WSPC01188

• File Number: 8064
• Description: Indian Water Rights
• State: CO
• Date: 1/1/1987
• Author: American Indian Reso
• Title: Tribal Water Management Handbook
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Report/Study

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PREFACE

When the American Indian Lawyer Training Program, Inc. (AILTP) was
'founded in 1973, it established three major objectives which would become the focal
poil\l for program projects and activities. Succinctly stated, AIL TP's goals were:

to provide access to the increasingly vast and complex legal
developments that affect Indian tribes and their members;

to contribute toward the proper development of Indian law through thc
publication of resource materials which focus on those areas of law
most vital to the Indian community; and

to promote tribal sovereignty and Indian self-determination through
training programs designed to develop the skills of the Indian legal
community.

In 1974 AIL TP began publication of the Indian Law Reporter, the first and only
monthly reporter service devoted exclusively to collecting, reporting and
summarizing current devclopments in Indian law, which include tribal, statc and
federal court decisions, as well as selected administrative opinions. The Reporter
continues to be an integral component of AIL TP's publishing efforts. During the
period 1974-1978, AILTP established and conducted three major projects designed to
facilitate the professional devclopment of Indian attorneys and law students: the
Fcllowship Program for Indian Attorneys; the Intern Project for Indian Law Students;
and the Law Associate Program for Recent Indian Law Graduates. 'Through its
Fellowship Program, AIL TP provided financial, logistical and back-up support to
Indian attorneys seeking to establish private practices on or near Indian reservations,
while the Intern Program and Law Associate Program provided Indian law students
and recent law school graduates with the opportunity to receive practical experience
by working with tribal courts, tribal government offices, reservation legal services
programs or AILTP fellows.

Recognizing the need for specialized substantive and skills training for tribal
court personnel, AILTP initiated in 1976 a Tribal Court Advocate Training Project
which it conducted through 1982. During this same period, AILTP also produced
several publications treating specific areas of Indian law, such as criminal jurisdiction
in Indian Country, the Indian Child Welfare Act, and the administration of justice in
Indian Country, as well as a major survey on the status and needs of tribal courts
entitled Indian Self-Determination and the Role of Tribal Courts. AILTP's other
major projects have included an Indian Child Welfarc Resource Project and a Tribal
Court Management Project.

Beginning in 1979, AILTP's focus Slowly began to change from one devoted
cntirely to Indian law and legal practitioners. to one which incorporated projects and
activities directed to other areas and issues critical to Indian tribes. From 1979 to
1987, AILTP conducted six national conferences focusing on Indian natural
resources. The first conference, held in 1979, had as its theme "Indian Natural
Resource Law and Finance" and included workshops on such subject areas as coal,