Research Guides: Research with Indigenous Communities: Land Rights, Sovereignty & Relations

Land Rights, Sovereignty & Relations

Land sovereignty is the official and unofficial rights of Indigenous Peoples to control and govern Indigenous lands, natural resources, and their cultural significance, and includes issues related to treaty law.

Page contents

Resource Highlight

Map of New England area Tribal lands Native Land Digital provides an interactive international map representing Indigenous land territories. Its purpose is to provide information to advance understanding of the history of colonialism across the world. In addition to the informative and beautiful mapping tools, the organization also provides lists of languages and treaties that may be of use to researchers working to understand Indigenous land relations where they are conducting research.

Indigenous-led Initiatives & Resources

Indigenous & Anticolonial Views of Human Activity in Space
This is a series of four recorded events from the Space-enabled Research Group at MIT on anti-colonial and Indigenous views of space exploration. Physics and astronomy researchers will find the lectures useful in understanding how Indigenous land relations apply to space exploration.
Listening to Fish: Indigenous Sovereignty and Freshwater Fish Conservation in North/Western Canada
This 2021 video is a talk by Professor Zoe Todd from Carleton University, who is an artist and researcher studying Indigenous perspectives on freshwater fish conservation. Their interdisciplinary approach focuses on recognizing fish as "more-than human kin," or the concept of fish as relatives and ancestors to Indigenous Peoples. Their talk focuses on disrupting settler practices that are harmful to western watersheds and the role of Indigenous sovereignty.
Maunakea (Office of Hawaiian Affairs)
This page from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA), which is a semi-autonomous state agency advocating for the rights and well-being of Native Hawaiians, explains the controversy around the sacred volcano of Maunakea. Native Hawaiians and groups such as the OHA have long advocated for improved cultural and natural management of the mountain, legal treaty compliance, and respectful stewardship of the sacred site, but the State and The University of Hawai'i have long prioritized the advancement of astronomical research and development at the mountain's observatories. This current controversy is a good example of the common conflict between tribes and scientists in land management.
Walk Softly and Listen Carefully: Building Research Relationships with Tribal Communities (NCAI)
This report was created by the National Congress of American Indians' (NCAI) Policy Research Center and Montana State University's Center for Native Health Partnerships. The document aims to inform community-centered research partnerships related to Native culture, sovereignty, and expertise, especially related to health research and initiatives. While health services focused, the report may be useful to any researcher creating partnerships with tribal communities.

General Resources

Land-Grab Universities (High Country News)
The result of an extensive investigative report by High Country News, this data set represents the profits made by land grant universities through the Morrill Act by selling Indigenous land granted to them by the U.S. government. These data are an important complement to university land acknowledgements and may help researchers consider the institutional wealth that continues to benefit universities.
Natural Resources Revenue Data
This webpage from the U.S. Department of the Interior outlines the regulatory and legal framework for how natural resource and land ownership works from the perspective of private owners and the Federal Government. This guide may come into conflict with many of the other Indigenous-centered or authored sources, but it does provide context for the embedded colonial and individualistic perspectives of land long held by the federal government. It includes a section on governing natural resources on Native American land.
Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs
This subcommittee of the Natural Resource Committee in the U.S. House of Representatives "oversees all matters regarding Native Americans and Alaska Natives" and works "to ensure freedom and economic development opportunity for Indian tribes across the country."
United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
From the United Nations' Department of Economic and Social Affairs, this declaration serves as an international framework on the rights of Indigenous Peoples across the world. It outlines minimum standards for the sovereignty and well-being of Indigenous tribes and communities and makes explicit the ways in which human rights and fundamental freedoms specifically apply to Indigenous Peoples. While the U.S., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand voted against the declaration when it was originally introduced in 2007, they have since signed onto the document.
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service National Native American Programs
This liaison program between Federally recognized Tribes and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) is specifically focused on fish, plants, and habitat. USFWS Native American Programs also administers the Tribal Wildlife Grants Program and manages natural resource agreements. The site provides an extensive policy framework for resource management between the federal government and federal tribes.

Advocacy Resources

Indian Land Tenure Foundation (ILTF)
ILTF is a national organization that serves Tribal nations and people in the U.S. to seek the recovery of their homelands. Through community-based land recovery and management efforts, ILTF offers education, promotes cultural awareness, supports economic growth, and works to reform legal and administrative restrictions that limit land ownership and sovereignty on reservations. Their website provides a robust timeline and overview of land tenure issues and their history in the U.S. and includes several reports and other resources that may be helpful in understanding land and tribal relations where research has or will occur.
Indian Law Resource Center
The Indian Law Resource Center provides legal assistance to Indigenous people with a focus on establishing legal standards that preserve and protect human rights and dignity of Indigenous Peoples. They provide legal information related to sacred sites, environmental protection, and land rights.
Indigenous Environmental Network (IEN)
Since its establishment in 1990, IEN has supported grassroots initiatives to address environmental and economic justice issues that impact Indigenous Peoples. Advocacy issues have included environmental protection, wildlife and human health issues, and economic sustainability in the U.S. The site includes news stories, blog entries, and information about current organizational campaigns. The group also recently released a primer for natural resource management between advocates for Indigenous rights and the U.S. Army Core of Engineers.
International Indian Treaty Council (IITC)
IITC in an international Indigenous organization focusing on land rights and treaties. They support several areas relevant to STEM including food sovereignty and environmental health. The site is also useful as a source of news about topics relevant to Indigenous Peoples, and it provides public access to a variety of public trainings and events.
Land Reparations and Indigenous Solidarity Toolkit
This toolkit from Resource Generation may be helpful in gaining an understanding of how to activate a university land acknowledgement and support the campus community in doing so. The toolkit includes recommended reading, discussion questions, and case studies.
National Congress of American Indians (NCAI)
The NCAI was founded in 1944 and is the oldest and largest American Indian and Alaska Native organization. By advocating for policies and initiatives that impact tribal governments and communities across the U.S., they work to advance a mission that focuses on culture, economic development, education, health, land, natural resources, and tribal governance.