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Indigenous Law: Seeking to Protect Sacred Sites: Administrative Law

Indigenous Law is Native American and Tribal law. This LibGuide focuses on the different areas of law which could be used to protect sacred Indigenous sites. Often, Indigenous Law must be used in combination with property law, environmental law, and const

Federal Agency Action Plan

Native American Sacred Sites and the Federal Government: A Training for Federal Employees and Contract Staff Developed under the Sacred Sites Memorandum of Understanding (PDF of a PowerPoint presentation)

Native Sacred Places Protection Legal Workshop by Dean Suagee (Hobbs, Straus, Dean & Walker, LLP) and Jack F. Trope (Association on American Indian Affairs). Sacred Places Training Materials –Revised 2-11-08.

National Association of Tribal Historic Preservation Officers "NATHPO's overarching purpose is to support the preservation, maintenance and revitalization of the culture and traditions of Native peoples of the United States." Provides publications about NAGPRA, tribal tourism, tribal museums, information about relevant state and tribal laws, and more.

National NAGPRA Database - (National Park Service, National Center for Cultural Resources). Laws, regulations, guidance, tribal contacts.

Native American Graves and Repatriation Act, 2007 Amendment documents - (Native American Rights Fund). Briefing paper on Senate Bill 2087, testimony, and more.

NAGPRA and the U.S. Department of Interior, Bureau of Reclamation - Information about the bureau's activities with regard to this act; includes links to inventory notices.

State Repatriation, Reburial, and Grave Protection Laws - State Burial Laws Project, American University, Washington College of Law.

Federal Agency Administrative Decisions

  • U.S. Department of the Interior Administrative Decisions and Policies

    • Interior Decisions 
    • Administrative Decisions 
    • Interior Board of Land Appeals
    • Interior Board of Contract Appeals 
    • Interior Board of Indian Appeals 
    • Secretary's Orders 
    • Departmental Manuals 
    • Public Land Orders 
    • Land Decisions 
  • Interior Board of Indian Appeals - "The Interior Board of Indian Appeals (IBIA) is an appellate review body that exercises the delegated authority of the Secretary of the Interior to issue final decisions for the Department of the Interior in appeals involving Indian matters. Located within the Department's Office of Hearings and Appeals, IBIA is separate and independent from the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and the Assistant Secretary - Indian Affairs." 
  • Interior Board of Land Appeals - "The Interior Board of Land Appeals (IBLA) is an appellate review body that exercises the delegated authority of the Secretary of the Interior to issue final decisions for the Department of the Interior. Its administrative judges decide appeals from bureau decisions relating to the use and disposition of public lands and their resources, mineral resources on the Outer Continental Shelf, and the conduct of surface coal mining operations under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act. Located within the Department's Office of Hearings and Appeals, IBLA is separate and independent from the Bureaus and Offices whose decisions it reviews."
  • Annual Report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs from 1826 to Present 

 

Executive Order 13007

"Former President Bill Clinton’s 1996 Executive Order 13007 instructed every federal agency to evaluate their policies regarding Native American sacred sites. Land managers were ordered to: “(1) accommodate access to and ceremonial use of Indian sacred sites by Indian religious practitioners and (2) avoid adversely affecting the physical integrity of such sacred sites” and to “maintain the confidentiality of sacred sites.”

The Department of the Interior released an extensive study on the implementation of Executive Order 13007. The department’s Office of American Indian Trust also produced a manual entitled Departmental Responsibilities for Protecting/Accommodating Access to Indian Sacred Sites."

"Two related Executive Orders in the last decade are E.O. 12898, “Federal Actions To Address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations” (signed in 1994), and E.O. 13175, “Consultation and Coordination With Indian Tribal Governments” (signed in 2000). When considered along with E.O. 13007, they provide strong directives to federal agencies in the absence of specific legislation to address sacred lands."

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