Throughout colonial history in the Americas and Oceania, many Portuguese, Spanish, and English colonists and leaders compared Indigenous Peoples to animals.  See Robert J. Miller, The International Law of Colonialism: A Comparative Analysis, 15 Lewis & Clark L. Rev. 101, 161-69 (forthcoming 2012). (available now at http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1920009) George Washington, the father of the United States, was no [...]

The sons of Jim Thorpe have been trying to get the remains of their father back from a Pennsylvania town for years.  On November 23, 2011, a federal court rendered its second decision in this case. THORPE v. BOROUGH OF JIM THORPE, 2011WL5878377. Here are the facts of the case as stated by the plaintiffs in their complaint: [...]

To my knowledge, United States Supreme Court justices have made very few official visits to Indian reservations.  A few years ago, Justices Breyer and O'Connor visited two or three reservations. Recently, Justice Samuel Alito and other federal judges visited the Pine Ridge reservation and were briefed on Lakota culture and talked with tribal officials about issues facing Native [...]

Yesterday, the New York Times wrote about thousands of Indians in California who have been kicked out of their tribes in recent years for "the crime of not being of the proper bloodline."  Almost all tribal governments determine their citizenship based on a certain amount of tribally specific blood.  The idea of using blood quantum to [...]

A study by Baylor University researchers shows that Native Americans’ land use nearly a century ago produced a widespread impact on the eastern North American landscape and floodplain development. Researchers attribute early colonial land-use practices, such as deforestation, plowing and damming with influencing present-day hydrological systems across eastern North America. Previous studies suggest that Native Americans’ land [...]

Two Canadian organizations issued a press release today that the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women will conduct an inquiry into the murders and disappearances of Aboriginal women and girls across Canada. The Committee is the UN’s main authority on women’s human rights issues.  An inquiry procedure is used when the Committee believes [...]

The Seattle Times reported on October 2, 2011 that a deal has been reached between the federal government and one of the world's largest mining companies to cleanup a closed uranium mine on the Spokane Indian Reservation in eastern Washington. Newmont Mining Co. and its subsidiary Dawn Mining will pay nearly $150 million for restoration [...]

The Times of India newspaper reports that the Indian Confederation of Indigenous and Tribal Peoples, North East Zone (ICITP-NEZ), has formed a seven-member committee to take up the issue of implementing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).  ICITP-NEZ president Jebra Ram Muchahary will head the committee.  India was one of [...]

Survival International issued a press release yesterday about gangs of gunmen harassing Indigenous peoples in Brazil.  Many natives have been killed by gunmen who are allegedly hired by ranchers who want to use native lands. The release states in part: "Gunmen in Brazil are brazenly intimidating indigenous communities with a hit list of prominent leaders, following [...]

Unbelieveably, bison are now running free in the United States.  After dropping to a population as low as 24 a century ago, and all located in Yellowstone Park, the bison have rebounded.  For years now, Yellowstone buffalo have been killed as they tried to roam outside the Park's boundaries.  Ranchers fear that free roaming buffalo will spread brucellosis [...]