Native American Rights Fund
“To protect the most important rights of Native peoples.”
8 funders on the record, 1 comment to the agencies.
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.” as filed.
Where the money went, FY2025
The work, and what it cost
National Indian Law Library In 1972
$668K, 3% of spendingNARF 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.
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.
$14,086,193 programs, $2,842,799 management, $4,412,016 fundraising. Form 990, FY2025.
The backers
Backed on the record by Wilderness Society, 444S Foundation, David and Lucile Packard Foundation and 5 others, latest filing FY25.
The people
Who does the work
Honesty note: leadership comes from each year’s federal filing, so it can run a year behind. If it’s out of date, tell us. 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.
Find your way inThe record
The court record
Fights alongside Earthjustice (2 shared cases) and Sierra Club (1 shared case). Same case, same side, on the federal docket.
The filings
14 years of filings
Total revenue by fiscal year, as filed. Point at or tap 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 (none on record for 2024).
On the Hill
NARF has hired federal lobbyists: 13 filings from 2021 to 2024. The filings, at the Senate.
Most filed on tribal affairs and civil rights.
The record
On the record with the agencies
1 comment on federal decisions since 2023, each filed under the group’s own name on regulations.gov, none yet on a decision we track. Read them on regulations.gov.
Year by year
The record, in order
- 1970Native American Rights Fund is formed.the return, formation year
- 2002Wyoming Sawmills Inc. v. United States Forest Service: counsel, won.the docket
- 2013Solenex LLC v. Bernhardt: counsel, closed.the docket
- 2014National Mining Association v. Ryan Zinke: counsel, won.the docket
- 2016Standing Rock Sioux Tribe v. United States Army Corps of Engineers: counsel, closed.the docket
- 2022First appears in the grants of Wilderness Society, 444S Foundation, David and Lucile Packard Foundation, Walton Family Foundation, William & Flora Hewlett Foundation and Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.the funders’ returns
- 2024First appears in the grants of John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and Pew Charitable Trusts.the funders’ returns
- 20251 comment to the Interior Department, under the group’s own name.regulations.gov
Green, a funder’s return. Hollow, a filing. Every row is a record we hold: 4 federal cases with the group on the docket, 1 comment filed under its own name, 8 funders whose returns name it. Nothing here is written from memory.
Their ground
The places they defend
See every threatened place on one map, and who stands for each.
Ways in
How to help
Straight to their own donation page. Your dollar never passes through us.
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
The mission is theirs. The backing is yours.