LibGuides: Indigenous Law: Seeking to Protect Sacred Sites: Legislative History

History of Legislation

Indian Removal Act (1830)
General Allotment Act (1887)
The Homestead Act of 1862 - Native American land passes into private hands, over 270 million acres.
The 1872 Mining Law - Transfer public land and Native American land to miners
The Dawes Severalty Act of 1887 - Dissolved collective landholding on 112+ reservations of Native American land.
American Antiquities Act of 1906
1966 National Historic Preservation Act
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA)
42 U.S.C. § 1996. American Indian Religious Freedom Act of 1978 (AIRFA) and related cases below for easy reference.
- Sequoyah v. T.V.A. [620 F. 2d 1159 (1980)]
- Badoni v. Higginson [638 F. 2d 172 (1980)]
- Frank Fools Crow v. Gullet [706 F. 2d 856 (1983)]
- Wilson v. Block [708 F. 2d 735 (1983)]
- (42 U.S.C. § 1996.) "protects the rights of Native Americans to exercise their traditional religions by ensuring access to sites, use and possession of sacred objects, and the freedom to worship through ceremonials and traditional rites"
Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act of 1990 (NAGPRA)
Native American Free Exercise of Religion Act -1993. Passed in 1994 as amendment to AIRFA.
Executive Order 13007 - 1996

Above are some important legislative history points to consider for sacred site protection as it involves the ongoing conflict between Native American nations and U.S. government.

There is a long legislative history to deny Native Americans their sovereignty, property rights, religious freedoms, liberty, and even enforcement of treaties negotiated. Please use the following links to further research into the legislation history, and the many different Acts and Cases regarding Native American rights. Before American Indian Religious Freedom Act, "American Indian religious practices have often been prohibited by existing federal laws and government policies."

Legislative History Timeline Map

https://iltf.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/American-Indian-History-Timeline_small.pdf

A map of the legislative history by Indian Land Tenure Foundation

Library of Congress

Government Policy Toward Native Americans- "In 1776, the Continental Congress appointed a committee to develop a plan for a central government. Shortly thereafter, the Articles of Confederation were written and a union of states, called the United States of America, came into being."

National Indian Law Library: Tools for Researching Federal Legislation and Legislative History Related to Indian Law

Indian Law Bulletin: Legislation - (National Indian Law Library) - Provides summaries and links to federal legislation information.

Department of Interior -Congressional and Legislative Affairs - Provides legislative history information on laws affecting American Indians and Alaska Natives, and executive orders.

Legislative Update: Senate Committee on Indian Affairs - Current bills sent to the Committee; status of bills sent to the Committee since 103rd session.

Legislative Updates and NCAI News - "Other Issues" - (National Congress of American Indians). Legislative news provided by the National Congress of American Indians. Scroll down the page to see legislative updates from 2006. For updates from previous years, scroll further to " FY 2005 Documents" and similarly titled sections. Also look for NCAI legislative updates under specific policy topics from their Policy Issues web page.

THOMAS - U.S. Congress on the Internet - (Library of Congress). Bills, bill status, committee reports, public laws, legislative history, both current and historical.

Searching Bills with THOMAS - (The Newsletter of the Legal Division of The Special Libraries Association). Pages 14-17; provides step-by-step instructions with screen shots of the THOMAS web site.

The United Stated Department of Justice: Indian Resources Timeline

https://www.justice.gov/enrd/timeline/indian-resources-timeline#event-463216

An interactive presentation on legislative history.

GovTrack: Native American Bills Tracking

Native American Bill Tracking: Use this page to browse bills in the U.S. Congress related to the subject Native Americans, as determined by the Library of Congress.