Legal Reform
Some of the most crippling systemic barriers to Indian land use and control – fractionated ownership, checkerboarding, abuse of the federal trust relationship – are due to complex and unjust regulations, court rulings and laws involving Indian land. Some of the most shortsighted, racist and damaging federal Indian policies, such as the policy of allotment, were devised in the 1800s when most people believed that Native Americans would either disappear or assimilate into American society. Many of these policies, and their devastating effects on Indian people, remain today.
Projects should be designed to advance ideas and policies granting Indian landowners and tribes greater control of their land assets. Example projects might include:
- Estate planning and probate reform in tribal communities
- Land policy development or reform
- Landowner associations
- Engaging local, state and federal government leaders in a dialogue about the tribe exercising its sovereignty over tribal land
- Initiatives to improve the legal landscape for owning and managing Indian land.
How to Send a Letter of Inquiry (LOI)
The Indian Land Tenure Foundation promotes activities that support the recovery and control of Indian homelands. We work to promote education on Indian land ownership and management, increase cultural awareness of Indian land tenure, create economic opportunity on Indian-owned lands, and reform the legal and administrative systems that prevent Indian people and Native nations from owning and controlling their lands. Before submitting a letter of inquiry (LOI), please read the list below of ILTF’s eligibility requirements, funding priorities, and the list of activities we do not fund.
Entities eligible for funding include:
- Tribal, local and state governments
- Nonprofit organizations with a 501(c)(3) designation, including institutions
Activities that are not eligible for funding include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Advocacy and lobbying efforts to influence legislation
- Endowments
- Land purchases
- Benefits, fundraisers, walk-a-thons, telethons, galas, etc.
- Scholarships, tuition assistance or other direct funding to individuals
- Special events, except when the event is a key strategy in a continuum of efforts to achieve community goals in the Foundation’s program areas
Send a Letter of Inquiry (LOI)