The James E. Rogers College of Law at the University of Arizona has created an academic center for the study of American Indian and indigenous peoples law, policy, and human rights. The Indigenous Peoples Law and Policy (IPLP) Program furthers the research, training, and advocacy of Indian law and

international law International law, also known as public international law and the law of nations, is the set of Rule of law, rules, norms, Customary law, legal customs and standards that State (polity), states and other actors feel an obligation to, and generall ...

indigenous peoples There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...

. Courses and clinical opportunities are offered in areas of law and policy concerning indigenous peoples in the United States and around the world. What makes the Indigenous Peoples Law and Policy (IPLP) Program at the University of Arizona Law (Arizona Law) unique is our approach to legal education in the field of federal Indian law, tribal law and policy, and indigenous peoples human rights. Students are trained in the classroom and in real-world settings by faculty who are leaders both in their academic fields and as practitioners in tribal, national, and international forums. Through clinical studies and direct advocacy under the supervision of the world's most distinguished scholars in the field, students and practitioners provide legal and other forms of assistance to local and international indigenous communities. The IPLP Program has been involved in numerous indigenous legal issues around the world. Students and professors in the IPLP Program have assisted Central American Maya villages that have filed lawsuits in the

Belize Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Judicature of Belize is one of three types of courts in Belize, the lower ones being the Magistrate's Courts and the Court of Appeal. It is a court of original jurisdiction in both civil and criminal cases as well as an app ...

alleging that both the attorney general of Belize and the minister of Natural Resources and Environment had violated their property rights. Faculty and students of the IPLP Program have worked in coordination with other groups representing Carrie Dann and recently deceased

Mary Dann The Dann Sisters, Mary Dann (1923–2005) and Carrie Dann (1932–2021), were Western Shoshone elders who were spiritual leaders, ranchers, and cultural, spiritual rights and land rights activists. They challenged the federal government over uses ...

, who have struggled against the federal government for decades over

Western Shoshone Western Shoshone comprise several Shoshone tribes that are indigenous to the Great Basin and have lands identified in the Treaty of Ruby Valley 1863. They resided in Idaho, Nevada, California, and Utah. The tribes are very closely related cult ...

territory, in precedent-setting proceedings before the Organization of American States'

Inter-American Commission on Human Rights The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (the IACHR or, in the three other official languages Spanish, French, and Portuguese language, Portuguese CIDH, ''Comisión Interamericana de los Derechos Humanos'', ''Commission Interaméricaine des ...

and the United Nations

Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) is a United Nations convention. A third-generation human rights instrument, the Convention commits its members to the elimination of racial discri ...

. It culminated with the Inter-American Commission issuing a report in which it condemned the United States for violating the Dann sisters' human rights. In addition, IPLP Program personnel and affiliates have worked with the people of

Awas Tingni Awas Tingni is an Indigenous Mayangna community of some 2,400 members on the Miskito Coast of Nicaragua, in the municipality of Waspam in the North Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region. Awas Tingni is located near the junction of the Rio Wawa and t ...

, a Mayangna (Sumo) indigenous community located on the Atlantic Coast in Nicaragua, for many years with the landmark case decided by the

Inter-American Court of Human Rights The Inter-American Court of Human Rights (I/A Court H.R.) is an international court based in San José, Costa Rica. Together with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, it was formed by the American Convention on Human Rights, a human r ...

, Mayagna (Sumo) Community of Awas Tingni v. Nicaragua. After a lengthy legal battle, the community successfully gained legal recognition of its customary land tenure. Faculty

Robert A. Williams Jr. Robert A. Williams Jr. is an American lawyer, author, and legal scholar. He works in the fields of federal Indian law, international law, indigenous peoples' rights, critical race and post- colonial theory. Williams teaches at the University of A ...

Regents' Professor of Law; Faculty Co-Chair; Indigenous Peoples Law and Policy Program Rebecca Tsosie Regents' Professor of Law; Special Advisor to the Provost for Diversity and Inclusion; Faculty Co-Chair; Indigenous Peoples Law and Policy Program Melissa L. Tatum Research Professor of Law Faculty Chair, American Indian Studies Seanna Howard Externship Coordinator; Professor of Practice James Diamond Director, IPLP Tribal Justice Clinic; Professor of Practice Robert A. Hershey Professor Emeritus James C. Hopkins Associate Clinical Professor, Indigenous Peoples Law and Policy Program Joseph P. Kalt Adjunct Professor

References

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External links

Indigenous Peoples Law and Policy Program
- Official website
ArizonaNativeNet
Human rights organizations University of Arizona Native American law Indigenous rights organizations Aboriginal title