NOTE: Many of the collections of governing documents below have not been updated.
Felix S. Cohen, On the Drafting of Tribal Constitutions, (David E. Wilkins ed. 2006).
Location: KF8221.C64 2006
Charters, Constitutions, and By-laws of the Indian Tribes of North America (George E. Fay ed. 1967-).
A multi-volume series published by the University of Northern Colorado Deptartment of Anthropology through about 1981. Each part collects transcriptions of the governing documents of various tribes.
Location: KF8220 .O22
Child Welfare Information Gateway, State Statutes Search (2013-).
Included in the resource's state statutes search results are relevant tribal code provisions available online.
First Nations Gazette, University of Saskatchewan, Native Law Centre (1997-).
An unofficial semi-annual publication of by-laws and codes enacted by the First Nations of Canada.
Location: KC191 .F57
Indian Tribal Codes: A Microfiche Collection of Indian Tribal Law Codes (Ralph W. Johnson ed. & Richard Davies assoc. ed. 2d ed. 1988) (Marian Gould Gallagher Law Library, University of Washington School of Law) [microform].
Updating, but not replacing, the 1981 first edition, the two binders combined include manuals and several hundred microfiche reproducing 125 tribal codes and constitutions.
Location: Microform Room KF8220 .A3 1988
Jicarilla Apache Tribe, Jicarilla Apache Tribal Code: 1987 Compilation of the Laws of the Jicarilla Apache Tribe (1987).
The Code consists of the Revised Constitution of the Jicarilla Apache Tribe and nineteen titles. Index.
Location: KF8228.J5 A5 1987
Lexis Advance.
A growing number of tribal codes.
Library of Congress, Law Library of Congress, American Indian Constitutions and Legal Materials (2014-)
"The Law Library holds most of the laws and constitutions from the early nineteenth century produced by the Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek, and Seminole who were forced to leave the Southeast for the Indian Territory after passage of the Indian Removal Act in 1830. Some of these documents are in the vernacular languages of the tribes."
Montana Indian Law Portal.
Primary legal material arranged by format and topic, designed to facilitate the identification, acquisition, and preservation of Montana's tribal legal documents.
National Congress of American Indians, Introduction to Tribal Governments.
"The guide ... seeks to provide a basic overview of the history and underlying principles of tribal governance. The guide also provides information about tribes today to ensure that decision makers and members of the public at large have the information necessary to understand and engage effectively with contemporary Indian Nations." See also the NCAI Tribal Directory.
Native American Constitution and Law Digitization Project.
A joint project of the University of Oklahoma Law Library and the National Indian Library of the Native American Rights Fund, this site compiles Codes, Constitutions, and Indian Reorganization Act Era Constitutions and Charters. Unfortunately, many links are broken, but several remain active.
Navajo Nation, Arizona, New Mexico & Utah, Navajo Nation Code (1995 ed.).
This six-volume loose-leaf (but not updated) set includes 24 titles. An appendix in the first volume compiles treaties, acts of Congress, federal executive orders, and state constitutional clauses disclaiming right and title to Indian lands.
Location: KF8228.N3 A5 1995
Navajo Nation, Arizona, New Mexico & Utah, Navajo Nation Code Annotated (2005).
A four-volume set kept up to date with pocket parts. The current annotated code is now published by Thomson/West and available, by subscription, on Westlaw. The official web site of the Navajo Nation does not include a recent version of the code.
Location: KF8228.N3 A5 2005
Bonnie J. Shucha, "Whatever Tribal Precedent There May Be": The (Un)Availability of Tribal Law, (Univ. of Wisconsin Legal Studies Research Paper no. 1227).
"This article explores the costs and benefits of publishing tribal law. Part I analyzes why tribal law is not more widely available; part II illustrates the benefits of making tribal law more accessible, and part III describes publication options for tribes. An appendix lists currently available tribal law collections."—Abstract.
Tribal Law Gateway at the National Indian Law Library.
Hosted by the Native American Rights Fund, this resource provides access to copies of codes and constitutions held by the National Indian Law Library as well as other tribal law documents, such as compacts and court rulings, in the Library collection.
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