The Associated Press reports that although wild rice is sacred to the Ojibwe of Minnesota, that might not be enough to protect it from the promise of jobs that a new copper-nickel mining industry would bring to the state. The article reports that state lawmakers and business interests are working to loosen Minnesota’s water quality [...]

The Australian press reported on April 18 on the creation of a new Aboriginal rights magazine called Tracker that will focus on Aboriginal rights. It will feature analysis and investigation of land rights, Aboriginal issues and expose the challenges of institutional racism and discrimination across Australian society. The editor Chris Graham spoke about the need [...]

Fox News reports that on Wednesday, United Nations diplomats were scheduled to devote an entire day to debating the rights of “Mother Earth.” A bloc of governments lead by Bolivia have put the issue on the General Assembly agenda to discuss the creation of a U.N. treaty that would grant the same rights found in [...]

The Vancouver B.C. Sun reports that Bolivia is planning on offering a draft United Nations treaty that would give “Mother Earth” the same rights as humans. This reminds me of the discussion in the United States about giving “standing,” that is, the right to bring a lawsuit to non-humans. This issue is exemplified by Supreme [...]

I have posted on the Social Sciences Research Network webpage the above entitled article that I published in 1993 in the American Indian Law Review. You can download the article for free. Abstract: American Indians and their governments had a profound effect on many of our Founding Fathers and played an important role in shaping [...]

I have posted on the Social Science Research Network webpage a Law Review article I wrote in 2002 ad that was published in the American Indian Law Review. You can download the article for free from SSRN. Abstract: Self-determination is an important concept in federal Indian law and for American Indian Nations. Every distinctly identified [...]

I have posted a book chapter I wrote about Christianity and the doctrine of discovery on the Social Sciences Research Network (“SSRN”) webpage. You can download and read the book chapter for free. The chapter is published in REMEMBERING JAMESTOWN: HARD QUESTIONS ABOUT CHRISTIAN MISSION, Amos Yong, Barbara Brown Zikmund, eds., Pickwick Publications, 2010 Abstract: [...]

Last December, the Pueblo of Jemez and the Santa Fe National Forest entered into a historic agreement that gives the Jemez nation decision making powers over its aboriginal lands. A Memorandum of Understanding signed by Pueblo of Jemez Governor Joshua Madalena and Acting Forest Supervisor of the Santa Fe National Forest Erin Connelly implements an [...]

I’m a little tardy reporting this but in February a court in Ecuador fined US oil giant Chevron a reported $8 billion for polluting a large part of the country’s Amazon region. Apparently, Chevron was liable because Texaco – which merged with Chevron in 2001 – dumped more than 18 billion gallons of toxic materials [...]

As I blogged a few days ago, the repatriation movement (the return) of human remains and other items from museums and educational institutions to their rightful owners and communities continues to grow stronger. The press reports that Northern Mexico’s Yaqui people buried their lost warriors after a two-year effort to rescue the remains from New [...]