Tools for Indigenous Peoples

2025 The Tribal Guide to Implementing FPIC in the Context of Conservation and Development

This guide provides educational information to Tribal governments regarding Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC), as articulated in the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. It focuses on opportunities to use FPIC as a tool to protect Tribal rights and interests in the context of conservation and development.

2024 The Indigenous Peoples’ Guide to the United Nations

American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians participate in United Nations processes to advance Indigenous Peoples’ rights both globally and at home. Successful international engagement requires a significant investment of time and energy, undertaken over many years. The Indigenous Peoples’ Guide to the United Nations aims to demystify the institution and give Indigenous leaders, lawyers, and community members the tools to get started.

2021 Tribal Implementation Toolkit

In 2021, the Implementation Project published its Tribal Implementation Toolkit, in partnership with UCLA School of Law. This Toolkit is intended to assist tribal leaders, lawyers, and advocates in implementing the UN-Declaration.

In addition to the digital version, which features artwork by Joni Sarah White, we also offer a text-only version more suitable for screen readers or other accessibility aids. 

2019 Conference Report on Implementing The Declaration

The Project’s first publication was the 2019 Conference Report on Implementing the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, available in the CU Law Review.

The report grew out of the March 2019 conference, “Call to Action in Indian Country,” where the Implementation Project was launched by CU-Law and NARF. The conference featured workshops on cultural rights, environmental advocacy, business and entrepreneurship, Indian child welfare, technology and communications, Indigenous languages, and how to address Indian Law changes in the United States using an international human rights framework. (Watch the recorded conference).

2025 A Tribal Government Handbook for Operationalizing FPIC in the Context of Conservation and Development by Walter Echo-Hawk

This handbook by Walter Echo-Hawk provides tools to help strengthen the self-determination of Tribal Nations when dealing with outside entities – like federal agencies, state and local governments, other Tribes or private entities – on matters that may affect a Tribe’s lands, territories or resources.

2022 Webinars on the UN Permanent Forum

The United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues held its Twenty-First Session (UNPFII21), April 25 – May 6, 2022. The theme of the session was “Indigenous peoples, business, autonomy and the human rights principles of due diligence including free, prior and informed consent.” The Project held several online events, about the Forum, implementation of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in the United States, and the International Decade of Indigenous Languages.

2020 Webinars on Intellectual Property Rights

The University of Colorado Law School, the Native American Rights Fund, and the National Congress of American Indians collaborated on a two-part webinar series addressing the applications of, and gaps in, intellectual property rights protections for Indigenous Peoples’ traditional knowledge and cultural expressions.