With Supreme Court shift on Indian law, will it reconsider a recent landmark ruling?

One of the most important themes of the recently completed Supreme Court term is the significance of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg being replaced by Justice Amy Coney Barrett. An important example of how this has affected court rulings came in a case in the area of Indian law that, by comparison, received little media attention.

Aug 1, 2022 8:36 AM CDT

SCOTUS limits scope of McGirt, allows Oklahoma to prosecute some crimes on reservations

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 Wednesday that Oklahoma has the authority to prosecute crimes by non-Indians against Native Americans on reservations. The decision limits the reach of a prior decision that barred the state from prosecuting tribal members on reservations.

Jun 29, 2022 11:08 AM CDT

America’s Lost Children

When researchers began the painstaking work of identifying Indigenous children who died at the Genoa U.S. Indian Industrial School in Nebraska, they kept making chilling discoveries.

Jun 1, 2022 3:30 AM CDT