News

Reservation Status of Tribal Land Under Attack Before the U.S. Supreme Court

The opening brief in McGirt v. Oklahoma was filed with the U.S. Supreme Court on February 4, 2020. At issue is whether the State of Oklahoma can prosecute an enrolled member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation for crimes committed within the historical Creek reservation boundaries.
Operation Lady Justice Launched; VAWA Reauthorization Remains Grounded
President Trump surprised tribal communities and advocates with Operation Lady Justice, an executive order establishing a federal task force on missing and murdered American Indian and Alaska Native people.
Amazon Fires: Protecting Indigenous Rights is a Global Environmental Imperative
The situation of indigenous peoples in Brazil has been worsening for years, but under the current administration, we’re moving dangerously fast toward a tipping point from which the Amazon rainforest – and the indigenous peoples who depend on it for their survival – cannot recover.
Agua Caliente finally gets to celebrate 2011 Constitutional Court Victory


Our Maya Q’eqchi’ clients in Guatemala reached a major milestone in their 40+ year effort to secure their land titles. In late October, the government officially issued and registered the Agua Caliente Lote 9 community’s land title. FONTIERRAS, the national land titling agency, delivered...

read more
Attack on Tribal Rights Continues with Decision to Hear Brackeen En Banc
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals will rehear arguments in Brackeen v. Bernhardt, a case challenging the constitutionality of the Indian Child Welfare Act by claiming – wrongly – that ICWA is racially discriminatory
About the Amazon

(PAGE UNDER CONSTRUCTION)

RESOURCES
International Advocacy

Under traditional international human rights law doctrine, the state is obligated to protect human rights in its territory, and it is the state that bears responsibility for human rights violations committed by private actors.
Updates and News

RESOURCES

The Center and COIAB's joint letter to President Biden urging protections for indigenous peoples and the Amazon rainforest in U.S. foreign policy, especially with respect to Brazil (April 2021) *English only
Partners

Coordenação das Organizações Indígenas da Amazônia Brasileira (C.O.I.A.B.)
Indigenous Organizations advocate for enhanced protections before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
On September 27, 2019, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights held a public hearing on "Environmental Protection in the Amazon and the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in Brazil."

Pages