Federal Indian Law and Policy: An Introduction is designed to help students, instructors, and others without a legal background to learn and teach about the legal landscape that shapes Native America. Covering both the historical foundations that continue to inform the present as well as hot button issues facing Native America today, each of the thirty chapters is a concise, readable synopsis of an aspect of this dynamic, ever evolving field of law. Anyone interested in any aspect of Native America, regardless of their familiarity with the law, will find their own studies, classes, and knowledge enhanced by this text.

In the early 1970s, the federal government began recognizing self-determination for American Indian nations. As sovereign entities, Indian nations have been able to establish policies concerning health care, education, religious freedom, law enforcement, gaming, and taxation. David E. Wilkins and K. Tsianina Lomawaima discuss how the political rights and sovereign status of Indian nations have variously been respected, ignored, terminated, and unilaterally modified by federal lawmakers as a result of the ambivalent political and legal status of tribes under western law.

This casebook provides an introduction to the legal relationships between American Indian tribes, the federal government and the individual states. The foundational cases are incorporated with statutory text, background material, hypothetical questions, and discussion problems to enliven the classroom experience and enhance student engagement. The second edition includes expanded materials on gaming, international and comparative law, and more photographs, images, and suggestions for links to external sources.

Hardbound - New, hardbound print book.

This second edition keeps pace with legal developments in policy, federal law, and court decisions, while it continues to fill a unique niche as a primary and secondary text for courses in the field. Updates are provided for key developments such as the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision on tribal sovereign immunity and the release of the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs Guidelines on the interpretation of the Indian Child Welfare Act. A new chapter on Ethics and Professional Responsibility in Indian Law Practice is included. -- from publisher's website.