Twenty-five years ago a "perfect storm" of economic, environmental, and social conditions swirled in northern Wisconsin and battered attempts by the Ojibwe to exercise their treaty-based fishing rights. This article examines the socioeconomic, political, and cultural factors that contributed to the spearfishing crisis twenty-five years…

American Indian treaties and treaty law may seem to fall solely within the purview of legal methodology and critical analysis, yet the 367 American Indian treaties signed with the US federal government beg for the type of dissection and analysis generally associated with cultural and literary critical theory. The tools by which texts are dissected…

The following is a sample summary of selected Indian cases in the Supreme Court Docket as of September 15, 1978: State of Washington vs Confederated Bands and Tribes of the Yakima Indian Nation, Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe of Indians vs Andrus, and Confederated Tribes of Colville Indian Reservation vs Washington. (RTS)

This article is a transcript of a radio interview conducted by Denise Freeland for "Kaleidoscope" at American University, Washington, D.C. The topic "Understanding Indian Treaties" is addressed by Kirke Kickingbird and Alex Skibine of the Institute for the Development of Indian Law. (RTS)

Examines the public confusion and intergovernmental conflicts that arise from overlapping jurisdictions in "Indian Country" (reservations and surrounding counties). Presents legal and proprietal, ethnohistorical, and political-geographical views of Indian Country. Discusses jurisdictional problems related to geography, subject matter…

Argues that the federal policy of granting U.S. citizenship to Lakota people is, in effect, a policy to extinguish the principle of Lakota political consent by "politically incorporating" the Lakota into the U.S. body politic. Examines how such incorporation is inconsistent with today's global political realities where self-determination…

Overview of some of the most important Indian court cases of the last decade, including ones regarding treaty rights, tribal jurisdiction and sovereignty, tax jurisdiction, land claims, and hunting and fishing rights. (DS)

First tracing the historical background of Canadian-Indian policy, article then presents an in-depth analysis of the Indian Act, the mainstay of that policy. Apparently little has changed over the years: the Indian Act continues to thwart Indian sovereignty and self-determination. (Author/DS)

First of a two-article series describes methodology and conclusions of a study of the effects of the 1978 Supreme Court "Oliphant" decision regarding jurisdiction over reservation non-Indians. Describes three project phases: (a) literature search and legal analysis; (b) field studies and surveys; (c) determining problem-solving models…

This curriculum unit introduces students to the relationship between the federal government and American Indians through five narrative descriptions of the related legislation, laws, and court interpretations. The narratives cover: (1) the historical basis of federal Indian law and the government-to-government relationship; (2) legal definitions…

Investigates the implications of recent court litigation with respect to the establishment of tribal identity for the Mississippi Choctaw. Describes the tribe's current confusing status and the complex legal, economic, and other social issues confronting its people. (SB)

This paper traces the development of the government-to-government relationship between the United States and Native peoples and examines the implications of that relationship for Native American education. In 1532, Francisco de Vitoria refuted the Doctrine of Discovery and laid out four principles to guide Spanish governmental relations with…

The historical involvement of the federal government in the education of the American Indian has always carried with it one clear and consistent underlying theme: the federal government has both explicitly and implicitly acknowledged that there is a federal responsibility to Indian education. Treaties between the United States Government and…

During the nineteenth century, the expansion of the United States at the expense of Native Americans was achieved more through diplomatic and legal manipulation than by military conquest. The Supreme Court played a critical role by providing legal justification for the loss of sovereignty rather than neutral arbitration. (JHZ)

Law firm analysis which reviews developments in Indian law, discusses holdings and implications of some important Supreme Court decisions (Boldt Case, Yakima Public Law 280 Case, Blackbird Bend Case), analyzes litigation trends which appear to be developing, and comments on the future conduct of Indian litigation. (DS)