American Indian Law Deskbook, 2014 ed.

Indian law is a dynamic, ever-evolving field of law that overlaps other areas of the law as tribes expand their economic and political reach in our society. If a lawyer needs a concise, direct and easy to understand handbook on Indian law, the American Indian Law Deskbook meets that need. As the chief legal officers of the States, the State Attorneys General offer a unique insight into Indian law. The States have been parties before the United States Supreme Court and the lower courts to many of the cases that have shaped Indian law over the years. The chapter authors of this book are experienced state lawyers who have been involved in Indian law for many years. The American Indian Law Deskbook addresses the areas of Indian law most relevant to the practitioner. Topics covered in this book include: definitions of Indians and Indian tribes; Indian lands; criminal, civil regulatory and civil adjudicatory jurisdiction; civil rights; Indian water rights; fish and wildlife; environmental regulation; taxation; gaming; Indian Child Welfare Act and tribal-state cooperative agreements. Beginning in 1988, the Conference of Western Attorneys General (CWAG) saw the need not only to develop a treatise that reflected the current status of Indian law, but also to create a framework adaptable to new developments decisional or statutory on a frequent basis. The First Edition of the American Indian Law Deskbook was published in 1993 and has been supplemented and updated on a regular basis. CWAG is committed to presenting the complex issues of Indian law in a respectful manner that attempts to summarize existing law and to identify matters of doctrinal disagreement or uncertainty. The continuing effort to keep the book updated makes it unique among the principal Indian law treatises available over the past twenty years.