A Third Way: Decolonizing the Laws of Indigenous Cultural Protection

In A Third Way, Hillary Hoffmann and Monte Mills detail the history, context, and future of the ongoing legal fight to protect indigenous cultures. At the federal level, this fight is shaped by the assumptions that led to current federal cultural protection laws, which many tribes and their allies are now reframing to better meet their cultural and sovereign priorities. At the state level, centuries of antipathy toward tribes are beginning to give way to collaborative and cooperative efforts that better reflect indigenous interests. Most critically, tribes themselves are building laws and legal structures that reflect and invigorate their own cultural values. Taken together, and evidenced by the recent worldwide support for indigenous cultural movements, events of the last decade signal a new era for indigenous cultural protection. This important work should be read by anyone interested in the legal reforms that will guide progress toward that future.

Hillary Hoffmann is Professor of Law, Vermont Law School. She has fifteen years of experience in the field of federal Indian law, representing tribal clients in private practice. Along with teaching and writing on tribal cultural preservation, she has also testified in Congress on a variety of related topics.

Monte Mills is Associate Professor and Co-Director of the Margery Hunter Brown Indian Law Clinic at the Alexander Blewett III School of Law, University of Montana. He has sixteen years of experience working for, with, and on behalf of Indian tribes as general and in-house counsel.