F Introduction to Federal Indian Law and Policy

Catalog description

54 hours lecture per term. This course examines the history and contemporary interpretations of U.S. federal Indian law and policy through the theoretical and methodological frameworks of American Indian and Indigenous Studies (AIIS). Students draw on foundational Indigenous theorists including Vine Deloria Jr. (Custer Died for Your Sins) on sovereignty and critiques of U.S. law, Robert A. Williams Jr. (The American Indian in Western Legal Thought) on colonial roots of federal Indian law, Gerald Vizenor on survivance, Audra Simpson (Mohawk Interruptus) on refusal and the politics of recognition, Leanne Betasamosake Simpson (As We Have Always Done) on resurgence, and Taiaiake Alfred on Indigenous governance and decolonization. Through these frameworks, students analyze how federal Indian law has functioned both as a tool of settler colonialism and as a contested site for the assertion of tribal sovereignty, governance, and self-determination. Topics include the evolution of tribal political structures, U.S. Indian policy eras, tribal-state relations with a focus on California, the role of grassroots organizations and social movements in shaping policy, and Indigenous interventions in international law and human rights frameworks, including the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.(Degree Credit) (CSU) (UC) CSU GE, IGETC, Cal-GETC