Tribal Documents and Laws

Karuk Cultural Information & Knowledge Policy Statement: Sípnuuk Digital Library, Archives and Museum

Year

U.S. Copyright Laws privilege western intellectual property systems and function as an enforcement tool for ongoing colonial rule over our documented traditional Karuk knowledge. Karuk cultural heritage documentation is currently and has historically been subject to United States Copyright laws, which has resulted in legacies of legal dispossession of these records from the Karuk Tribe and Karuk People. Non-Karuk institutions and individuals claim legal ownership and/or possession of the vast majority of documented Karuk cultural materials, actively or passively maintaining these legacies that leave the Karuk Tribe and Karuk People without legal rights to control the circulation of, access to, and control over documented knowledge.

Native Nations
Citation

Karuk Cultural Information & Knowledge Policy Statement: Sípnuuk Digital Library, Archives and Museum. March 10, 2016. Karuk Tribal Council. https://sipnuuk.karuk.us/system/files/atoms/file/ATALM17_Cultural%20Information%20Policy_final.pdf

Model Tribal Secured Transactions Act

Year

The Model Tribal Secured Transactions Act (MTSTA) is based on the Uniform Commercial Code's (UCC) Article 9 and provides a legal framework for promotion of private business via secured transactions. A secured transaction occurs when a loan is issued and personal property, not real estate, is used as collateral.  The MTSTA is an important and infuential piece of legislation which supports the growth of entrepreneurship by providing an effective method for financing and securing business transactions.

Citation

National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws (2005).  Model Tribal Secured Transactions Act. National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws. Chicago, IL.

Implementation Guide and Commentary to the Model Tribal Secured Transactions Act

Year

This Implementation Guide and Commentary to the Model Tribal Secured Transactions Act (hereinafter “Act” or “MTA”) drafted by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws (“NCCUSL”) and the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis was developed for three purposes: (1) to assist tribal legislatures in their review, adaptation and enactment of the Act; (2) to facilitate the use and understanding of the Act by tribal judges, legal counsel and individuals promoting business development in Indian Country; and (3) to assist non-tribal lenders and businesses in understanding the similarities and differences between the Act and corresponding provisions of the Uniform Commercial Code (“UCC”).

The Act is derived in large part from Revised Article 9 of the UCC1 as well as some sections of UCC Articles 1, 2 and 8 to ensure a material degree of harmonization between the law of different tribes, and between tribes and states. In order to accommodate tribal business, legal and cultural environments, the Act differs from UCC Article 9 in a number of respects. However, the core principles, terminology and processes that inform the Act are sufficiently similar to the UCC to ensure that tribal and non-tribal practitioners will feel at ease working within both tribal and state jurisdictions.

Section I of this Implementation Guide discusses secured transactions law generally, and provides background about the NCCUSL Model Tribal Secured Transactions Act initiative. Section II contains a list of special considerations and recommendations for tribal legislatures, tribal courts and legal practitioners, including section subheadings and numbering; the use of references to the Official Text and Commentary of the UCC and other state law; other tribal laws to be considered when adopting the Act, and the role of tribal customs and traditions. Section III contains a section-by-section commentary of the Act’s provisions. Section IV discusses filing systems and options for tribes to consider. Section V discusses the importance of making tribal laws and court decisions readily accessible to the public. Section VI contains suggestions for transitional rules, including options depending on the tribal jurisdiction’s current laws. Finally, Section VII contains a model joint powers filing system agreement, and a model tribal filing system regulation.

Native Nations
Citation

National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws (2005). Implementation Guide and Commentary to the Model Tribal Secured Transactions Act. National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws. Chicago, IL.

Indian Affairs Mortgage Handbook

Producer
U.S. Department of the Interior: Bureau of Indian Affairs
Year

The purpose of this handbook is to provide guidance to BIA staff for processing leasehold and trust land mortgages on trust or restricted land; specifically, how to review and analyze a mortgage loan request from a lender using a minimum, streamlined, and standardized process. The handbook contains checklists, templates, and other documents to assist staff throughout this process. All references to “days” within this handbook are calendar days, not business days. Additionally, all references to “Agency” and “Region” within this handbook are to the applicable BIA Agency and/or Region. The following items will be addressed in more detail in the following pages:

  • Mortgage documents required from the lender
  • Requesting a certified Title Status Report (TSR)
  • Process for reviewing & approving leasehold and trust land mortgages
  • Completion of the BIA checklist for the required documents
  • Review of the lender’s appraisal
  • Reviewing certified TSRs for land status and encumbrances
  • Preparing the Regional Director’s (RD) or Agency Superintendent’s Decision Letter
  • Recording process in Land Titles and Records Office (LTRO)
  • Actions taken in the event of defaults and foreclosure
Citation

U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs. "Indian Affairs: Mortgage Handbook 52 IAM 4-H" July 15, 2019. Handbook. (https://www.bia.gov/sites/default/files/dup/assets/public/raca/handbook/pdf/..., accessed July 21, 2023)

Standing Rock Sioux Tribe: Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy

Author
Year

A Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) is the outcome of a regional planning process designed to assess current conditions and guide the responsible economic growth of an area. It includes an analysis of factors that account for a community’s current economic state, identification of critical issues and economic opportunities, a clear vision statement, specific strategies to achieve community goals, and an implementation plan which ensures community and stakeholder participation at every level. The successful implementation of a CEDS results in economic growth through capitalization on current strengths, utilization of community resources, and improvements to labor, infrastructure, health, education, and housing. This is achieved while protecting natural resources and the environment, resulting in a higher quality of life for community members. The CEDS process, repeated every five years, is manageable means to achieving enduring economic health. It maintains, strengthens, and revisions long-term economic goals over decades by apportioning them into practical and attainable projects which create real and visible solutions to immediate problems. 

Native Nations
Citation

Hall, Ronald & Brian E. Wilkerson. Standing Rock Sioux Tribe: Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy. Standing Rock Sioux Tribe Strategic Planning Committee. Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. Fort Yates, North Dakota. Report.  (http://standingrock.org/data/upfiles/files/SRST%20CEDS%20For%20Community..., accessed December 9, 2015)

Swinomish Climate Change Initiative: Climate Adaptation Action Plan

Year

In the fall of 2008 the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community started work on a landmark two-year Climate Change Initiative to study the impacts of climate change on the resources, assets, and community of the Swinomish Indian Reservation and to develop recommendations on actions to adapt to projected impacts. This followed issuance of a Proclamation by the Tribal Senate in 2007 directing action to study and assess climate change impacts on the Reservation. Under the guidance and coordination of the Swinomish Office of Planning & Community Development, the first year of the project was devoted to assessment of projected impacts, as presented in an Impact Assessment Technical Report issued in the fall of 2009. The second year of the project was focused on evaluation of strategies and options for recommended actions to counter identified impacts, which resulted in preparation and release of this report. The ultimate goal of the project was to help ensure an enduring and climate-resilient community that can meet the challenges of anticipated impacts in the years to come. The information in this report, therefore, completes the Tribe's first critical assessment of climate change issues and actions, as a basis for the next steps in what is expected to be an ongoing effort to address a daunting array of complex issues.

Citation

"Swinomish Climate Change Initiative: Climate Adaptation Action Plan." Swinomish Indian Tribal Community. Office of Planning and Community Development. La Conner, Washington. October 2010. Report. (https://static1.squarespace.com/static/...201010_SITC_CC_AdaptationActionPlan.pdf, accessed January 22, 2024)

Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes Climate Change Strategic Plan

Year

Overwhelming scientific evidence demonstrates that human inputs of greenhouse gases are almost certain to cause continued warming of the planet. (Environmental Protection Agency, 2013) The Northwest has already observed climate changes including an average increase in temperature of 1.5°F over the past century. (Karl, Melillo, & Peterson, 2009) Locally, all models predict warmer temperatures, lower snowpack, and more frequent and severe droughts and floods. (Marni E. Koopman, 2011) The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes acknowledge these change and its potential impacts on the Flathead Reservation in Montana.

Citation

"Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes Climate Change Strategic Plan." The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Reservation. Pablo, Montana. Published September 2013. Updated April 2016. Report. (http://csktclimate.org/downloads/Climate%20Change%20Strategic.pdf, accessed March 29, 2023)

Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment and Adaptation Plan

Year

Jamestown S'Klallam Tribal Citizens and their descendants reside in a landscape that has sustained them for thousands of years, the Olympic Peninusula of Washington State. Particularly over the last two centuries, the Jamestown S'Klallam people have successfully navigated a variety of soceital changes, all while maintaining a connection to the resource-rich ecosystems of the region. The Jamestown people are now experiencing yet another broad-scale transformation to their homelands, the impacts of global climate change.

Changing climate and its associated impacts are not entirely new to the Tribe, which has successfully adapted to past climate variations. Yet the large magnitude and rapid rate of current and projected climate change require unique responses. To protect and preserve culturally important resources and assets; ensure continued economic growth; and promote long-term community vitality; it is important to incorporate climate change into the Tribe's planning efforts and operations.

Native Nations
Citation

Petersen, S. & J. Bell (eds). Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment and Adaptation Plan. Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe. A Collaboration of the Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe and Adaptation International. 2013. Report. https://jamestowntribe.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/3-JSK_Climate_Change_Adaptation_Report_Final_Aug_2013s.pdf 

Navajo Peacemaking Guide

Author
Year

The concept of peacemaking or Hózhoji K’e Náhóodleel goes back to the beginning of time and is embedded in the journey narrative. In fact, according to the journey narrative, the Holy People journeyed through four worlds. In the course of their journey, they came upon many problems, which were either caused naturally or caused by the Holy People. The problems had to be addressed and resolved before the journey continued. The problems could be addressed by the use of prayers, songs and offerings. These remedies were incorporated into the Diné Traditional Ceremonies. Another way to address the problems was to talk about them in a controlled way. This talking out became the Diné peacemaking process.

The Diné traditional dispute resolution process is the Dine traditional “court of law and equity”. This process is known as Hózhoji nahat’á which can be loosely translated as reparation or mending of controversies through harmony. Diné Peacemaking is an adaptation of the traditional process...

Native Nations
Citation

Navajo Nation. Navajo Peacemaking Guide. Navajo Nation. September 2004. Guide. (http://www.navajocourts.org/Peacemaking/peaceguide.pdf, accessed August 21, 2014)

The Gitanyow Ayookxw: The Constitution of the Gitanyow Nation

Year

WE are the Gitanyow peoples. We have a long-standing and rich oral tradition which speaks to all aspects of our lives. This written Constitution must be interpreted and understood in the context of our oral history and oral traditions...

THEREFORE, by virtue of our inherent right to govern ourselves and in order to more transparently record our customs, institutions and obligations to each other and to those who come to live as part of our community and in order to guide our relationships with other governments, we, the Gitanyow Nation adopt this written Constitution.

Native Nations
Citation

Gitanyow Nation. The Gitanyow Ayookxw: The Constitution of the Gitanyow Nation. Gitanyow Nation. Kitwanga, British Columbia. Canada. 2009. (http://www.gitanyowchiefs.com/media/constitution, accessed May 6, 2014)