Native American Rights Fund
“To protect the most important rights of Native peoples.”
The work
What they do
The oldest and largest nonprofit law firm dedicated to asserting and defending the rights of Indian tribes.
Every year they sign one sentence and file it with the federal government: “CONSTRUCT THE FOUNDATIONS NECESSARY TO EMPOWER TRIBES SO THEY CAN CONTINUE TO LIVE ACCORDING TO THEIR NATIVE TRADITIONS, ENFORCE THEIR TREATY RIGHTS AND PROTECT THEIR SOVEREIGNTY.”
Where the money went, FY2025
The work, and what it cost
Holding the line in court
$668KNational Indian Law Library In 1972, NARF founded the National Indian Law Library (NILL) to serve the research needs of NARF attorneys.
Read it as they filed it
National Indian Law Library In 1972, NARF founded the National Indian Law Library (NILL) to serve the research needs of NARF attorneys. NILL's resources are also available to the public however, and hundreds of research requests are received weekly. The library houses a unique and valuable collection of federal Indian and tribal law materials and provides specialized legal research assistance. It also provides online bulletins to keep advocates aware of the latest legal developments and most recent news in Indian law. Researchers around the world have access to the resources of the National Indian Law Library through online access to our library catalog (https://nill.softlinkliberty.net/liberty). The catalog contains information on over 18,000 titles held in the NILL collection. Copies of most resources can be delivered to researchers in a timely way and many catalog records provide links to free resources that are available on the internet. NILL's collection includes catalog records for approximately 7,000 articles, 4,500 books, and 1400 tribal law resources. Many of these items are freely available online and are easily accessed via a link in the catalog record. NILL is the only library serving the public with extensive expertise and resources relating to Indian law, providing services that other libraries are unable to provide. One critical resource provided during FY2025 was in the many public presentations and training NILL Staff provided to the public, librarians, judges, court employees, law students, and other researchers on how to conduct Federal Indian Law and Tribal Law research.
IRS Form 990 Part III, fiscal year 2025, signed under penalty of perjury.
Follow the dollar
66 cents of every dollar goes to the work
Read it as a snapshot, not a scorecard. Splits move year to year with grants and campaigns, and healthy shops live all across this range.
Backed on the record by 444S Foundation, David and Lucile Packard Foundation, Walton Family Foundation and 5 others, latest filing FY24.
$14,086,193 programs, $2,842,799 management, $4,412,016 fundraising. Form 990, FY2025.
The people
Who does the work
Honesty note: leadership comes from each year’s federal filing, so it can run a year behind. Orgs that claim their page can update it same-day. Work at NARF? Claim this page.
Those 20 volunteers are people who decided this ground was theirs to defend. If NARF is fighting for your place too, the matchmaker will find your way in.
Make it 21The record
The court record
And 1 more in our case database: a selection we track, not their full docket.
14 years of filings
Total revenue by fiscal year, as filed. Point at the line for any year.
| Year | Revenue |
|---|---|
| 2011 | $6,239,535 |
| 2012 | $18,620,949 |
| 2013 | $11,808,071 |
| 2014 | $6,679,668 |
| 2015 | $15,041,212 |
| 2016 | $12,055,367 |
| 2017 | $30,764,589 |
| 2018 | $13,265,349 |
| 2019 | $13,057,847 |
| 2020 | $16,394,707 |
| 2021 | $30,510,271 |
| 2022 | $17,548,546 |
| 2023 | $18,937,073 |
| 2025 | $24,661,367 |
From $6.2M in 2011 to $24.7M in FY25, across 14 public filings.
Fights alongside Earthjustice (2 shared cases), Center for Biological Diversity (1 shared case), Friends of the Earth (1 shared case), Grand Canyon Trust (1 shared case) and Honor the Earth (1 shared case) and 3 more. Same case, same side, on the federal docket.
The record
On the Hill
Native American Rights Fund has hired federal lobbyists: 13 filings from 2021 to 2024. The filings, at the Senate.
Most filed on indian/native american affairs and civil rights/civil liberties.
Their ground
The places they defend
See every threatened place on one map, and who stands for each.
Ways in
How to help
66 cents of your dollar goes straight to the work above.
Give on their site ↗Show upVolunteer with themFind their volunteer door on their own site.
Find it on their site ↗SpeakComment and callOpen comment windows and call scripts for fights like these, ready to send.
Public Lands Action NetworkFollowWatch the mapEvery threatened place in the country, tracked, with who stands for each.
Threatened Lands MapStand with Native American Rights Fund
56 years on the ground, 20 volunteers, 66 cents of every dollar on the line. That is who is holding it. There is room for one more.