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Posted by: Jennifer Davis
Some of the founding fathers– Jefferson, Madison, Hamilton—met at a dinner party on June 20, 1790, to discuss options for the siting of the capital of the new Federal government. On July 16, 1790, the founders formally selected a spot on the Potomac River as the permanent capital (Washington, D.C.), after 10 years of siting …
Posted in: African American History, Collections, Law Library
Posted by: Jennifer Davis
Felix Cohen noted that, “[f]rom the earliest years of the Republic the Indian tribes have been recognized as “distinct, independent political communities’” (Cohen 1941, 122). Despite the early nation-to-nation relations between tribal nations and the United States, self-determination was not codified. After termination policies of the 1950s were put in place, many tribal nations and …
Posted in: Collections, Law Library, Native Americans
Posted by: Jennifer Davis
This Native American Heritage Month, we honor the significant figures in history who contributed to civil rights and the law. Ada Deer, Menominee, was an activist, tribal leader, social worker, government official, professor, and community activist, all in service to her community. In the process of trying to make improvements in the quality of Native …
Posted in: Collections, Law Library, Native Americans
Posted by: Jennifer Davis
Today's blog post is a guest post by collection development specialist Alexander regarding the Native American Graves Protection and Reparation Act.
Posted in: Collections, Guest Post, Law Library, Native Americans
Posted by: Jennifer Davis
In late October and early November, people of Hispanic heritage remember their lost loved ones with ofrendas, colorful memorials to the dead that are decorated with sugar skulls, marigolds, papel picado, candles, favorite foods of the lost ones, and more. This time tends to be a celebration more than a mourning; when building an ofrenda …
Posted in: Collections, Hispanic American History, Law Library
Posted by: Jennifer Davis
The United States commemorates Constitution Day on September 17, the anniversary of the signing of the Constitution in Philadelphia in 1787. Celebrations usually include readings and discussions of the history of the document and its writing and influences. Many say that the United States, one of the oldest continuous democracies in the world drew influence for …
Posted in: Collections, Law Library, Native Americans
Posted by: Jennifer Davis
Today's blog post brings us an insightful and educational history of the first Muslim printer in the Ottoman Empire, Ibrahim Müteferrika.
Posted in: Collections, Law Library, Pic of the Week
Posted by: Jennifer Davis
This post contains research contributed by Ilya Dines. In the Law Library, we are working to make our rare books collection more widely available via blog posts and digitization, so that it can be found and used by researchers and the public. Some aspects of these materials are mainly noticed by historians, legal scholars, philosophers, …
Posted in: Collections, Law Library, Pic of the Week
Posted by: Jennifer Davis
On March 30, 2023, the Vatican issued a joint statement repudiating the “doctrine of discovery” and terra nullius. The doctrine of discovery was used as the legal foundation for taking the land of Indigenous people by Europeans, and for the establishment of residential schools; as Justice Marshall wrote, “The European governments asserted the exclusive right …
Posted in: Collections, In the News, Law Library, Native Americans