S. Native American Law

Course Information

Course Number
L6330-SEM
Curriculum Level
Upperclass
Areas of Study
Constitutional Law, Human Rights, Legal History and Law and Philosophy, Racial, Economic, and Social Justice
Type
Seminar

Section 001 Information

Instructor

Section Description

This course is aimed at a comprehensive understanding of Native American law and the history that has formed this law. Native American Law is, in a sense, the most all-encompassing of any field of law, as it necessarily entails the study of the Constitution, federalism and the federal system, international law, the full span of American (and colonial) legal and political history, criminal and civil law and jurisdiction, etc. Due in large part to its all-encompassing nature, Native American Law, even at the highest federal level, has had and continues to have direct. immediate, and long-lasting impact on the lives of Native people in this country. The course will explore the divisions and contentions among Tribal, federal and state governments, and unravel the coded language of colonialism by delving into the history of Native Peoples prior to colonization, understanding the intricacies of Tribal sovereignty, dissecting landmark Federal "Indian law" cases, and going "behind the scenes" of these cases to examine the lives of the people and Native communities at the heart of pivotal Supreme Court cases.

The format of the class is an interactive seminar based on assigned readings, and paper on a topic of the student's choosing done under the professor's guidance after submission of a first draft.

School Year & Semester
Fall 2023
Location
WJWH 101
Schedule
Class meets on
  • Wednesday
4:20 pm - 6:10 pm
Points
2
Method of Evaluation
Paper
J.D Writing Credit?
Minor (automatic)
Major (only upon consultation)

Learning Outcomes

Primary
  • At the end of the course, students will have acquired understanding of and/or facility in a specific body of law, including major policy concerns
  • At the end of the course, students will have acquired understanding of and/or facility in doctrinal analysis, including close reading of cases and precedents, and application to facts
  • At the end of the course, students will have acquired understanding of and/or facility in statutory and regulatory analysis, including close reading of statutes and regulations, and application to facts
  • At the end of the course, students will have acquired understanding of and/or facility in judicial, legislative and/or administrative processes
  • At the end of the course, students will have acquired understanding of and/or facility in values-based considerations in law-making
  • At the end of the course, students will have acquired understanding of and/or facility in jurisprudential considerations in legal analysis
  • At the end of the course, students will have acquired understanding of and/or facility in the historical development of law and legal institutions
  • At the end of the course, students will have acquired understanding of and/or facility in use of other disciplines in the analysis of legal problems and institutions, e.g., philosophy; economics,other social sciences; and cultural studies
  • At the end of the course, students will have acquired understanding of and/or facility in finding, understanding, using and critiquing secondary legal literature
  • At the end of the course, students will have acquired understanding of and/or facility in various lawyering skills, for example, oral advocacy, legal writing and drafting, legal research, negotiation, and client communication

Course Limitations

Instructor Pre-requisites
None
Instructor Co-Requisites
None
Requires Permission
No
Recommended Courses
None
Other Limitations
None