What We Do
We are law librarians concerned by the exclusion of tribal governments, tribal courts, and tribal law from the Bluebook and other citation manuals. We’re advocating to change this.
Our Mission
Currently, the Bluebook, like many citation manuals, lacks a way to cite to tribal governments or tribal law. We are advocating for two changes:
A table with a list of tribal governments, such as T2;
A rule/rules for citing tribal constitutions, tribal statutes/ordinances, and tribal case law, with examples of each.
“Tribal law is no less ‘American law’ than federal or state law. It is made, enforced, and followed by American citizens, and tribal governments have a distinct place as subsovereigns within the American system of overlapping sovereigns.”
— Elizabeth Reese, The Other American Law
What We’re Doing
We are a group of law librarians advocating for Indigenous-inclusive citation practices.
Benefits we see of including rules for tribal law in our legal citation manuals:
Increased citation to tribal constitutions, codes, and case law
Increased findability
Helps law students without prior exposure to tribal courts or governments to understand American justice system
Prevent "othering" of tribal law