This course provides students with a general background of the history, development, structure, and politics associated with indigenous governments. We will examine North American indigenous governance from pre-colonial times to the present, focusing on both the evolution and alteration of these governments as well as the difficult political decisions indigenous peoples faced when confronted by the colonizing forces of European states, the U.S., and individual states, and the modifications developed by indigenous nations in their efforts to retain and exercise their sovereign powers. prereq: MTAG or MTRES student or instructor consent

This course examines the challenges facing tribal governments as they exercise their sovereignty and involves political, economic, and intergovernmental perspectives. Part one examines tribal resource management, analyzing historical use of land, land loss, and contemporary efforts to develop sustainable environmental plans for water, timber, wildlife, and subsurface resources. Part two focuses on the various means tribal governments have devised to exercise sovereignty, such as gaming, small business development, tourism, and joint ventures with partners. Part three concentrates attention at the sub-national level and pays close attention to the political, legal, and economics relationships that have developed between Native nations, state governments, county governments, and municipal entities. prereq: 5110 or instructor consent

This course examines the formulation, implementation, and evolution of Indian policy from pre-colonial times to the self-governance era. This course provides a chronological framework and theoretical context in which policies, programs, and events can be seen interacting with each other to produce the cumulative body of treaties, statutes, and court decisions. Students analyze major federal Indian policies that define indigenous/federal political relationship, examining the views and attitudes of policy-makers and gauging the reactions of indigenous nations to those policies. prereq: MTAG 5320, MTAG student or post bac or instructor consent

Federal Indian law has had profound affect on the lives, liberties, and properties of indigenous peoples. At times, U.S. policy and Supreme Court rulings have worked to protect aboriginal rights; at other times, these policies and decisions have had devastating consequences. This course examines the role and practice of the U.S. Supreme Court as a policy-making institution in their dealings with Indigenous nations. This examination requires us to think historically and theoretically; to question the origins and exercise of federal judicial power; and examine the application of federal law to indigenous peoples and Indian citizens. prereq: 5530 or instructor consent