By: Anne Lucke, NILL Library Director
June 22, 2026
Published as part of The Headwaters Report
The National Indian Law Library (NILL) is dedicated to federal Indian and Tribal law. As part of the Native American Rights Fund (NARF), the library serves both NARF attorneys and the public by maintaining a unique and valuable collection of Indian law resources and providing specialized research assistance on Indian Law topics.
As part of its collection, NILL maintains a substantial body of materials related to Tribal Water Law.
Tribal Law Gateway
The Tribal Law Gateway includes Tribal constitutions, codes, ordinances, and resolutions from federally recognized Tribes. Researchers seeking Tribal water codes will find many examples through the Gateway. Using the search box on the main page, researchers can search for terms such as “water code” or “water quality” to locate relevant materials. Items not available online may be requested from NILL and delivered by email (more information below).
Online Catalog
NILL’s online catalog contains a wide range of resources, many of which are available online at no cost. For example, the library’s collection includes numerous law review articles with “water rights” in the title or “Winters” in the title. NILL’s collection also includes case files for water cases in federal, state, and Tribal courts. Most case files are not available online, but researchers may request copies using the “Request” button in an individual catalog record.
Indian Law Bulletins
The Indian Law Bulletins are NILL’s weekly current-awareness service, providing updates on Supreme Court cases; federal, state, and Tribal court opinions; regulatory developments; legislation; newly published law review and bar journal articles; and relevant news headlines. Although the Bulletins are not specifically focused on Tribal water law, they frequently include water-related items. Sign up to receive the weekly email at no cost on the Indian Law Bulletins website.
Resources Outside of NILL
In addition to materials in NILL’s collection, our librarians frequently consult collections maintained by other organizations. The following are some of our preferred Tribal Water Law resources:
Native American Water Rights Settlement Database (University of New Mexico) is a collection of documents that formalize the recognition of Native American water rights in the United States.
Indian Water Rights Settlements (Congressional Research Service) provides background on Indian water rights settlements, an overview of the settlement process, and summaries of enacted and potential settlements to date. It also analyzes issues related to Indian water rights, with a particular focus on the role of the federal government and the challenges involved in negotiating and implementing settlements.
Arizona v. California Collection (University of Colorado School of Law Wise Law Library) contains more than 185 full-text, searchable pleadings, briefs, orders, transcripts, and reports from the 12-year original proceeding before the U.S. Supreme Court.
Navajo Nation Department of Water Resources (LLMC) contains documents concerning water rights, water management, and related legal issues specific to the Navajo Nation and its territorial resources.
Contact Us
NILL provides Indian Law-related research assistance to the public. Researchers may request a specific document, case, or article, or seek general information on an Indian law topic. We are not able to conduct in-depth or ongoing legal or case law research, address topics outside Indian law, or provide legal advice.
To submit a research question to the National Indian Law Library, please use the askNILL form on our website.
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