NATIVE AMERICAN RIGHTS FUND INC

The Native American Rights Fund (NARF) continues to provide high-level legal advocacy and programs that serve tribal nations and their communities across the country. Our mission and work are to simply assist tribal nations in living according to their culture and identity through the assertion, defense, and evolution of tribal sovereignty and the protection of their treaty rights. NARF's casework and programming assist tribal communities in addressing ongoing adverse threats to tribal interests and their homelands. NARF is guided by five mission priorities, which include the preservation of tribal existence, the protection of tribal natural resources, the promotion of human rights, the accountability of governments to Native Americans, the development of Indian law and by extension, the education of the public about contemporary Indian rights, laws, and issues. A board of directors consisting of tribal and indigenous leaders from across the country guide the direction of NARF to the fulfillment of our mission in protecting tribal nations and their communities. Our litigation management committee and corporate officers ensure that the programs and cases NARF engages in under the umbrella of Federal Indian law for the benefit of tribal nations are effective, directly impact and advance tribal sovereignty and their interests. NARF's work is generally organized into two areas, casework/litigation and programs. Tribal nations and Native individuals approach NARF for legal assistance in a variety of areas under Federal Indian Law such as environmental/natural resource protection, water law, social justice, voting rights/election protection, treaty rights, tribal sovereignty, Indian child welfare, education, international indigenous rights policy, and peacemaking/mediation, among others. NARF provides high-level litigation support at no charge to tribal nations that have difficulty to pay, but thanks to our donors, we are able to provide the assistance they need, regardless of duration of litigation or cost. Our programs are meant to provide critical resources to tribal nations, their in-house counsels, and the public regarding legal information and resources they may need to most effectively understand tribal law and provide advocacy to their communities. Programs include the National Indian Law Library, the Homelands Coalition, the Native American Voting Rights Coalition, the Tribal Supreme Court Project, the Tribal Water Institute, and Coalition for Tribal Sovereignty, among others. FY2025 was a year of continued growth for our organization, and an opportunity to see many successful assertions of tribal sovereignty. The development of new coalitions of legal advocates, in-house tribal general counsels, and academics assure that NARF will continue to be agile and prepared to assist tribal nations with their ongoing legal needs and challenges. NARF Programs - Tribal Supreme Court Project The Tribal Supreme Court Project (TSCP) is currently in its 25th year of serving as a resource program that coordinates and focuses resources to improve advocacy and results in state and federal cases that may appear before the U.S. Supreme Court. Spearheaded by the Native American Rights Fund (NARF) and the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) the TSCP consists of a coalition of over 200 attorneys, academics, Indian Law and US Supreme Court Practitioners, tribal In-House attorneys, and other legal organizations that support Federal Indian law cases that have the potential to reach the Supreme Court. The goal is to improve advocacy so that tribal interests and their cases are presented in the most favorable positions. The TSCP provides legal support, strategy, amicus drafting/presentation, moot court and practice of their oral arguments and various professional legal experience and opinions from relevant experts. - Judicial Selection Project The goal of the Judicial Selection Project is to increase the representation of Native Americans in the federal and state judiciaries. To that end, the Project helps recruit and support qualified Native candidates for federal and state judicial appointments. The Project works with the White House to promote better Native American representation in the federal judiciary and the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee to ensure that nominees are asked about their experience with Indian tribes and their understanding of federal Indian law during confirmation proceedings. Project staff also participate in several coalitions that work to increase demographic and professional diversity in the judiciary. The Project also evaluates the records of judicial nominees on their knowledge of Indian issues. The analysis and conclusions are shared with stakeholders and federal decision-makers in relation to their decision whether to support or oppose a particular nomination. The Project also seeks to educate the federal judiciary about tribal issues, educating tribal leaders about the federal judiciary and the judicial nomination process, and reaching out to elected officials and the public at large about the need for Native American federal judges and judges who understand the unique legal status of Indian tribes. - Homelands Coalition In 2025, NARF formalized our natural resource protection, environmental, and water work into one coalition named the Homelands Coalition. Protecting sacred places, lands, and water across the country has long been a pillar of NARF's work. Two of our five organizational priorities have been to Protect Tribal Natural Resources and to Preserve Tribal Existence, each dependent on tribes' ability to maintain strong relationships with their homelands. Our reputation, built on over 50 years of leadership supporting Tribal Nations, enables us to use existing relationships to find meaningful ways to bring people together to address these pressing issues. Recognizing the increased capacity and strength of our advocacy through partnerships and relationships with other organizations and experts, NARF established the coalition to broaden our capacity and address issues in Indian country with coalition partners that can strategize, participate in administrative actions, advise, litigate, collaborate, provide co-management policy, defend tribal lands, host convenings, and develop the next generation of advocates. Part of this work is through our Tribal Water Institute. - Tribal Water Institute NARF continues to build and expand the Tribal Water Institute (TWI), a project to address the unique and often technically challenging water law issues of tribal communities. Vital resources are needed to address climate change, environmental management frameworks, varying water and water priority issues, and under-representation in management discussions and agreements will be addressed by this innovative approach to tribal water issues. The TWI will address the shortage of water law expertise across Indian Country, bolster educational efforts, and provide thoughtful leadership in advocating for tribal water rights. NARF's senior water attorneys and four legal fellows address water issues in Indian country through taking on representation involving the Clean Water Act, hydropower licensing, water rights protection, fishery protection, general stream adjudications, and amicus briefing opportunities - increased its collaboration with other partners, and launched "The Headwaters Report," a Tribal water law and policy informational blog site. NARF's TWI meets the water priorities of Tribal Nations through: (1) capacity building, increasing the number of Tribal water lawyers by training early-career attorneys so they can support Tribal Nations when their two-year fellowships conclude, (2) educating Indian Country and the public on Tribal water law and policy; and (3) develop water policy and legal reform concepts by collaborating with Tribal Nations, academic institutions, non-governmental organizations (NGO), federal and state governments, and other entities, and (4) through direct legal representation. The Headwaters Report can be found here: Headwaters Report - Native American Rights Fund (https://narf.org/headwaters-report/)