Indigenous Peoples Law and Policy

Colorado Law has long enjoyed one of the nation’s strongest teaching and research programs in Indian Law. Dean S. James Anaya, former U.N. Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, has led the growth of our program, including additional emphases on international law and indigenous rights. Faculty also focus on law within indigenous groups.

Faculty and students are heavily involved in projects with indigenous groups throughout the United States, the Americas, and the world. Teaching, research, and service projects have students working with:

• indigenous groups,
• U.N. bodies in New York and Geneva,
• other intergovernmental bodies, such as the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights,
• national, state/provincial/regional, and municipal governmental entities,
• NGOs, and
• multinational firms.

Faculty and students work on projects at the intersection of indigenous rights and other areas of law, such as natural resources, environmental law, international law, and intellectual property. For example, faculty and students have been heavily engaged in projects related to the World Intellectual Property Organization.

Sample Courses:

• American Indian Law Clinic
• American Indian Law I and II
• Class and Law
• Foundations of International Legal Thought
• Immigration and Citizenship Law
• Indigenous Peoples International Law
• International Dispute Resolution
• International Environmental Law
• International Human Rights Law
• International Law