Indian Law

Bureau of Indian Affairs
The BIA has several divisions and branches that work with Tribes to protect, develop, manage, and enhance their natural resources. Find information about various programs and laws affecting natural resources on pages for the following divisions:

• Division of Environmental Services and Cultural Resource Management 
• Division of Energy and Mineral Development
• Division of Forestry
• Division of Resource Integration Services
• Division of Water and Power

Executive Orders Relating to Indian Reservations from 1855 to 1922
This compilation of executive orders is freely available on HathiTrust. Volume I contains the text of executive orders issued between 1855 and 1912; Volume II contains the text of executive orders issued between 1912 and 1922. 

Environmental Protection Agency - Environmental Protection in Indian Country
This EPA resource includes information on programs to protect the environment in tribal property, laws the affect tribes, and tribal consultation on environmental protection.

U.S. Forest Service Tribal Relations 
This webpage provides news and updates on sacred site protection, natural and cultural resources management, climate change adaptation and information about how and when the Forest Service consults with Tribal nations.

Below is a short list of relevant titles from the ASU Library collection and from online resources available to Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law students and faculty. You can search for additional resources in the ASU catalog by using subject headings such as Indian Land Transfers or Indians of North America --Land Tenure. Books available in other ASU libraries may be requested and delivered to you at the law library.

Cohen’s Handbook of Federal Indian Law (Felix S. Cohen, 2024)
Chapter 19 of this treatise covers Natural Resources. The 2012 version is available in print in the Law Library and on Lexis. The 1941 edition is available on the University of Oklahoma’s website.

Land is Kin: Sovereignty, Religious Freedom, and Indigenous Sacred Sights (Dana Lloyd, 2024)
Through an analysis of the 1988 US Supreme Court case Lyng v. Northwest Indian Cemetery Protective Association, the author shows the complexity of land in contemporary religious, political, and legal discourse and argues that Native nations can make gains by arguing that land is sovereign.

Many Nations under Many Gods: Public Land Management and American Indian Sacred Sites (Todd Allin Morman, 2024)
The United States claims sovereignty over land that is home to more than five hundred Indian nations. This title brings to light the invisible histories of several Indian nations, as well as their struggles to protect the integrity of sacred and cultural sites located on federal public lands.

Allotment Stories: Indigenous Land Relations Under Settler Siege (Daniel Heath Justice & Jean M. O’Brien eds., 2021)
Allotment Stories collects more than two dozen stories of white imperialism and Indigenous resistance. Ranging from the historical to the contemporary and grappling with Indigenous land struggles around the globe, these narratives showcase both scholarly and creative forms of expression that will inform readers while provoking them toward further research into Indigenous resilience.

Sovereignty and Land Rights of Indigenous Peoples in the United States (Wayne Edwards, 2020)
This book presents a comparative study of the land settlements and sovereign arrangements between the US government and the three major aggregated groups of indigenous peoples--American Indians, Native Alaskans, and Native Hawaiians--whose land rights claims have resulted in very different outcomes.

Indigenous Environmental Justice (Karen Jarratt-Snider & Marianne D. Nielsen eds., 2020)
This anthology introduces the field of indigenous environmental justice, which concerns fairness (or lack thereof) in environmental decisionmaking involving indigenous people, including disproportionate burdens of environmentally harmful activities. The authors provide perspectives on topics including environmental racism and constraints on religious freedom, as well as the responses of indigenous people to promote fairness.

Restatement of the Law, The Law of American Indians (American Law Institute, Current)
Chapter 6 of this Restatement covers Natural Resources. It is available on Westlaw (Westlaw password required), Lexis (Lexis password required), and HeinOnline (available on campus or remotely with ASURITE).

Tiller’s Guide to Indian Country: Economic Profiles of American Indian Reservations (Veronica E. Velarde Tiller ed., 2017)
In addition to economic information on tribes, this guide includes useful information and statistics on land status, government, culture, and history. Available on campus or remotely with ASURITE.