American Indian Law Program

American Indian Law Program
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The American Indian Law Program at Colorado Law

At Colorado Law, we are committed to education and advocacy in Indigenous Peoples’ Law. Accordingly, our American Indian Law Program offers a full slate of doctrinal and clinical classes to prepare students for tribal, federal, and international law practice. Drawing from the legacy of our earliest alumni, including the famous legal intellectual Vine Deloria ’70, and our relationship with the , our approach to American Indian Law is deeply grounded in Indian Country and in Indigenous communities throughout the world. Our students, faculty, and staff work closely with tribal governments in the United States, especially on issues of treaty rights, natural resources, cultural property, religious freedoms, and economic development. The AILP is also active at the United Nations, where we work to advance Indigenous Peoples’ human rights through . Our Native American Law Students Association (NALSA) is extremely active, with recent top finishes at the National NALSA Moot Court Competition, an annual Fall Harvest Feast, and other educational and social events throughout the year. In all of these ways, American Indian Law is thriving at Colorado Law. We hope you will join us!

To support the American Indian Law Program, please follow or click the button below, and select our program fund in the dropdown list under "Gift Designation".

American Indian Law Program Full-time Faculty

Colorado Law's full-time faculty are nationally recognized experts in American Indian Law.

Resident faculty

On leave or emeritus

In memoriam

Charles Wilkinson

 

American Indian Law Certificate Program

Colorado Law  offers an American Indian Law Certificate demonstrating the completion of a  concentrated course of study in the legal issues facing Native peoples and American Indian tribes. This Certificate is attractive to legal, tribal, and governmental employers, as well as employers seeking to do  business with tribes and tribal members.

Certificate requirements include: (1) at least 92 credit hours (89 is required for the  J.D.), and (2) at least 18 of the 92 credit hours in designated Indian law and  related courses. Visit for complete details. 

To register for the American Indian Law Certificate, please complete the following steps: 

(1) Consult with the Director of the American Indian Law Program () about your planned selection of courses; 

(2) Complete the when registering for your second year of law school.

Course Requirements:

Required courses after the first year (14 credits):

Remaining (4) credits may be earned from the following:
 

From the American Indian Law Curriculum

  •  (the seminar rotates among topics with recent topics including Indigenous Peoples in International Law; Economic Development & Resources in Indian Country; Indian Country & the Regulatory State)
  •  
  • (upon the approval of the AILP Director)
  •  on an American Indian law topic (upon approval of the AILP Director)
  •  with an American Indian law focus (upon the approval of the AILP Director)
  • Any course from the University of Colorado’s Native American Indigenous Studies (“NAIS”) graduate certificate (upon approval of the AILP Director)
  • American Indian law course at another law school on a topic not regularly offered at Colorado Law (upon the approval of the AILP Director)

From the Environment and Natural Resources Law Curriculum

From the Government and Public Law Curriculum

From the Litigation, Negotiation, and Alternative Dispute Resolution Curriculum 

From the Business & Commercial Law Curriculum

From the International and Comparative Law Curriculum

From the Labor & Employment Curriculum

From the Property, Trusts and Estates & Land Use Curriculum

From the Family & Juvenile Justice Curriculum

From the Legal Theory, Jurisprudence, and Social Policy Curriculum

From the Research & Writing Curriculum

From the Intellectual Property, Technology, and Telecommunications Curriculum

Other

  • Other classes that may be approved by the AILP Directors and the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs.

The American Indian Law Clinic

Mission and Clients      

The American Indian Law Clinic, established in 1992 as one of the first of its kind, provides quality legal representation to low-income clients with specific Indian law related problems. Many in the Denver region have limited access to legal assistance and that access is further restricted when the issue involves Indian law. They have nowhere to turn when certain rights, some guaranteed by treaty, are denied. The Clinic’s student attorneys provide hundreds of hours of pro bono legal work to assist these people with direct legal assistance when possible, or by acting as a referral source when unable to help directly.

Scope      

During this  yearlong course, students receive classroom instruction and hands-on experience  regarding Indian law issues, focused primarily on Colorado cases and projects that have a  uniquely Indian law dimension. “Uniquely Indian law” issues are addressed by  that body of law that concerns the status of Indian tribes and regulates the  legal relationship between them, the federal government, the states and their  citizens—commonly known as federal Indian law. All cases accepted and projects  undertaken by the Clinic involve issues of federal Indian law or the law of a  particular tribe. Student attorneys handle cases under the supervision of a  licensed attorney, the American Indian Law Clinic Director.

Type of  Legal Assistance      

Colorado Law  students provide valuable legal advocacy research, writing, and education to individuals,  the tribal courts, and tribal communities.

  • Tribal sovereignty
  • Preservation of tribal identity (including matters governed by the federal )
  • International Indigenous Peoples Law
  • Preservation of Native lands
  • Religious freedom
  • Tribal court support
  • Tribal governance enhancement, including drafting of legislative codes  and regulations
  • Cases generally not handled by the Clinic: criminal (including  post-conviction review), traffic citations, those that would provide a fee to a  private attorney (such as personal injury or workers' compensation claims), and  non-Indian or non-tribal law issues.    

Projects      

The American  Indian Law Clinic seeks out opportunities to expand its legal  services to the Native American community in critical areas. In addition to the  representation of Native Americans and tribes, the Clinic has undertaken the  following projects:

  • American Indian  Community Legal Education Outreach Projects:  The American Indian Law Clerk engages in annual outreach projects that provide  legal education on cutting-edge topics of federal Indian law to tribal communities  and to Colorado’s Native population. These projects provide a unique learning  opportunity for the student attorneys as they travel to different Indian  communities to provide this important information. Recent community education  topics have included:                     
    • The first Colorado  Tribal-State Judicial Seminar, “Improving Implementation of Federal Full Faith  and Credit Mandates”
    • Colorado Indian  Community Law Day with the theme “Legal Issues Affecting Native American  Children”
    • Workshops for the  Southern Ute, Ute Mountain Ute and the Shoshone and Arapahoe tribal communities on the impact of the American Indian Probate Reform Act on tribal member land  interests
    • A training for the  Northern Cheyenne Tribe on how to improve the outcome of child welfare cases in  Colorado courts involving tribal member children.
    • Workshop with Tribe on Free Informed Prior Consent (FPIC)
    • Workshop on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation entitled "Know Your Rights Under the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA)" presented in conjunction with Lakota Peoples' Law Project
    • Workshop for students on incorporation, entity formation, and jurisdiction for the Red Cloud Indian School on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation
  • Family Preservation Project: Under its Family Preservation Project, the American Indian Law Clinic  works with the Denver Indian Family  Resource Center  to help maintain and strengthen the Indian family unit in the Denver metropolitan area. The Clinic delivers  legal assistance to Indian individuals on family law, employment, and civil  rights issues. The Clinic is especially active and successful in ensuring  compliance with the federal Indian Child Welfare Act, which among other things,  helps ensure that Indian children are placed with extended family members or  with other Indian families. 
To be added to our mailing list, please .

The Native American Law Student Association (NALSA)

The Native American Law Students Association (NALSA) of CU is a student association of Native American law students as well as non-Native law students interested in Federal Indian Law and Native issues in general.

NALSA provides academic, social, and cultural support to Native American students at the University of Colorado Law School, and to any and all students interested in federal Indian or Tribal law. NALSA hosts and supports numerous events throughout the academic year that provide education on Native issues, connect interested students to Indian law practitioners, and facilitate interaction with other Native American student organizations and members of the local Native community.

Past Activities

Every year in September, NALSA and the American Indian Law Program host a social for the incoming students to meet the current NALSA membership. In November, NALSA also sponsors the Fall Harvest Feast and as well as Spring Feast in late April, a Native American community potluck for law students, members of the Colorado Indian Bar Association (CIBA), and Native American community members. NALSA has also participated in National NALSA Moot Court, the Federal Bar Association's Indian Law Conference, as well as various other community events throughout the academic year.

Officers

President: Malorie Stick
Vice President: Jessica Garcia
Secretary: Haley Rimmer
Treasurer: Hannah Ahders
EMAIL:  NALSA@colorado.edu

NALSA Affiliate Website:  

NALSA Student Group website on Canvas: 

On the NALSA Canvas site, students will find organizational information about NALSA, upcoming events, opportunities (moot court and writing competitions, fellowships, scholarships, externships, clerkships, jobs, etc.), and member contributions to current Native issues. There are also sign-up sheets for event volunteers, surveys, and e-mail access to the NALSA membership.

AILP Community Events & News

Upcoming Events

 

Past Events

2024 Ruth Wright Distinguished Lecture in Natural Resources: Public Lands, Water, and Tribal Sovereignty in an Era of Energy Transition (September 26)

2024 Martz Symposium on Public Lands: The Future of Public Lands - People, Place and Power (October 4 & 5)

2022 54th Algonquin Conference (October 20-23) 

American Indian & Indigenous Peoples Law Career Guide

2022-2023 Guide