American Indian Law Review

The American Indian Law Review serves as a nationwide scholarly forum for analysis of developments in legal issues pertaining to Native Americans and indigenous peoples worldwide. Publishing two issues each year, AILR circulates in-depth articles by legal scholars, attorneys and other expert observers. In addition, the Review provides comments and notes written by student members and editors on a variety of Indian law-related topics.

Every spring AILR hosts one of the nation’s largest symposia on Native American law, in partnership with OU’s Native American Studies Department and the Native American Law Students Association. AILR also sponsors an annual Indian law writing competition, which is open to currently enrolled law students throughout the United States and Canada. The top three entries are awarded cash prizes and the first place entry is published in the Review.

Founded in 1973 by an enterprising group of students, AILR consistently boasts a diverse membership dedicated to the study of Native American law. Approximately fifty OU Law students participate in AILR each academic year.

The latest issue of the American Indian Law Review, vol. 47, no. 1, was published in May and has been posted at the Current Issues page.  This issue features two student comments: "The Impact of Climate Change on the Cultural Identity of Indigenous Peoples and the Nation’s First 'Climate Refugees'," by Jordan K. Medaris, and "Indigenous Boarding Schools in the United States and Canada: Potential Issues and Opportunities for Redress as the United States Government Initiates Formal Investigation", by Keiteyana I. Parks.  Also featured are two student notes, "State ex rel. Matloff v. Wallace: Reversing Course on Subject Matter Jurisdiction," by Andrew Case, and "Cooley’s Hidden Ramifications: Has the Supreme Court Extended the Terry Doctrine for Automobile Searches to the Point of Eliminating Probable Cause?," by Thomas G. Hamilton.  Concluding this issue are two special features: the first-prize winning paper in the 2022-2023 AILR National Writing Competition, "'The Center Cannot Hold': Nation and Narration in American Indian Law," by Chantelle van Wiltenburg; and the Best Appellate Brief in the 2022 Native American Law Student Association Moot Court Competition, by Daniel Ahrens & Case Nieboer.

American Indian Law Review editors chosen for the 2023-2024 academic year are: Editor-in-Chief: J. Santana Spangler-Day; Managing Editor: Rachel M. Yost; Executive Editor: Rudy A. Sanchez; Business Development Editor: James Hulin; Articles Development Editor: Nicole Low; Assistant Managing Editors: Rebecca M. Kamp, LeeAnn Littlejohn, Miranda Padilla, and Dillon M. Sullivan; Assistant Executive Editors: Meg Bloom, Kara Givens, Caroline Stout-Thurmaier, and Stassi M. Vullo; Research Editors: Camryn A. Conroy, Madelynn M. Dancer, and LeeAnn Littlejohn; and Writing Competitions Editor: Miranda Padilla.

Winners have been announced in the 2022-2023 American Indian Law Review National Writing Competition.  See the Writing Competition page for details.  

Vol. 46, no. 2 of the American Indian Law Review, published in October 2022, is also available in PDF format at the Current Issues page.  This special issue commemorates "two giants of Indian law," Rennard Strickland and C. Steven Hager.  Featured are brief biographies of both scholars and reprints of their works, along with tributes from their friends and colleagues: Bill Piatt, Carole Goldberg, Charles Wilkinson, Sheila Simon, Lawrence K. Hellman, Hadley Jerman, Darla W. Jackson, OU President Joseph Harroz, Jr., OU College of Law Dean Katheleen Guzman, Kace Rodwell, Michael Colbert Smith, and Stephanie Hudson.

The American Indian Law Review would like to thank the editors who served during the 2022-2023 academic year: Editor-in-Chief: Samantha Tamura; Managing Editor: Shelby Mann; Executive Editor: Gabrielle Jones; Business Development Editor: Kianna Maxson-Udenze; Articles Development Editor: Garrett Reynolds; Assistant Managing Editors: Thomas Hamilton, Alexander Hankhouse, Grace Slaff, and Ashley Youngblood; Assistant Executive Editors: Taylor Crossley, Merit Marshall, Keiteyana Parks, Palmer Scott, Rebecca Sheetz, and AshLynn Wilkerson; Research Editors: Branden Blaylock, Justine Ellis, Jordan Medaris, and Ashley Youngblood; and Writing Competitions Editor: Palmer Scott.

The AILR is currently reviewing articles.  See the Submissions page for details.

The AILR archive of past issues is available free of charge. PDF copies of issues going back to vol. 1, no. 1 (1973) can be found through our Digital Commons page.

Samantha A. Tamura, Editor-in-Chief: stamura@ou.edu, (405) 325-2840

Michael Waters, Editorial Advisor: mwaters@ou.edu, (405) 325-5191

The American Indian Law Review is dedicated to publishing scholarly work in the field of federal Indian law and issues affecting indigenous peoples. The editorial board consists of law students, not licensed attorneys, and cannot provide legal advice. For assistance with legal issues please contact your local legal aid society.

AILR may be contacted by regular mail at: American Indian Law Review, University of Oklahoma College of Law, 300 Timberdell Road, Norman, OK 73019