MISSOULA — It’s a tool to strengthen tribal sovereignty.
The Margery Hunter Brown Indian Law Clinic at the University of Montana has embarked on an ambitious project to create the Indian Law Portal – a comprehensive digital archive of legal documents from each of Montana’s tribal nations.
The clinic, part of UM’s Alexander Blewett III School of Law, created the project to preserve and document vital legal and historical information. The Indian Law Portal is more than a mere academic exercise – it’s a step toward historical preservation and a foundation for building more understanding within Indian Country.
“Every time we go out to scan documents, we are discovering information that has been lost in time,” said Kekek Stark, a UM law professor and director of the clinic. “It’s more than just archiving. It’s about giving Indigenous law its rightful place in Montana’s legal narrative.”
The Margery Hunter Brown Indian Law Clinic is the oldest of its type in the United States. Law students work under Stark’s supervision within the clinic and receive credit hours to work on the project.
Students coordinate with individual tribal nations to gain permission to archive their documents. Then they journey from Missoula to remote locations across Montana. Some trips are a 10-hour drive one way. The documents collected are then uploaded to a central location online via the Jameson Law Library in the UM law school.
Students comb through, catalogue and scan old legal documents – many of which have been gathering dust for generations. The documents are then carefully preserved and made accessible through ScholarWorks, the University’s digital repository.
“We go through basements, old bank vaults and storage rooms to find documents to scan,” said David Ricci, a third-year UM law student and enrolled member of the Little Shell Tribe. “Some of the documents we are finding have been totally forgotten about. This information will help build a foundation for future laws.”
Supported by Stark, these law students are finding meaning beyond legal study in this process. They encounter both the rigor and significance of their work firsthand.
“I get to have such an active role in this project,” Ricci said. “Each time we discover new information, I get really excited.”
As tribal nations draft new laws and treaties, they study past laws from not only their own tribe but others who have come before. Tribes often use legal agreements and ideas from other tribal nations that share similar values and beliefs. This study of intertribal law benefits from having a central depository for documents.
“We are finding statements written by judges in the ’90s that will affect new laws in the 2020s,” Ricci said. “This type of information could be lost forever if we don’t get it all scanned and documented.”
He has been impressed by the quality of the historical information.
“Some of these opinions we are finding have writing quality on par with the Montana Supreme Court,” Ricci said. “I’m happy to uncover them, learn from them and make them available to future practitioners.”
Stark explains that each piece of legal knowledge found in this project is like a building block in the foundation of tribal sovereignty.
“Tribal principles of justice are about restoring harmony and balance,” Stark said. “We are finding things that no one knew existed. We are getting a clearer understanding of our past while having more blocks to build on in the future.”
The portal’s reach extends far beyond campus. It offers tribal members, scholars and the public access to a central hub of tribal legal records. UM’s law school is uniquely positioned to lead this effort. In fact, it is the only organization undertaking such a comprehensive legal cataloging of tribal documents in Montana.
By centralizing this wealth of information, the project not only preserves history but also creates new opportunities for legal scholarship, enabling comparative studies in Indian Law and broadening the understanding of Indigenous legal traditions across the state.
But like any ambitious project, the Indian Law Portal faces challenges. Stark said long hours on the road, remote locations and the painstaking process of manually scanning old books and documents make this a labor-intensive endeavor. However, the team’s commitment and the support from Montana tribes have made every challenge worthwhile. The project has continued to expand as more documents emerge, revealing the richness of Indigenous legal history in Montana.
The Indian Law Portal is more than a digital repository. Stark said it’s a testament to the UM’s commitment to serving its students, Indigenous communities, and the broader legal and academic landscape. As it grows, the portal will continue to bring invaluable Indigenous legal histories to light, strengthening ties within Indian Country and underscoring the University’s role as a steward of both education and heritage.
Stark said that by creating a permanent, accessible home for these records, UM will ensure the history and legal heritage of Montana’s Tribal Nations will remain available for generations to come.
The Indian Law Portal is far from a finite project. With each visit to a tribal nation, the archive grows – as does the knowledge preserved. The long-term goal is to maintain this project indefinitely, ensuring that as more documents surface they are carefully documented and made accessible.
Success will ultimately be measured by the portal’s impact on legal scholarship, the preservation of Indigenous legal histories and the bridge it builds between tribal nations and broader academic communities.
For the law students involved, this work has been life-changing.
“Traveling to these communities, hearing their stories and handling these documents has given me a respect for the resilience and richness of Montana’s Tribal Nations,” Ricci said. “I get to be a part of something so meaningful, and I’ll remember this forever.”
