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Eberly College of Arts and Sciences Program for Native American Studies
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Special Topic Courses

NAS 493A Criminal Justice in Indian Country
SPRING 2024

  • 3-Credit Special Topics Course
  • CRN:17956
  • Meets ONLINE, Tuesdays 6:00-8:50pm

Students: This course is approved for your degree credit requirements in: Native American Studies, Criminology, Political Science (prelaw), and as an elective for other majors and minors

This course examines the historical, policy, and legal issues surrounding the administration of criminal justice in Indian Country. Students will gain in-depth knowledge of criminal jurisdiction, including the role of tribal police, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) Office of Justice Services, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and state, tribal, and local law enforcement agencies and discuss the impacts of the Indian Country Crimes Act, the Major Crimes Act, Public Law 280, the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), Savanna's Act, the Not Invisible Act, and the Tribal Law and Order Act of 2010.

Students will become familiar with historic U.S. Supreme Court decisions such as Worcester v. Georgia (1832), Ex Parte Crow Dog (1883), Oliphant v. Suquamish Tribe (1978), and other key cases. Also included are contemporary rulings such as the Court's Oklahoma v. McGirt (2020) finding that the eastern half of Oklahoma is Indian Country for jurisdictional purposes. Discussion of current issues will cover opiate abuse, domestic violence, and missing/murdered Native women. The course examines modern public perceptions of criminal justice in Indian Country via popular media, such as: Ojibwe author Louise Erdrich's novel The Round House, non-fiction books The Broken Circle and The Story of Murder and Magic in Indian Country and Birds of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI (film released 10/23); streaming drama "Dark Winds"; and docuseries "Navajo Police: Class 57," focused on Navajo law enforcement serving their sovereign nation, which is larger than the state of West Virginia.

Class instructor Chris Chaney (Seneca Cayuga Nation) is Principal Deputy Director for the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Tribal Justice in Washington, DC. He has over 30 years of federal Indian law experience and has served as: Prosecuting Attorney for the Jicarilla Apache Nation; Assistant U.S. Attorney (serving the Navajo Nation, the Ute/Uintah Ouray Tribe, and other tribes located in Utah); Assistant Solicitor for Indian Affairs in the Department of the Interior; and as a Unit Chief for the FBI Office of the General Counsel. Mr. Chaney earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Oklahoma and a law degree from Brigham Young University's J. Reuben Clark Law School. He is licensed to practice law before the U.S. Supreme Court, in the states of Utah and New Mexico, and in the courts of the Navajo Nation. "CRIMINAL JUSTICE IN INDIAN COUNTRY" helps students understand the complexities of criminal justice pertaining to the 574 federally-recognized tribes in the U.S. His other NAS classes include "Introduction to Federal Indian Law," and "Environmental Justice in Indian Country." 

criminal justice in Indian Country class flier

Sovereign Native Nations FALL 2023   

  • 3-Credits
  • CRN:88869 
  • Meets Tuesday and Thursday, 4-5:15pm 
The three credit upper-division seminar course is integrated with the Fall 2023 NAS forum, "This Land Was Already Loved: Native Leaders Discuss their Nations' Connection to Place." The class will challenge students to consider the historic and modern-day influences that have threatened or reinforced tribal sovereignty for the more than 570 federally-recognized American Indian and Alaska Native Nations. Students will read and discuss contemporary case studies, hear presentations by Native leaders, and explore how sovereignty is supported through the efforts of such groups as the Native American Rights Fund, the National Congress of American Indians, the Indian Land Tenure Foundation, the National Indian Child Welfare Association, the National Indian Gaming Association., et al. 

The instructor will facilitate class dicussions and guest lectures centering on Native Nations' sovereignty in the era of self-determination and examining governance and leadership within the nations. Students will explore how sovereignty is inextricably intertwined with overall human rights, economics, health, environmental concerns, cultural preservation, etc. Each student will choose a particular area of interest and research the most important current issues relative to the course emphasis: indigenous soveriegnty. (Class counts for NAS minor and WVU electives.)

Class instructor: Bonnie Brown, NAS Program Coordinator,   BonnieM.Brown@mail.wvu.edu
Image of filer for 493A includes a photo of a large group of attendees to the 2022 White House Tribal National Summit. They are standing in front of the Department of Interior building.