Indian Law Resource Center

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.

On August 9th, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the constitutionality of the Indian Child Welfare Act -- a great victory for tribes and those who fought to protect ICWA

Indian Law Resource Center responds to young Maya girl’s death in U.S. custody

Representatives from the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe in North Dakota addressed the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland, today to garner international opposition to the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline near the reservation.

On December 7, 2015, from 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. EST, hundreds of supporters will rally on the steps of the United States Supreme Court as oral arguments begin in Dollar General Corporation v. Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, a case that threatens the safety of Native women and children nationwide.

Jessica Lenahan tells her story of domestic violence and how the Castle Rock Police Department in Colorado failed to protect her.

 Silence Perpetuates Violence.  Join us during Domestic Violence Awareness Month in thanking the countless survivors -- like Sheila Harjo -- who have the strength to stand up and say "no more." 

Over 80 U.S. Indian nations and organizations banded together to call for strong, action-oriented outcomes from the 2014 UN World Conference on Indigenous Peoples. (More...)  (Declaración En Español) UN photo

U.S. must send message that it will not tolerate human rights violations in Guatemala.

UPDATE:  SECRETARY OF STATE'S OFFICE REPLIES

Native women's advocates in the United States are praising lawmakers for passage of an inclusive, bipartisan Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act that will afford protection to all women and victims of violence. The bipartisan bill, S. 47, passed by the Senate on February 12, 2013, and now by the House, 286 to 138, includes critical provisions to restore and strengthen tribal authority to protect Native women from violence in Indian country.

Planning is already underway for the 2014 conference; now is the best time for Indian and Alaska Native Nations to get involved. (More)  UN photo by Eskinder Debebe.

Statement of the Indian Law Resource Center 146 Period of Sessions of the Inter American Commission on Human Rights (October 31, 2012)

Ecuador plans to open indigenous territories to oil development while promoting its commitment on climate change.  (More...)
 

Inter-American Commission on Human Rights grants precautionary measures in wake of violence against Agua Caliente community members

Guatemala must not revisit its history of oppression and violence against indigenous peoples. (AP Photo)

Federal Court decision allows U.S. government to take millions from the Tribe.  "This decision is devastating to the Timbisha Shoshone Tribe and fundamentally wrong," says Coulter.

Dianne Millich, a member of the Southern Ute Indian Tribe in Colorado, already knows better than anyone about the importance of the tribal provisions in the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act, S. 1925, which was passed by the Senate with strong bipartisan support.

Indigenous leaders and state representatives left the recent 14th round of negotiations on the draft American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples with a sense of both frustration and urgency.

Senate passes S. 1925, the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act, by a 68-31 vote; tribal provisions remain intact

Jan. 26, 2012  |  NCAI President Jefferson Keel calls for the full implementation of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in his State of Indian Nations address

by Robert T. Coulter - The Declaration contains more than 15 articles spelling out and protecting many aspects of tribal self-government and jurisdiction. Tribes are studying these detailed provisions, making strategies, and deciding what elements of the Declaration to implement first. The Declaration is a very useful guide for what changes are necessary, but it will take a strong, national campaign by tribes to get serious, concrete changes made.

Inter-American Commission Hearing has U.S. Officials and Native Advocates Agreeing that the Violence Must End

Native women leaders and advocates testify before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.  Watch their testimony ...  

Inter-American Commission on Human Rights says U.S. violated its obligations under international human rights laws.

Agua Caliente files petition with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. 

Will your tax dollars be contributing to the demise of the world's indigenous communities?  Get Informed!

December 16, 2010 -- Listen to and read Indian leaders' reactions.

December 16, 2010

Today, the United States government at last officially endorsed the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and joined the international community in recognizing that American Indians and other indigenous peoples have a permanent right to exist as peoples, nations, cultures, and societies.