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Area of law

Native American & Tribal Law

Tribal sovereignty and the law between tribes, states and the United States.

Find schools with programsAll areas of law

What this area covers

Lawyers in this field work on tribal governance, jurisdiction, treaty rights, natural resources and economic development. Federal Indian law governs the relationship among governments; tribal law is the law each nation makes for itself.

Also called: American Indian Law, Federal Indian Law, Indian Law, Indigenous Peoples Law, Native American Law, Tribal Law.

Typical legal work

  • Advising tribal governments and enterprises
  • Litigating jurisdiction and treaty rights
  • Practising in tribal courts

Where lawyers work

  • Tribal governments and courts
  • Federal, state and local government
  • Law firms of every size
  • Nonprofit and advocacy organizations

A setting is where you work; an area is what the work is about. The same area is practised in very different settings.

Schools with verified programs

A school is listed here only when its own website names a concentration, certificate, clinic, center or field placement in Native American & Tribal Law. Schools are in alphabetical order. The list is not a ranking, and a school that is absent may still teach the subject.

16 schools · 1 concentration · 4 certificates · 9 clinics · 7 centers and institutes

Filter these schools in the directory

Program types counted as evidence: clinics, certificates, concentrations and specializations, centers and institutes, externships and field placements. Joint degrees and advanced degrees are described under Degrees & program types.

Sources

These references informed what the area covers. The description above is PreLaw Advisor’s own and does not reproduce their text.

  1. 1.American Bar Association. Section of Civil Rights and Social Justice (opens in a new tab) Retrieved Sep 2026.
  2. 2.American Bar Association. Section of State, Local, and Tribal Government Law (opens in a new tab) Retrieved Sep 2026.

Description reviewed Sep 2026. Each school program links to the page it was verified against.