Native American Rights Fund (NARF)

Currently in our 54th year of legal advocacy to tribal nations and their communities, the Native American Rights Fund (NARF) is the oldest and largest nonprofit law firm dedicated to the legal needs of tribal nations, tribal organizations, and tribal individuals across the country. What began as part of the California Indian legal defense fund, the advocacy needs of tribal nations required immediate growth and NARF quickly became known as the premiere legal advocacy organization in the country. NARF plays a critical role in the defense, assertion, and protection of tribal sovereignty and individual rights, as well as functioning as the premier thought leader in federal, state, and tribal law and policy. NARF is guided by five mission priorities which include the preservation of tribal existence, the protection of tribal natural resources, the promotion of human rights, the accountability of governments to Native Americans, the development of Indian law and by extension, the education of the public about contemporary Indian rights, laws, and issues. A board of directors consisting of tribal and indigenous leaders from across the country guide the direction of NARF to the fulfillment of our mission in protecting tribal interests, and our litigation management committee alongside our corporate officers ensure that the programs and cases NARF engages in ensure that NARF will continue to effectively advocate under the umbrella of Federal Indian law for the benefit of tribal nations. This umbrella involves many different practice areas but allows us to practice in the following work areas. NARF works to continue assisting tribes in constructing the foundations of law and policy that are necessary to empower them so that they may live according to their Native traditions. NARF works to enforce tribal treaty rights, to ensure independence on reservations, to protect tribal sovereignty, and to assist tribes in providing for an adequate land base and control over natural resources that are central components of economic self-sufficiency and self-determination. These issues are vital to the very existence of tribes. NARF enforces and strengthens laws which are designed to protect the rights of Indigenous Peoples to practice their traditional religion, to use their own language, enjoy their culture, and ensure the welfare of their children. NARF enforces the inherent duty for all levels of government to recognize and responsibly enforce the many laws and regulations applicable to Indian peoples and the trust duties to which those give rise, and our work establishes favorable court precedents for Indian Country. NARF distributes information and law materials, encourages and fosters Indian legal education, and forms alliances with Indian law practitioners, and Indian and non-native organizations to advance our work. Ongoing threats to human rights, the environment, race relations and the promotion of corporate interests over Native nations confirms the critical need for the legal, policy, and programming work of NARF. This update report will provide a few examples of our work and programming organized by our mission priorities. 1. Preservation of Tribal Existence: Self-determination and the free exercise of inherent tribal sovereignty will ensure that tribal nations will continue to exist and thrive well into the future. A secure and permanent land base, and the tribal communities' ability to live according to their culture, customs, traditions, and lifeways, is an important part of NARF's work. a) Judicial Selection Project The Judicial Selection Project is about increasing the representation of Native Americans in the federal judiciary, research, and education. The education objective focuses on educating the federal judiciary about tribal issues, educating tribal leaders about the federal judiciary and the judicial nomination process, and reaching out to elected officials and the public at large about the need for Native American federal judges and judges who understand the unique legal status of Indian tribes. The research objective of the Project evaluates the records of judicial nominees on their knowledge of Indian issues. The analysis and conclusions are shared with tribal leaders and federal decision-makers in relation to their decision whether to support or oppose a particular nomination. The Project works with the White House to promote better Native American representation in the federal judiciary and the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee to ensure that nominees are asked about their experience with Indian tribes and their understanding of federal Indian law during confirmation proceedings. There are approximately 100 vacancies in the federal judiciary and the Biden Administration has taken the position that racial, ethnic, and professional diversity is important in selecting judicial nominees. On November 20, 2023, the Senate confirmed Shanlyn Park, who is native Hawaiian, for a seat on the United States District Court for the District of Hawaii. On December 19, 2023, the Senate confirmed Sara Hill, a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, for a seat on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma. She is the first Native American woman to serve as a federal judge in Oklahoma, and only the eighth Native American to serve as an Article III judge. NARF, National Congress of the American Indian (NCAI), and the National Native American Bar Association (NNABA) continue to work with the White House Counsel's Office to ensure that qualified Native candidates are considered and nominated to fill vacancies on the federal bench. In furthering its education objective, the Project has produced memoranda on all of the U.S. Supreme Court nominees since 2005, which are available at httpssctnarforgarticlesupdateshtml Additionally, the Project intends to replicate the success of the historic visit by Supreme Court Justices O'Connor and Breyer to Indian reservation communities during the summer of 2001. Since then, judges from the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, Tenth Circuit, and Eighth Circuit have attended the NCAI conferences held in Sacramento, Denver, and Rapid City. Invitations have been extended to various judges from federal district and appellate courts. b) Tribal Supreme Court Project The Tribal Supreme Court Project (Project) is part of the Tribal Sovereignty Protection Initiative and is staffed by the National Congress of American Indians Fund (NCAI Fund) and the Native American Rights Fund (NARF). The Project was formed in 2001 in response to a series of U.S. Supreme Court cases that negatively affected tribal sovereignty. The purpose of the Project is to promote greater coordination and to improve strategy on litigation that may affect the rights of all Indian tribes. The Tribal Supreme Court Project is based on the principle that a coordinated and structured approach to tribal advocacy is necessary to preserve tribal sovereignty. The Project performs the following functions in an effort to make better tools available to enhance the overall quality of tribal advocacy before the Supreme Court: - In conjunction with the National Indian Law Library, monitors Indian law cases in the state and federal appellate courts that have the potential to reach the Supreme Court (NILL Indian Law Bulletins) - Maintains an on-line depository of briefs and opinions in all Indian law cases filed with the U.S. Supreme Court and cases being monitored in the U.S. Court of Appeal and State Supreme Courts (Court Documents) - Prepares an Update Memorandum of Cases which provides an overview of Indian law cases pending before the U.S. Supreme Court, cases being monitored and the current work being performed by the Project - Offers assistance to tribal leaders and their attorneys to determine whether to file a Petition for a Writ of Certiorari (see definition) to the U.S. Supreme Court in cases where they lost in the court below - Offers assistance to attorneys representing Indian tribes to prepare their Brief in Opposition (see definition) at the Petition Stage (see definition) in cases where they won in the court below - Coordinates an Amicus Brief (see definition) writing network and helps to develop litigation strategies at both the Petition Stage and the Merits Stage (see definition) to ensure that the briefs receive the maximum attention of the Justices - When appropriate, prepares and submits Amicus Briefs on behalf of Indian tribes and Tribal Organizations - Provides other brief writing assistance, including reviewing and editing of the principal briefs, and the performance of additional legal research - Coordinates and conducts Moot Court (see definition) and Roundtable opportunities for attorneys who are presenting Oral Arguments (see definition) before the Court - Conducts conference calls and fosters panel discussions among attorneys nation-wide about pending Indian law cases and, when necessary, forms small w

The National Indian Law Library (NILL) is the only law library in the United States devoted to American Indian law. The library serves both NARF and members of the public. Since it was started as a NARF project in 1972, NILL has collected nearly 19,000 bibliographic resources that relate to federal Indian and tribal law. The Library's holdings include the largest collection of tribal codes, ordinances and constitutions available; legal pleadings from major Indian law cases; and often hard to find reports and historical legal information. In addition to making its catalog and extensive collection available to the public, NILL provides free weekly Indian law updates via email to over 7,000 subscribers and answers more than 100 research questions each month. Most importantly, NILL supports the research needs of NARF so that it can make the best arguments and provide the best representation to its clients. The Access to Tribal Law Project continues to be an invaluable resource for researchers and practitioners in tribal law. In 2023, NILL employees maintained the tribal law research pages for each of the 574 federally recognized tribes, providing access to hard to find tribal law. The Library has established good relationships with a number of tribes who regularly send updates to their laws as changes are made and is working to develop relationships with others who have expressed interest.