Wednesday, September 28, 2005

Tribal law database at the National Indian Law Library The library's online catalog is the best tool for keyword searching tribal law documents. Simply go to the catalog search page. Type "tribal codes" in the Document Type field, and type keywords representing your research topic in the Global / Keyword field, using the syntax suggested in the "Quick Search Tips." Click on the "Submit Query" button near the bottom of the page, and you will search the detailed tables of contents of nearly 250 tribal code records. If a digital copy is available, you will find a link to the full-text document. Otherwise, photocopies can be ordered from the library.

Because laws developed by tribes are rarely commercially published, this area of the legal literature has not been pursued by publishers that create online databases of full-text legal materials. NILL's catalog remains the best source for keyword-searching the only nationwide collection of tribal laws.