Call for Papers for the South Dakota Law Review’s Access to Justice in Indian Country Symposium

The South Dakota Law Review seeks article proposals, speakers, and panel participants for a symposium on issues related to access to justice in Indian Country. The Access to Justice in Indian Countrysymposium will be held in Vermillion, South Dakota, on September 29th, 2025. 

Abstracts of 300-500 words are due June 27, 2025.

The symposium will focus on Indian Country. The editors seek articles and speakers that address one or more of the following topics, or other related topics:

1. Indigent defense in Indian Country

2. Tribal Justice Systems 

3. The practice of law in Indian Country, including on rural reservations 

4. Incarceration and recidivism 

5. The study Federal Indian Law and Tribal Law as an academic discipline 

6. Tribal Law Enforcement 

7. Legal aspects of the Land Back Movement 

8. Land ownership on reservations 

9. Licensure policies and impact on reservation areas

The editors actively seek diverse viewpoints and diverse scholarly approaches.  Although the symposium is not a historical or comparative project, the editors welcome articles with historical or comparative features.

In your proposal, please indicate whether you would be interested in (1) publishing your topic, (2) speaking at the symposium, or (3) both. Priority will be given to proposals where the contributor expects to both publish and speak at our in-person event, although we will consider other proposals. 

The Call for Papers opens today with abstracts due on June 27, 2025. Please send abstracts to tia.vlasman@coyotes.usd.edu. Selected contributors will be notified by July 3, 2025. Finished articles will be due Monday, December 1, 2025. Our editors will work with you over the winter 2023-24 to prepare your work for publication. The symposium volume will be published and released in the summer of 2026.