native americans

American Indian Law: An Overview

In U.S. law the term "Indians" refers generally to the indigenous peoples of the North American continent at the time of European colonization.

The word colony comes from the Latin word colonus, which means farmer - indicating the transfer of people to land. Colonialism is the act of power and domination of one nation, by acquiring or maintaining full or partial political control over another sovereign nation. The country or nation which comes under the control of another foreign nation, is known as a colony of that dominating country.

The U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) is a United States federal executive agency responsible for safeguarding and managing the nation's natural resources and cultural heritage; disseminating scientific and other information about those resources; and upholding its trust responsibilities and special commitments to indigenous peoples, including Alaska Natives and affiliated island communities.

The doctrine of discovery refers to a principle in public international law under which, when a nation “discovers” land, it directly acquires rights on that land. This doctrine arose when the European nations discovered non-European lands, and therefore acquired special rights, such as property and sovereignty rights, on those lands.

The Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) is a federal law enacted in 1978 that seeks to keep Native American/indigenous children with Native American/indigenous families.

Indigenous (from Latin indigena which means “native to the country”) refers to the earliest known people of a region or country. It is often used to describe the remaining population of a place that was colonized by a now-dominant group. 

The indigenous population can be referred to as first peoples, first nations, native peoples, or autochthonous peoples (in reference to a specific location). 

Terra nullius is a term that refers to a “territory without a master.” It is a term used in public international law to describe a space that can be inhabited but that does not belong to a state, meaning the land is not owned by anyone.