Projects by Region

Helping Indian leaders initiate, win, and implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples has been an important part of the Center’s work for more than 35 years. The Declaration is a monumental statement of the rights of Indian and Alaska Native tribes and other... learn more
The Indian Law Resource Center is pleased to support LAND OF THE BRAVE - Broken Treaty III, a sequel to the acclaimed BROKEN TREATY AT BATTLE MOUNTAIN and TO PROTECT MOTHER EARTH. LAND OF THE BRAVE, the third and final film of the Western Shoshone Trilogy, documents Western Shoshone life and... learn more

North America

United StatesThe Indian Law Resource Center is writing a one-of-a-kind handbook for conservationists that will help build collaboration between conservationists and Indian and Alaska Native nations. The goal of the handbook is to facilitate better alliances in order to improve the effectiveness of... learn more
Our Law Reform project is directed at increasing understanding and support for the sovereign rights of Indian and Alaska Native nations and assisting them in winning needed improvements in federal law.  The law affecting tribes is terribly antiquated and unfair. Among the most serious problems are... learn more
The Center has a long history of environmental advocacy in Alaska. Over the years, the Center has continued to help Alaska Native nations and villages expand their legal and technical capacity to protect and clean up their lands and waters.  Watershed protection is a critical issue for Native... learn more
In the United States, violence against indigenous women has reached unprecedented levels on tribal lands and in Alaska Native villages. More than 4 in 5 American Indian and Alaska Native women have experienced violence, and more than 1 in 2 have experienced sexual violence. Alaska Native women... learn more
An example of the unfairness of federal law and the injustice of federal administrative action to Indian tribes is the recent treatment of the Timbisha Shoshone Tribe, a small tribe in Death Valley, California. Some years ago, the Timbisha Shoshone Tribe and other Western Shoshone tribes were... learn more

Central America

In Guatemala, extractive industry and conservation projects are threatening the special relationship the indigenous peoples have with their lands and resources.  For several decades, the Maya Q’eqchi’ communities of El Estor have worked hard to achieve recognition of their collective land ownership... learn more

South America

Historically, Brazil has served as a model demonstrating the potential for reducing deforestation by strengthening indigenous peoples’ legal land rights. Under Brazil’s Constitution of 1988, indigenous rights are explicitly protected. Too often though, those existing laws are disregarded. In recent... learn more
The Rapa Nui people are the original inhabitants of Rapa Nui Island, commonly known as “Easter Island.” The island in the southeastern Pacific Ocean is a colony of Chile, “annexed” in 1933 without the consent of the Rapa Nui people. The Rapa Nui people, comprising 36 clans, are engaged in a... learn more

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