Recognizing the Third Sovereign: Promoting Awareness of, Respect for, and Access to Native American Tribal Law (Deep Dive)

NOTE: This educational program will not be recorded.

Within the U.S., the Constitution recognizes three types of sovereigns: federal, state, and tribal. However, under the mainstream conception of American law, the laws of the 574 federally recognized tribal governments are often overlooked. This program will explore sources and principles of federal Indian and tribal law, including sovereignty, governance, jurisdiction, and government-to-government relationships, enabling librarians to better support attorneys, court personnel, students, scholars, and pro se patrons researching in this area. It will also present opportunities for law libraries to promote awareness of, respect for, and access to tribal law. Presenters will suggest ways to integrate tribal law in legal education programs and describe advocacy efforts to include Indigenous sources in the Bluebook. They will also introduce the Digital Publication of Tribal Laws Pilot Project in which librarians and developers partnered with Native Nations to publish their laws open access and incorporate them into two federated digital library collections. Attendees will discover how they can seamlessly incorporate the laws of participating tribes into their own digital collections at no cost, providing additional access to these important sources of American law.

In order to participate in a live search activity, participants are encouraged to bring a laptop.

This program is co-sponsored by the Legal Information Services to the Public SIS and the Research Instruction & Patron Services SIS.

Target Audience:

Academic, firm, and government librarians, especially reference librarians, who wish to improve their knowledge of Native American law and legal sources. Instruction librarians who wish to integrate tribal law into their education programs. Library directors and website and repository managers who wish to support tribal governments in making their law accessible to all through their digital collections.