McCoy, Melody (1999). Federal and State Laws Regarding Tribal Education Departments, 1984-1999. Indian Education Legal Support Project: "Tribalizing Indian Education.". The Indian Education Legal Support Project emphasizes the legal rights of tribes to control the formal education of their members. The project's work includes developing tribal education laws and reforming state and national Indian education legislation. This document examines federal and state statutory provisions on tribal education departments and details their legislative history. Following a brief overview of tribal education departments in the 1980s and 1990s, specific provisions of various federal laws are reviewed, including the Education Amendments of 1984 to the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act of 1975, the Augustus F. Hawkins-Robert T. Stafford Elementary and Secondary School Improvement Amendments of 1988, Goals 2000: Educate America Act of 1994, the Improving America's Schools Act of 1994, and other public laws and resolutions. These laws are primarily concerned with federal funding of tribal education departments, their treatment as local education agencies, provision of training and technical assistance, research on at-risk students, access to the Internet, and collaboration among tribes and other educational institutions and agencies. Wisconsin is the only state with legislation specifically mentioning tribal education departments. This law calls for tribal input in the appointment of an advisory committee on American Indian language and culture programs. Descriptors: American Indian Education, Educational Legislation, Elementary Secondary Education, Federal Aid

West, Richard, Jr. (1971). A Proposed Course in Law, Sociology, or History. "The American Indian and the Constitution" is a proposed course in law, sociology, or history. The document gives a course justification and intended audience. The course outline covers: 1) the sovereignty of Native American Tribes, especially as demonstrated in "Cherokee Nation" and "Worchester v. Georgia"; 2) criminal jurisdiction; 3) civil jurisdiction; 4) citizenship for Native Americans; 5) water rights as detailed in the Winters Doctrine; 6) hunting and fishing rights; 7) state taxing authority; 8) the U.S. Bill of Rights; and 9) the Indian Bill of Rights. Noted court cases and judges' opinions are given for all sections.   [More]  Descriptors: American Indian Reservations, American Indians, Beliefs, Constitutional History

Congress of the U.S., Washington, DC. Senate Select Committee on Indian Affairs. (1983). Fiscal Year 1984 Budget. Hearings before the Select Committee on Indian Affairs, United States Senate, Ninety-Eighth Congress, First Session on the Fiscal Year 1984 Budget (February 23, 24, and 25, 1983). The Senate Select Committee on Indian Affairs met in Washington, D.C. on February 23-25, 1983, to discuss the implications of the proposed budget for the 1984 fiscal year. Testimony by representatives of government agencies and American Indian tribes and organizations focused on five main topics: closure of the Intermountain (Utah) and Mount Edgecumbe (Alaska) Indian Schools; transfer of the Administration for Native Americans (ANA) to the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA); termination of some educational assistance provided under the Indian Education Act; provision of housing, water, and sewer facilities on American Indian reservations; and provision of health care to American Indians. Government witnesses included representatives of the BIA, ANA, Office of Indian Education, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Indian Health Service, and Department of Education. Outside witnesses included representatives from the INMED Program, National Indian Health Board, American Indian Health Care Association, United Tribal Educational Technical Center, North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, Native American Rights Fund, Intermountain Inter-Tribal School Board, National American Indian Housing Council, National Tribal Chairmen's Association, National Congress of American Indians, three reservations, and eight tribes.   [More]  Descriptors: Allied Health Occupations Education, American Indian Education, American Indian Reservations, American Indians

Bugaj, Albert M. (1997). Education and Attitudes toward Native Americans. A survey of 123 students enrolled in Introduction to Social Psychology at the University of Wisconsin–Green Bay examined attitudes toward Native Americans. The research assessed the effects of educational programs at the secondary and postsecondary level on attitudes toward Native Americans and Native American treaty rights, and also measured the effects of positive contacts between American Indians and respondents on specific attitudes toward treaty rights. Results indicate that either high school or college coursework about Native Americans was related to greater self-reported understanding of treaty rights, knowledge of American Indian culture, and accuracy of that knowledge. Students with high school coursework also reported more direct contact with Native Americans than those without such coursework. Students with coursework about American Indians were less likely to view European culture as superior and less likely to feel that treaties should be abolished, indicating that high school or college coursework may reduce prejudicial attitudes toward Native Americans. Women reported higher quality contacts with Native Americans and were more likely to agree that a nearby Indian nation should win its treaty rights case. Neither high school nor college coursework had any influence on these variables. Only college coursework influenced feelings regarding specific treaty-rights issues: taxation of casino profits and removal of trust lands from property tax roles. A cautionary note points out that the direction of causality between coursework and attitudes and between contact and attitudes is unknown.   [More]  Descriptors: American Indian Studies, American Indians, College Students, Cultural Awareness

McDonald, David R. (1977). Native American Fishing/Hunting Rights: An Annotated Bibliography. An attempt to provide ready access to publications dealing with the controversy over American Indian fishing and hunting rights, this annotated bibliography includes 37 citations (law journals, books, government documents, and other publications excluding newspapers and court cases). The earliest citation is a 1915 speech to the Washington Legislature defending the fishing/hunting rights of the Native Americans of Tulalip Agency, and the most recent citations are 1975 citations.   [More]  Descriptors: American Indians, Annotated Bibliographies, Court Litigation, Land Use

Ramirez, Ray, Ed. (1993). Freedom of Religion: A Time for Justice. Second Special Edition, NARF Legal Review. This special theme issue outlines the history of discrimination against traditional Native American religions, including recent Supreme Court decisions. "Discrimination and Native American Religious Rights," by Senator Daniel K. Inouye, discusses the compelling government interest in eradicating discrimination and describes two Supreme Court decisions denying constitutional protection of tribal sacred sites and the practices of minority religions. "The Repression of Indian Religious Freedom," by Patricia Nelson Limerick, examines the history of federal policies suppressing Indian religious liberty. Public policy long assumed that the "civilization" of the Indians and their conversion to Christianity were inseparable. During the 19th century, a missionary movement swept through the United States, and federal funds for Indian education provided partial support for missionary schools. The question of religious liberty was viewed as a matter among Christian churches and not applicable to Indian spiritual practices. In the 1880s, the Department of the Interior created courts of Indian offenses, which targeted both religious practices and customs that were considered antithethical to the work ethic (such as sharing property). The campaign against Indian religions was ultimately a campaign against the Indian family because it sought to assimilate the younger generation by removing the influence of the elders. This issue also includes an explanation of the Native American Free Exercise of Religion Act of 1993, introduced by Senator Inouye, and a list of publications on federal Indian education laws, tribal government, and tribal economic development.   [More]  Descriptors: Alaska Natives, American Indian Culture, American Indian History, American Indians

Congress of the U.S., Washington, DC. Senate Select Committee on Indian Affairs. (1981). Oversight of Indian Program Budgets. Hearing Before the Select Committee on Indian Affairs. United States Senate, Ninety-Seventh Congress, First Session on Review of Budget Submissions of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Department of the Interior; Indian Health Service, Department of Health and Human Services; Office of Indian Education, Department of Education; and Indian Housing, Department of Housing and Urban Development. Testimony and prepared statements provide insight into the manner in which Indian affairs will be administered under the proposed 1982 fiscal year budget and compares the proposed innovations and the implementation of assistance to the Indian tribes with a general Federal policy to promote tribal self-determination. Probably because of the fragmentation of the Federal delivery system, the proposed budget reductions to Indian programs total $1,118,745,000, or a 35% reduction of a planned budget of $3.1 billion. Agencies including the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Indian Health Service, Office of Indian Education, and Department of Housing and Urban Development propose to give Indian tribes a greater role in allocation of financial resources and additional flexibility in meeting their particular reservations' needs. Appendices include statements by the Duckwater Shoshone School Board, Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, National Congress of American Indians, and Penobscot Nation; correspondence from the Fort Belknap Community Council, Native American Rights Fund, and Papago Tribe of Arizona; and Bureau of Indian Affairs and Department of Housing responses to written questions.   [More]  Descriptors: American Indian Education, American Indians, Budgeting, Federal Aid

Lukaczer, Moses; And Others (1971). A Guide to the Rights of the American Indian to Food Programs — In Federal Schools for American Indian Children and in Public Schools Subsidized by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Written for all American Indians and Alaska Natives, this guide is designed to provide information relative to the Native American's rights to food programs in Federal schools and in public schools subsidized by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). Aimed at stimulating Native Americans to assume a more active role in the development and assessment of these food programs, this handbook presents the following information: (1) Food Programs in Schools and Dormitories Operated by the BIA (number of federally recognized Indian children of school age; different kinds of BIA schools; BIA nutrition responsibilities; unknown nutritional status of "other" Indian children; BIA boarding schools, dormitories, and day schools; general food policy issues–tests, monitoring, and surplus foods); (2) Food Programs in Public Schools Funded by Authority of the Johnson O'Malley Act (JOM), (Indian children covered; service standards vs JOM regulations; parent costs; definitions of selected federally funded food programs; BIA regulation needs for administration of JOM lunch monies; BIA responsibility for Indian children in JOM funded schools; inequities in JOM fund administration; unaggressive use of JOM funding device; findings of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights' survey of JOM schools; the School Breakfast Program; phasing out JOM funding; policy considerations). Descriptors: Alaska Natives, American Indian Reservations, American Indians, Boarding Schools

Buesing, Gregory (1973). Maliseet and Micmac Rights and Treaties in the United States. Written for purposes of furthering aid to the Association of Aroostook Indian (AAI) in procuring Maliseet and Micmac American Indian rights, this essay provides historical documentation of U.S. treaties verifying Native American rights. This essay asserts that although about 4,000 Micmacs and Maliseets live in New England (1,000 in Maine), they have not been formally recognized by the Federal Government and had not been given state recognition until the AAI was formed in 1967 and began to further their cause; that since they generally live off-reservation but do have reservations in Canada, they are often considered both Canadian and alien and are not, consequently, afforded government services. Arguing that these people are free to cross borders and are entitled to certain rights under a series of treaties established between the Indians and the U.S. during and after the American Revolution, this essay presents the historical basis for the following rights: (1) the right to come to the U.S. from Canada and to acquire employment without having to register as an alien; (2) full hunting/fishing rights comparable to those of other Maine Indians; (3) the right to settle on either Passamaquoddy reservation with due reservation rights; (4) full services comparable to those of other off-reservation Indians; (5) full rights of citizenship, including the right to vote. Descriptors: American Indian Reservations, American Indians, Civil Rights, Equal Opportunities (Jobs)

Ford Foundation, New York, NY. (1977). Ford Foundation Assistance to Native Americans. During the past decade the Ford Foundation has assisted American Indians to improve their educational opportunities, assert their legal rights, and preserve their traditional culture and way of life. The Foundation has funded various efforts in the areas of school planning and finance, leadership development, undergraduate and graduate fellowships, establishment of Indian colleges, legal challenges, economic and community development, communications, and culture. Among the numerous Foundation-supported programs have been the Leadership Development Program which has given promising young Native American teachers and community workers from rural areas opportunities for innovative and advanced training; programs to help talented young Indians serve as links between their own culture and the larger society by assuming leadership positions in school systems and community agencies; an Upper Division Scholarship Program to help talented graduates of community colleges go on for bachelor's degrees at four-year colleges and universities; a one-year advanced study fellowship to faculty members with some graduate work who want to study full-time for their doctorates; a doctoral fellowship program designed for students entering graduate school and planning careers in higher education; the Native American Rights Fund, a nonprofit legal organization which has helped Indians throughout the country launch a comprehensive litigation campaign to secure and protect their rights. Appended is a listing of Ford Foundation grants concerning Native Americans. Descriptors: Alaska Natives, American Indians, Community Development, Cultural Awareness

McCoy, Melody (1998). Cooperative Agreements in Indian Education. Indian Education Legal Support Project: "Tribalizing Indian Education.". The Indian Education Legal Support Project emphasizes the legal rights of tribes to control the formal education of their members. The project's work includes developing tribal education laws and reforming state and national Indian education legislation. This document compiles 10 voluntary cooperative agreements among federal, public, and tribal schools and between Indian organizations with regard to various Indian education matters as of October 1, 1998. The agreements are voluntary because, while federal, state, and tribal laws may authorize such agreements, no law requires them. Summaries of the 10 agreements are presented, followed by the full text of the agreements. Five agreements between a public school district and a tribe, tribal school, or Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) school address creation of a joint school board; joint operation of a public school, a tribal or BIA school, and a new program for at-risk tribal students; and distribution of state funding for American Indian students in a public school district. Three agreements among tribal schools address cooperative arrangements for student bus transportation, cooperative sponsorship of student sports, and shared special education services. The other two agreements establish an interdistrict consortium of six public school districts to meet the needs of Native students, and formalize the relationship of two national Indian organizations on Indian education matters. Descriptors: American Indian Education, Educational Cooperation, Elementary Secondary Education, Institutional Cooperation

Ground, Mary (1978). Grass Woman Stories. Blackfeet Heritage Program. During her lifetime Mary Ground, whose Indian name is Grass Woman, has experienced extreme changes in the life of Blackfeet Indians. Born in 1883, she remembers the travois and teepee days as well as the change to reservation life when the reservation was a fenced compound patrolled by the U.S. military. She has seen the decline in the use of Blackfeet language and ceremonies as well as the recent resurgence of interest in Native American rights and traditions. The 14 stories in this volume, told in her own words, are a blend of customs, folklore, and real-life events. Many of the tales reflect the culture from a woman's point of view. Two stories tell of marriage customs and the procedures surrounding the birth of a child. Other stories tell of magical events and contain elements closely parallel to certain fairy tales of European cultures. In one story a maiden lives in a beautiful land in the sky, but when she digs up a forbidden turnip she must then return to her people on the earth below. A Hansel and Gretel theme predominates another tale in which two abandoned children, a girl and a boy, are about to be eaten by a wicked old woman. Through trickery they manage to escape her and a magic buffalo carries them across a river to safety. In other magical experiences a man lights his pipe from the sun, and a coyote and a bear save the life of a wounded warrior. Other stories are true life stories of events in the tribe and on the reservation. Descriptors: American Indian Culture, American Indian Literature, American Indians, Birth

Philbrick, Roger (1975). American Indian Education in Wisconsin: A Report. In spring 1973 the State of Wisconsin mandated the Council on Indian Education in an effort to involve Indian people, not only as advisors but as a working committee, to assess and promote quality Indian educational opportunities. Objectives outlined at the first meeting included collecting information from state agencies concerning Native Americans; disseminating program information to the public; determining responsiveness of state agencies; compiling recommendations to Wisconsin's Equal Rights Council for proposed legislation; recommending improved quality of education and equal employment for Native Americans; and recognizing Native American individual rights and tribal self-determination. Limitations experienced by the Council included: Indian involvement, personnel selection, non-support of educators and public officials; lack of community support and public schools; understanding of tribes and local Indian education committees; and little communication among Council members. The Council submitted 18 recommendations, of which 4 were prioritized. They recommended continuing research of Indian educational needs; improving and enriching educational efforts in the state by teaching Indian history and culture; requesting from state agencies how Indian education can be improved and supplemented through ongoing program efforts; and designing legislation to upgrade the quality of education for American Indians in Wisconsin. Appendices include meeting minutes, budget requests, and handouts. Descriptors: American Indian Education, Committees, Cultural Enrichment, Curriculum Evaluation

Western Regional Environmental Education Council. (1989). Indians of Washington and the Environment. A Collection of Information and Curriculum Lessons To Assist Educators in Teaching about Tribal Natural Resource Relationship. The American Indian tribes of Washington have a unique relationship with natural resources, one of reverence and reliance. While non-Indian people traditionally approach natural resources from the perspective of ownership, tribal peoples view natural resources as components of life and culture. The survival of Washington tribes depends upon a sustainable natural resource base. This booklet contains lesson plans and classroom activities that help students become aware of tribal ways of life and historical and contemporary interactions with the natural world and non-Indian people. Major curriculum concepts include: (1) the diversity and importance of Washington's natural resources; (2) diverse uses of natural resources by people; (3) the influence of natural resources on cultures; (4) the role of culture in the development of controversial issues and the communication process for resolving such issues; (5) the finite nature of resources and related decision making; and (6) values clarification about the web of interrelationships among humans, fish, wildlife, and the environment. Lessons cover Washington geography, climate, and wildlife; daily life of Indians and first White settlers; sources of clothing; treaties; watershed, wildlife, and forest management; water quality; salmon fishing and Native fishing rights; American Indian reservations; historical timelines; and history, culture, and legends of the Quinault, Nisqually, Squaxin, and Tulalip tribes. Twenty-three additional resources are listed. This booklet contains maps, data tables, and graphics.    [More]  Descriptors: American Indian Culture, American Indians, Class Activities, Conservation (Environment)

Congress of the U.S., Washington, DC. House Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs. (1973). Menominee Restoration Act: H.R. 7421–To Repeal the Act Terminating Federal Supervision Over the Property and Members of the Menominee Tribe of Wisconsin as a Federally Recognized, Sovereign Indian Tribe; and to Restore to the Menominee Tribe of Wisconsin Those Federal Services Furnished to American Indians Because of Their Status as American Indians; and for Other Purposes. Hearings Before…, 93d Congress, 1st Session…. Presenting reports, statements, letters, and additional information, these hearings of the Menominee Restoration Act (HR 7421) deal with restoration of Federal services to the Menominee tribe via repeal of the 83d Congress' (1953) termination policy. Testimony includes statements from representatives of the: Federal Government, National Congress of American Indians; Menominee Tribe; Menominee County Highway Department, Drugs and Alcoholism Program, Housing Authority, and Council of Chiefs; Wisconsin Schools; and the like. Some of the additional information presented includes: (1) an employment analysis for December 1967-June 1973; (2) Lake Moshawquit Property Owners Association agreements; (3) Native American Rights Fund's Memorandum re Restoration Act; (4) Menominee County Community Action Program's Impact Study (table); (5) Menominee Enterprises' financial analysis-ratios for March 1973 and summary of forestry and mill operations for 1961-72; (6) profile chart for averages on the Iowa Tests for basic skills; (7) Report 272 of the 87th Congress on lessening the impact of Federal services termination; (8) Bureau of Indian Affairs' report on termination (1965); (9) tables on: population and economic characteristics of tribes; county population and Wisconsin per capita taxable income (1969); and travel distances from community to service center; (10) Wisconsin Assembly bills, amendments, and fiscal notes.   [More]  Descriptors: American Indians, Demography, Economically Disadvantaged, Federal Aid

Native American Rights Fund, Boulder, CO. (1981). Native American Rights Fund: 1981 Annual Report. In 1981 the Native American Rights Fund (NARF) continued its program of providing legal representation to Indian tribes and groups in cases of major significance to Indian people throughout the country. Many significant Indian rights victories were achieved in 1981 in the areas of tribal existence, Indian natural resources protection, human rights and government accountability, and Indian education. After a detailed description of NARF, major activities during 1981 are presented in five sections: preserving tribal existence (25 cases); protecting tribal resources (36 cases); promoting human rights, which includes Indian education (19 cases); holding all levels of government accountable to Native Americans (10 cases); and furthering the development of Indian law (17 activities).  The treasurer's report concludes the report. Descriptors: American Indian Education, American Indians, Civil Liberties, Court Litigation

Kotlowski, Dean J. (2006). Out of the Woods: The Making of the Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act, American Indian Culture and Research Journal. "Maine appears out of the woods," the editor of the "Lewiston Evening Journal" opined, after President Jimmy Carter signed the Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act in 1980. That sigh of relief was heartfelt. During the 1970s, two Native American tribes, the Passamaquoddies and Penobscots, had sparked a long, statewide nightmare when they asserted claim to more than 12 million acres of land in the Pine Tree State. To the Indians, their claim and the ensuing settlement represented long-delayed justice. For private-property owners, however, the controversy unleashed great anxiety about the future of Maine's economy. To leaders in the Maine statehouse, Congress, and the White House, the matter was a conundrum pitting the demands of an aggrieved racial minority against the ire of an aroused white majority. When Congress, in 1980, granted the Passamaquoddies and Penobscots federal recognition and $81.5 million in cash, from which they could purchase up to 300,000 acres of land, all sides breathed easier. The land claims of these tribes form a compelling, albeit overlooked (by historians), story that illustrates three larger themes. The first involves the Native American rights movement, whose leadership and tactics proved quite diverse. Second, the Maine saga underscores the national scope of white backlash against Indian rights. Third, the Maine claims settlement cannot be separated from the shift in Indian policy. At its core, the Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act signaled an end more than a beginning. The tribes' expansive claim, the prospect of their victory in court, and the threat of similar suits in other eastern states made the road to restitution particularly long and tortuous. Passamaquoddy and Penobscot leaders at times used heated rhetoric to press their demands. Maine politicians–with the exception of Democratic Senator William D. Hathaway, who eventually brokered a compromise–sided with their non-Indian constituents, thus blocking a settlement. And the Carter administration, hamstrung by its own inexperience in governance generally and in Native American policy particularly, at best lurched toward a solution. Such happenings suggested that the Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act would be the last of its scale for the federal government.   [More]  Descriptors: Historians, Tribes, Federal Government, American Indians

NARF Legal Review (1989). NARF Indian Economic Development Law Project Begins. The Native American Rights Fund (NARF) is beginning a project to assist tribes and Indian communities with the legal aspects of economic and business development. Historic monopolistic and oppressive trade restrictions imposed on the tribes created an economic context that has suppressed Indian economic development for over two centuries. Faced with increasing federal reluctance to discharge its trust responsibility, the tribes recognize economic success as an essential component of true self-sufficiency. Against this backdrop, NARF has launched its Indian Economic Development Law Project. To focus its efforts and avoid duplication of services, the project has identified five areas of greatest need: (1) development of tribal governance infrastructure, (2) development of supportive future legislative and policy directions, (3) assistance in the networking of existing resources, (4) provision of a communications link between tribes and business interests, and (5) development of a large pool of legal expertise in the area of Indian economic development. NARF will be directly involved with specific tribal and Indian community efforts; clients will be selected for viability and significance. A major project role will be as facilitator of cooperation among various agencies and community organizations that cover the wide range of skills needed to accomplish economic development goals. This newsletter also contains updates on Indian court cases of interest and NARF organizational news. Descriptors: American Indian Reservations, American Indians, Community Coordination, Community Development

Golod, Flo (2008). Civil Rights and Social Justice: A Path to Engagement and Transformation, Horace. When one listens to Southside Family Charter School kids articulate the lessons they've learned from the school's civil rights curriculum, it's clear that demographic descriptors often lead to low expectations. These kids are articulate, knowledgeable, and deeply engaged in their study of the civil rights movement. They bring the same competence and ability to their study of Native American history, treaty rights, and current challenges. Ditto their knowledge about environmental racism and their activism on behalf of a better urban and global environment. And they are eager to talk about the political implications of redistricting, their community garden and the importance of composting, and legal challenges facing youth. But at Family School, social justice means more than youth engagement and a basic commitment to equity issues. It means that children themselves learn by doing social justice work, and do so well in their academics because they have learned that education is about them, about the roots of racism and its local legacy, about the reasons nearly half the houses in their neighborhoods are foreclosed, about the systemic reasons their mothers are poor and about why asthma rates are so high in big cities. They also know what needs to be done to change the picture; action is central to the curriculum. It is the dynamic interplay between learning and doing that makes the Family School pedagogy so compelling.   [More]   [More]  Descriptors: Social Justice, United States History, Charter Schools, Racial Discrimination

McCoy, Melody L. (2000). Federal Indian Law and Policy Affecting American Indian and Alaska Native Education. Indian Education Legal Support Project "Tribalizing Indian Education.". The Native American Rights Fund is the national legal defense fund for American Indian and Alaska Native tribes. Its Indian Education Legal Support Project advances Native American education by emphasizing the legal rights of tribes to control the formal education of tribal members in all types of schools–federal, state, and tribal. This booklet presents an overview of major legal principles of federal Indian law, major developments in federal Indian policy, and how they have affected the education of American Indians and Alaska Natives. Three fundamental legal principles of federal Indian law are presented: tribes are independent sovereign governments, separate from the states and the federal government; tribal sovereignty generally extends over a federally recognized geographic territory and over the activities and conduct of tribal and nontribal members within that territory; and tribal sovereignty is inherent and exists unless and until Congress takes it away. Court case examples illustrating these principles are given. Since questions about tribal sovereignty are often viewed as questions of the intent of Congress, acts of Congress concerning treaties, statutes, and public laws are reviewed, along with court case examples. A history of federal Indian education laws and policies traces tribal control from pre-contact through Federal control, state control, and finally to the return toward tribal control. Laws and policies that are unique to Alaska Natives are reviewed. "Homework" questions explore implications for American Indian and Alaska Native education.   [More]  Descriptors: Alaska Natives, American Indian Education, American Indian History, American Indians

Janda, Sarah Eppler (2005). "Her Heritage Is Helpful": Race, Ethnicity, and Gender in the Politicization of LaDonna Harrris, Great Plains Quarterly. This article chronicles LaDonna Harris's experiences with the media, the public, and government leaders as she rose from humble origins in the Great Plains to national prominence as a leading advocate of Native American rights in the latter half of the twentieth century. Harris helped to integrate Lawton, Oklahoma, in the early 1960s, founded Oklahomans for Indian Opportunity (OIO) in 1965, and established Americans for Indian Opportunity (AIO) in 1970.   [More]  Descriptors: Women Administrators, American Indians, Civil Rights, Advocacy

Echohawk, John (1994). The Importance of Education, Children Today. The executive director of the Native American Rights Fund recounts his education experiences in the area of Indian law. Encourages native youth to pursue higher education even under financial pressures, noting the importance of education for native youth and their tribes in this era of Indian self-determination. Descriptors: American Indian Education, American Indians, Educational Attainment, Educational Needs

Native American Rights Fund, Boulder, CO. (1983). Native American Rights Fund: 1982 Annual Report. The 1982 annual report of the Native American Rights Fund (NARF), a non-profit organization specializing in the protection of Indian rights, explains the organization, its structure, its priorities, its activities, and its financial status. Opening statements by the chairman, Roger Jim, and the executive director, John Echohawk, note that despite $270,000 less in federal funds in fiscal 1982, NARF achieved significant decisions in major legal cases involving Indian treaty fishing rights in the Great Lakes and prevention of flooding of the Fort McDowell Mohave-Apache Reservation. The report continues with a description of the founding and development of NARF and an explanation of its priorities: preservation of tribal existence, protection of tribal natural resources, promotion of human rights, accountability of governments, and development of Indian law. Following descriptions of NARF's organization, administration, financial accountability, and national support committee, the report presents a detailed account of the organization's activities in 1982 in the areas of tribal status clarification, tribal governmental authority, protection of Indian lands, Eastern Indian land claims, tribal water rights, Indian hunting and fishing rights, Indian education, the Indian law support center, and the National Indian Law Library. A 9-page treasurer's report and financial statement complete the illustrated report. Descriptors: Accountability, American Indian Culture, American Indian Education, American Indian Reservations

Williams, Meghan, Ed.; Price, Jennifer M., Ed. (2009). The Link: Connecting Juvenile Justice and Child Welfare. Volume 7, Number 2, Winter 2009, Child Welfare League of America (NJ1). This issue of "The Link" newsletter contains the following articles: (1) Understanding the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children (Lisa Goldblatt Grace); (2) Native American Juvenile Rights: Who Cares? (Terry L. Cross and Kathleen A. Fox); and (3) Strong Juvenile Justice Legislation Passes Senate Committee: Includes Expanded Coordination of JJ and Child Welfare (Tim Briceland-Betts). Director's Message, Policy Update, and Recommended Reading information are also included.   [More]  Descriptors: American Indians, Child Welfare, Juvenile Justice, Childrens Rights

Nelson, Melissa K. (2011). The Future of Native Studies: A Modest Manifesto, American Indian Culture and Research Journal. In the author's presentation at the gathering and celebration of forty years of the American Indian Studies Center, she focused on emerging, positive trends and developments in Native American/American Indian/indigenous studies (NAS) and on areas to move toward as educators expand the field in order to make it more current and relevant to the lived experiences of Native Americans today. In this short essay, the author summarizes these trends and encourages further exploration and development of other themes in the unfolding field of NAS. She offers these observations as an Anishinaabe/Metis woman who has served as a professor of American Indian studies in California for eight years and as the executive director of a Native American indigenous rights nonprofit organization for seventeen years.   [More]  Descriptors: American Indian Studies, American Indians, Nonprofit Organizations, Futures (of Society)

Harjo, Lisa D. (1995). Protecting Native American Religious Freedom. Teaching Strategy, Update on Law-Related Education. Presents a secondary school lesson plan to help students recognize the status of Native American religious rights in the United States. Includes a list of presentation topics for student research. Provides learning objectives, step-by-step teaching procedures, and three student handout masters. Descriptors: American Indian Culture, American Indian History, American Indians, Cultural Differences

Hussey, Michael (2014). "Records of Rights": A New Exhibit at the National Archives in Washington, D.C, Social Education. America's founding documents–the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights–are icons of human liberty. But the ideals enshrined in those documents did not initially apply to all Americans. They were, in the words of Martin Luther King, Jr., "a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir." "Records of Rights," a new permanent exhibition at the National Archives in Washington, D.C, allows visitors to explore how generations of Americans discussed and debated how to fulfill this promise of freedom. "Records of Rights" showcases original and facsimile National Archives documents and uses an innovative interactive experience to illustrate Americans' struggles to define rights related to citizenship, free speech, voting, and equal opportunity. "Records of Rights" opened on December 11, 2013, in the David M. Rubenstein Gallery at the National Archives Building in Washington, D.C. In this article, National Archives and Records Administration curator Michael Hussey describes the primary features of the "Records of Rights" exhibit including a 17-foot-long interactive computer table, showcasing over 350 National Archives documents, photographs, and films that allows visitors to explore the records based on topics or themes of their choosing, including workplace rights, First Amendment rights, equal rights, rights of privacy and sexuality, rights of the accused, and Native American rights.   [More]  Descriptors: Archives, Exhibits, Freedom, Civil Rights

Education Journal of the Institute for the Development of Indian Law (1973). Law Suits Free Indian Education Monies. In 1973, when it became evident that the Federal Administration was not going to implement the 1972 Indian Education Act or release its funds unless pressure was applied, both the Native American Rights Fund and the Coalition of Indian Controlled School Boards filed suit against the Federal Government.   [More]  Descriptors: American Indians, Boards of Education, Court Litigation, Educational Finance

McCoy, Melody L.; Thompson, Melissa K. (1997). Indian Education Legal Support Project, "Tribalizing Indian Education." Compilation of State Indian Education Laws. The Native American Rights Fund seeks to "tribalize" formal education through developing tribal education laws and reforming state and national Indian education legislation. The Indian Education Legal Support Project advances Native American rights in education by emphasizing the legal rights of tribes to control the formal education of tribal members in all types of schools: federal, state, and tribal. This document contains the following materials for use in educational assessment and planning: an alphabetical list of the 36 states that have Indian education laws; and an alphabetical list by subject matter, with state-by-state excerpts of the relevant laws. Subject categories (with the number of states that address that category) include: (1) cooperative agreements with tribes, 8; (2) curricula and programs, 12; (3) education-related committees, 17; (4) finance and funding, 16; (5) scholarships/grants/tuition and recruitment programs, 22; (6) staffing and personnel, 7; and (7) other, including collection and reporting of statistical data, and secondary school minority career counseling, 3. Descriptors: American Indian Education, Educational Legislation, Educational Responsibility, Elementary Secondary Education

McKay, Robert B. (1977). Nine for Equality Under Law: Civil Rights Litigation. A Report to the Ford Foundation. This report reviews the litigation activities of the nine organizations which received financial assistance from the Ford Foundation to assess the usefulness of litigation as a means of advancing Constitutional civil rights. The litigation activities of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, and the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law are described. The Ford Foundation also helped establish the Native American Rights Fund, the Mexican Education Fund, and the Women's Law Fund. The activities of these four organizations are described as are the activities on behalf of former addicts and ex-offenders by the National Committee Against Discrimination in Housing and the Legal Action Center. Finally, the Center for National Policy Review, which monitors civil rights and equal opportunity legislation and policy by federal government agencies is described. An appendix lists the recipients of Ford Foundation funds for civil rights litigation programs along with the amount of each grant and the address, director and age of each recipient organization. Photographs of people and activities are included.   [More]  Descriptors: Civil Rights Legislation, Court Litigation, Educational Programs, Evaluation