Gallagher Law Library - UW School of Law

West's American Tribal Law Reporter

Prepared Jan. 13, 2010, by Mary Whisner

Jurisdictions covered:

  • selected tribal courts
    • Cherokee Nation [Oklahoma]
    • Cheyenne River Sioux
    • Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes
    • Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community
    • Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation
    • Fort Peck Tribes (Assiniboine and Sioux)
    • Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa & Chippewa Indians of Michigan
    • Ho-Chunk Nation
    • Hopi Tribe of Arizona
    • Mohegan Tribe
    • Navajo Nation
    • Sac and Fox Nation
    • Tulalip Tribes of Washington

    E Note: coverage varies. Some tribes have cases in each volume. Others have very few. (For instance, as of Jan. 13, 2010, the Tulalip Tribal Court of Appeals had just one case in the reporter: Tulalip Tribes v. 1997 Oldsmobile Bravada, 8 Am. Tribal Law 279 (Tulalip C.A. 2009).)
     

  • federal courts of appeals and U.S. Supreme Court

Dates covered: 1997-

Published: summer 2009-

Access points:

  • tables of cases at front of each volume (alphabetical and by jurisdiction)
  • West topics and key numbers at back of each volume
    • Headnotes can be classified in any West topic -- e.g., Action, Administrative Law and Procedure, Appeal and Error, Arrest, Attorney and Client, Bail, Child Support, Constitutional Law, ... (Skimming the topics in a volume gives an interesting picture of the breadth of issues addressed by tribal courts.)
    • Most headnotes are classified in Indians (topic number 209).
    • When West began covering cases from tribal courts, it added a new division to Indians, XI Proceedings in Tribal Courts and Agencies. Key numbers in this range appear to be applied only to tribal court cases.

Westlaw:

  • database for set (AMTRIB-CS)
  • databases for individual tribes (e.g., NAVAJO-CS)
  • not available on academic contract!

Other sources of tribal court cases: See this section of Indian Law Research guide.