New England Law Review Symposium 2002

October 25, 2002 at New England School of Law, Boston, Massachusetts

In his opinion in Worcester v. Georgia (1832), U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Marshall described American Indian nations as "distinct political communities, having territorial boundaries, within which their authority is exclusive, and having a right to all the lands within those boundaries, which is not only acknowledged, but guaranteed by the United States." Although this acknowledgment of tribal sovereignty has served as a foundational principle of Indian law since its pronouncement in 1832, the precise contours of tribal sovereignty have varied over time, as tribes have been confronted with vacillations in federal Indian affairs policy and in federal court judges' attitudes toward exercises of tribal governmental authority.

The New England Law Review's 2002 Symposium entitled "The Role of Jurisdiction in the Quest for Sovereignty" will explore the current dimensions of tribal sovereignty, with a particular focus on the role that jurisdictional issues play in key areas of Indian law today. Specific areas to be addressed include the process for federal recognition of tribal existence; economic development on tribal lands; property-related issues, including tribal land claims, the trust status of tribal lands, tribal environmental regulation, and religious freedom claims implicating federal lands; and the role and status of tribal courts. The featured speakers are tribal attorneys, government attorneys, attorneys in private practice, academics, and other recognized experts in the field of Native American law, who will bring a diversity of experiences and viewpoints to their discussion of these issues, which have become so prominent in the Northeast, as well as throughout the United States, in the last decade.

About New England School of Law and
New England Law Review

The only law school in the nation founded exclusively for the education of women, Portia Law School became coeducational in 1938. In 1969, the school's name was changed to New England School of Law and accreditation was granted by the American Bar Association. Portia Law Journal was founded in 1965 and changed its name to New England Law Review in 1969. New England Law Review is a student-run journal that publishes four issues each year. The Law Review publishes articles of general legal interest written by professors, judges, attorneys, experts, and students of New England School of Law. In addition, each year New England Law Review hosts a symposium addressing a contemporary legal issue.