The United State is a union not just of fifty states, five territories, and a federal district, but also of 574 federally recognized tribes. There are also about sixty state-recognized Tribes, mostly in the eastern United States. South Carolina has one federally recognized tribe, the Catawba Nation, and nine state-recognized tribes.
Indian Law is the broad term used to describe both Federal Indian Law and Tribal Law.
Federal Indian Law refers to the relationship between Tribal governments and Federal and State governments.
Tribal Law refers to the exercise by individual Tribes and Nations of their self-governance powers through development of the laws that apply within their territories, to residents on their sovereign lands, and to their own members. Tribal Law is enforced and adjudicated by sovereign Tribal governments and courts.
Indian Law is an expansive subject that is shaped from many sources, including the US Constitution; State and Tribal constitutions; treaties; Federal, State, and Tribal statutes; court decisions; and administrative regulations.
The practice of Indian Law touches on numerous subjects, including civil rights, corporate law, criminal law, elections law, employment law, environmental law, intellectual property, international law, land use, taxation, appellate work, and many others.
Issues include everything from access to traditional medicines through sacred site protection to trademark infringement within the world of fashion design, and from the religious rights of Indigenous students in the education system to Tribal nation recognition and enrollment. Just about every area of law can be intertwined with Tribal Law or impacted by Federal Indian Law.
Anyone can practice Indian Law! Attorneys come from many communities, and careers can be found everywhere. Law firms, corporations, non-profit organizations, and government entities at the tribal, local, state, and federal levels may all have needs in Indian Law. Tribes and their Tribal Court and Tribal Appellate Court systems employ judges, clerks, Tribal prosecutors, Tribal public defenders, and Tribal Court administrators. Within each of these areas, lawyers can take on a variety of roles, which may include litigation, policy development and analysis, lobbying, economic development, and code construction, to name a few.
We offer a wide range of relevant courses. We are one of the few law schools east of the Mississippi to offer a competitive range of relevant courses to equip future Indian Law practitioners. Not every course is offered regularly, and to be a well-rounded lawyer you should take a variety of courses. Almost every type of law can be found within an Indian Law practice.
Courses focused on Indian Law
- Federal Indian Law
Courses aware of Indian Law
- Advanced Family Law
- Business Associations
- Children’s Law
- Comparative Law
- Family Law
- Federal Courts
- Gender-Based Violence Seminar
- Indigenous Justice
- Juvenile Justice
- Race and the Law
- Transportation Law
Other courses relevant to Indian Law
- Administrative Law
- Alternative Dispute Resolution
- American Legal History
- Beach Law Seminar
- Climate Change Seminar
- Coastal Law
- Comparative Law
- Conflict of Laws
- Copyright and Trademark
- Corporate Tax
- Criminal Procedure
- Employment Law & Discrimination
- Energy Law
- Environmental Law & Policy
- Environmental Law of Natural Resources
- Evidence
- Forest and Natural Resource Law
- Income Tax
- Land Use Planning
- Legislative Drafting Practice and Policy
- Legislative Process
- Property I & II
- Seminar on Restorative and Transformative Justice
- State and Local Taxation
- Tax Policy Seminar
- Transportation Law
- The Constitution
- Water Law
- Wills, Trusts, and Estates
We offer a several relevant combination degrees.
We are committed to serving the local community and beyond. Offering students the chance to both serve and gain valuable experience is a priority of our law school community.
- The law school’s nationally recognized Pro Bono Program engages students in public service while enabling them to gain valuable professional skills, including providing services to Tribal communities. Working in partnership with the Catawba Nation, the Palmetto LEADER has traveled to the Catawba Reservation to serve Tribal citizens onsite. Moving forward, the LEADER is scheduled to visit the Catawba Nation twice a year.
- Internships and externships may be available with area Tribes, including the Catawba Nation and the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina. Other local internship opportunities may include work with the South Carolina Commission on Minority Affairs. Students have also worked at the U.S. Department of the Interior and the Native American Rights Fund.
- The Catawba Nation partnered with law school faculty and students to draft tribal code provisions in anticipation of the development of the Catawba Nation Tribal Court.
- In partnership with the Catawba Nation Legal Department and our law school alumni, we have offered cultural competency training for students, faculty, and staff.
All our student organizations and law journals offer valuable leadership opportunities, including:
- USC Native American Law Students Association (NALSA). USC NALSA was named National Chapter of the Year for 2021-2022. Students can compete at the National Native American Law Students Association’s (NNALSA) annual Moot Court Competition.
- Federal Bar Association, Law Student Division
- Community & Engagement Task Force
- Journal of International Law & Business
- South Carolina Law Review
- ABA Real Property, Trust, and Estate Journal, housed at the law school
These (and other) faculty and staff may be available to advise you, supervise your own legal research ("SLR"), or hire you as a research assistant. Learn about them through their biographies, and then consider reaching out.
- The Law Library maintains a Guide on American Indian and Indigenous Law Resources.
- Tribes nationwide hire summer law clerks, with some allowing remote or hybrid work and some requiring in-person work.
- Tribal Courts hire law clerks at the trial and appellate levels.
- The National Native American Bar Association posts internship and employment opportunities.
- The Federal Bar Association’s Indian Law Section offers training and networking opportunities.
- The Native American Rights Fund (NARF) offers internships and externships.
- Many federal agencies – including the Departments of Justice, Transportation, Interior, Health and Human Services, Education, Housing and Urban Development, Treasury, and Agriculture – hire clerks for the fall, spring, and summer semesters and actively seek attorneys with experience in Indian law to address legal issues impacting Indian Country.
- The US Department of Justice’s National Advocacy Center (located just a block from the Law School) offers internship opportunities and provides trainings to attorneys practicing in Indian Country.