About NILL

The National Indian Law Library (NILL) is a law library devoted to American Indian law. It serves both the Native American Rights Fund (NARF) and the public. NILL serves the public by developing and making accessible a unique and valuable collection of Indian law resources and by providing direct research assistance and delivery of information.

Three Pillars of Service to the Public

The primary services to the public are:

1. Provide research assistance and delivery information relating to specific Indian law questions;
2. Provide Indian law updates via the Indian Law Bulletins;
3. Provide access to tribal law via the Tribal Law Gateway.

Our Staff

Anne Lucke, Library Director
Rachel G. Nelson, Law Librarian
Hannah Evans, Technical Services Librarian

Our Collection

The Collection Development Policy is intended to serve as a guide to the acquisition and retention of materials and as a plan for development of the collections of the National Indian Law Library. The policy is based on the needs of NARF and the public. The library collections can be access via our online catalog and our website. In addition, the library subscribes to fee-based databases available to NARF employees and library staff.

Collection highlights:

• Tribal self-governance documents including tribal constitutions, codes, ordinances, charters, bylaws and intergovernmental agreements
• Legal pleadings from important Indian law cases (1970s - 1990s)
• Indian law treatises, case law reporters, handbooks, and manuals
• Native American Rights Fund publications
• Federal legislative history documents relating to Indian law including statutes, congressional hearings and reports
• Basic collection of general reference and historical/cultural books on Native Americans