What is indigenous law?

Studying Aboriginal or Indigenous Law includes:

Indigenous Peoples' Rules (e.g. tribal codes and Native American constitutions)

Treaties between the indigenous and Crown (Government) communities

Government laws which explicitly establish rights and obligations and affect indigenous peoples only. Those may be:

All Legislation-for instance the Aboriginal Title Act of Australia and the Indian Act of Canada; or

Similar clauses of the Acts — e.g. s 718.2(e) of the Canadian Penal Code, which applies to aboriginal prisoners' sentences.

Relationship between indigenous peoples and the general legal system (for instance, indigenous peoples and criminal justice)

The Study Guide will assist you in studying aboriginal law in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States.

Indigenous law also includes provisions relating to human rights and discrimination. See our Human Rights Legal Research Guide-The National / Domestic Human Rights tab links to pages for Australia, Canada , New Zealand and the USA for how to get legal advice studying aboriginal groups in the light of human rights law.

A note on terms in indigenous law study - 'indigenous' is a common term, just as First Peoples and Aboriginal/Aboriginal people are. With time, the language changes, too. Remember to use different versions similar to the jurisdiction you are investigating. For instance:

USA = Native American Indian. Using 'Tribal Rule' while investigating too.

Canada = Aboriginal or Métis is the common term used by the three major groups: First Nations (or Indians), Inuit and Métis

Australia = Indigenous Australians, Aboriginals, Torres Strait Islanders (Aboriginal peoples and indigenous peoples of the Torres Strait Islands), First Nations. 'Land Title' is an term used for the land rights of indigenous people.

Maori = New Zealand. Whānau (extended families), hapū (sub-tribes) and iwi (tribes) are Maori communities.