Indian Law Research Guide: Federal Resources & Agencies: Statutes, Case Law & Treaties

The United States Statutes at Large, commonly referred to as the Statutes at Large, is the official source for the laws and resolutions passed by Congress. Every law, public and private, ever enacted by the Congress is published in the Statutes at Large in order of the date of its passage. Until 1948, all treaties and international agreements approved by the Senate were also published in the set. In addition, the Statutes at Large includes the text of the Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation, the Constitution, amendments to the Constitution, treaties with Indians and foreign nations, and presidential proclamations.

A comprehensive popular name approach to federal legal materials pertaining to Indian law.

The United States Code is a consolidation and codification by subject matter of the general and permanent laws of the United States. It is prepared by the Office of the Law Revision Counsel of the United States House of Representatives.

FDsys contains virtual main editions of the U.S. Code. The information contained in the U.S. Code on FDsys has been provided to GPO by the Office of the Law Revision Counsel of the U.S. House of Representatives. While every effort has been made to ensure that the U.S. Code on FDsys is accurate, those using it for legal research should verify their results against the printed version of the U.S. Code available through the Government Printing Office.

These tables show where recently enacted laws will appear in the United States Code and which sections of the Code have been amended by those laws. The tables sorted in Public Law order may be used to identify the sections of the Code affected by a particular law. The tables sorted in Code order may be used to determine whether a particular section of the Code has recently been amended. The tables only include those provisions of law that have been classified to the Code.

Search the official record of Acts of Congress and concurrent resolutions passed by the U.S. Congress. The United States Statutes at Large, typically referred to as the Statutes at Large, is the permanent collection of all laws and resolutions enacted during each session of Congress. The Statutes at Large is prepared and published by the Office of the Federal Register (OFR), National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).

Search for Statutes at Large, American State Papers, and U.S. Serial Set; Journals of Congress; and Debates of Congress including the Annals of Congress, the Register of Debates, the Congressional Globe, the Congressional Record, and a lot more.

Online access to CIS/Index to Publications of the U.S. Congress from 1833 forward; Serial Set from 1789 forward; Congressional hearing abstracts and indexing from 1824 forward; Congressional Record and predecessor titles from 1789 forward; CRS reports from 1916 forward; Statutes at Large from 1789 forward; Treaties with Indian Tribes, 1778-1874; Treaties with Foreign Nations, 1776-1949; and much, much more.

FindLaw's Cases and Codes section contains resources and links for both state and federal laws. This includes resources pertaining to constitutions, statutes, cases and more. Run a search for case summaries or select a jurisdiction to browse applicable laws. - See more at: http://caselaw.findlaw.com/#federal

This site contains decisions issued by the Interior Board of Indian Appeals (IBIA) from its inception in 1970 through April 13, 2005. This is an unofficial site and is not associated in any way with the Department of the Interior. The site is offered as a public service and will remain on-line until the official website of the Interior Board of Indian Appeals returns.

Seminal Supreme Court Cases regarding Federal Indian Law. Included are links to the text of many of the Supreme Court decisions that have shaped and influenced Indian Law. These cases are listed in chronological order.

Presents summaries and full-text versions of Indian law opinions from the court from 1991 to 2004. Provides access to current opinions from federal circuit courts.

Tribal court decisions, federal and state appellate case law opinions, selected state source materials, federal specialty practice courts, current versions of the U.S. Code and Code of Federal Regulations, and a citator. UNM law faculty, staff, and students can register for a free password for remote access.

Search for Statutes at Large, American State Papers, and U.S. Serial Set; Journals of Congress; and Debates of Congress including the Annals of Congress, the Register of Debates, the Congressional Globe, the Congressional Record, and a lot more.

Documents from the Continental Congress and the Constitutional Convention, 1774 to 1789.

Hosted at Yale Law School. Comprehensive source of primary and secondary legal research resources; includes access to TWEN web courses. Includes: Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation, Notes on the debates in the Federal Convention, Federalist Papers, and the Ratification Resolutions of the States

University of Nebraska-Lincoln has digitized a collection of Early Recognized Treaties with American Indian Nations, which supplements the treaties found in Kappler’s Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties.

Compiled and edited by Charles J. Kappler, and presented by the Oklahoma State University Library, this compilation contains laws concerning Indian affairs up to 1971, treaties from 1778-1883, executive orders, and proclamations. Contains indexes and tables of contents. Accessible in text or printed page format. http://digital.library.okstate.edu/Kappler/
Digital versions now also available via GPO's govinfo: https://tinyurl.com/ycx55c9x

This lesson will teach you how to locate treaties between Indian tribes and the United States government. It will also show you how to determine whether a particular treaty provision is still in effect and how to interpret ambiguous treaty provisions. (Lesson completion time 30 minutes)

Useful background information to find out if an American Indian treaty has been abrogated or other status.

Describes sources for research into treaties between the U.S. government and Indian tribes, focusing on primary sources, including treaties, and legislative history materials. The sources are preceded by an overview of the treaty process and the termination of the government's power to enter into treaties with Indian nations.