Tribes, Land, and the Environment Law, Property and Society Series

Legal and environmental concerns related to Indian law and tribal lands remain an understudied branch of both indigenous law and environmental law. Native American tribes have a far more complex relationship with the environment than is captured by the stereotype of Indians as environmental stewards. Meaningful tribal sovereignty requires that non-Indians recognize the right of Indians to determine their own relationship to the land and the environment. But tribes do not exist in a vacuum: in fact they are deeply affected by off-reservation activities and, similarly, tribal choices often have effects on nearby communities. This book brings together diverse essays by leading Indian law scholars across the disciplines of indigenous and environmental law. The chapters reveal the difficulties encountered by Native American tribes in attempts to establish their own environmental standards within federal Indian law and environmental law structures. Gleaning new insights from a focus on tribal land and property law, the collection studies the practice of tribal sovereignty as experienced by Indians and non-Indians, with an emphasis on the development and regulatory challenges these tribes face in the wake of climate change. This volume will advance the reader's knowledge and understanding of these challenging issues.

Contents: Introduction, Sarah A. Krakoff and Ezra Rosser; Towards a trust we can trust: the role of the trust doctrine in the management of tribal natural resources, Alex Tallchief Skibine; Part I Tribal Sovereignty and Environmental Impacts: Control and accountability: the twin dimensions of tribal sovereignty necessary to achieve environmental justice for Native America, James M. Grijalva; The climate crisis, the renewable energy revolution, and tribal sovereignty, Dean B. Suagee; Application of environmental justice to climate change-related claims brought by native nations, Elizabeth Ann Kronk. Part II Tribal Lands: The promise and perils of renewable energy on tribal lands, Sara C. Bronin; At the margins: border tribes' struggles to protect Reservation lands, waters, and communities, Allison M. Dussias. Part III Tribal Environmental Protection: Co-operating to protect the Shining Big Sea Water and its siblings: consultation with Native peoples in protecting the Great Lakes, Jacqueline Phelan Hand; Tribes as conservation easement holders: is a partial property interest better than none?, Jessica Owley. Part IV Tribal realism and Case Studies: Natural allies: conservationists, Indian tribes, and protecting Native North America, Kirsten Matoy Carlson and Robert T. Coulter; The role of Indigenous custom in environmental governance: lessons from the inter-American human rights system, Ghislain Otis; Index.

Ezra Rosser is an Associate Professor at American University Washington College of Law and a research affiliate of the National Poverty Center at the University of Michigan. His areas of research and teaching include federal Indian law, property law, poverty law, and housing law.