O'Brian Hall
University at Buffalo, State University of New York
Buffalo, New York 14260-1110
USA
Phone: 716 645-2047
Fax: 716 645-3860
Email: asklaw@buffalo.edu
URL: http://law.lib.buffalo.edu
© 2007. State University of New York at Buffalo. All rights reserved.
Howard R. Berman, a 1973 graduate of the UB Law School, taught American Indian Law and Human Rights at UB from 1978 to 1982. Professor Berman taught at Harvard Law School from 1983 to 1987 and California Western Law School from 1987 until his death. He maintained a private practice in American Indian law and served as an attorney for the Indian Law Resource Center in Washington D.C. from 1978-81.
Prof. Berman was an early leader in the development of law on the rights of indigenous peoples. His interests also included comparative law, international environmental law, international law, international trade and property. He chaired the Interest Group on Indigenous Rights for the American Society of International Law and served on the Board of Advisors for the International Working Group for Indigenous Affairs for the United Nations from 1993 until his death. He worked closely with the traditional Haudenosaunee [Six Nations, Iroquois Confederacy] and consulted with many indigenous peoples around the world.
He was an avid collector of rare books on New York history and Indian affairs, and international law. Upon his death in June 1997, Professor Berman donated to the Law Library his collection of books and papers which focus on Indian Nations within New York State and the rights of indigenous peoples worldwide.
Collection includes original writings (essays, reports, correspondence, and course materials) by Mr. Berman; unpublished conference papers and research proposals; photocopies of journal articles, bibliographies, correspondence, book excerpts, Congressional materials, maps, pamphlets from indigenous peoples’ organizations and official working documents from the International Labor Organization, the United Nations, and other international organizations. Also includes photocopies of early papers in the development of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
The collection is arranged in eleven series:
Series I. Berman Authored Materials
Series II. Aboriginal Rights and American Indian Law
Series III. Indians and New York State
Series IV. Indians and Canada
Series V. Other Indigenous Peoples
Series VI. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs), Intergovernmental Organizations (IGOs) & Indigenous Peoples Organizations
Series VII. International Labour Organization (ILO)
Series VIII. Minorities and International Law
Series IX. United Nations Working Group on Indigenous Populations (WGIP)
Series X. Serials
Series XI. Oversize
Contains photocopies unless otherwise noted.
| Box/Folder | Contents |
| 1.1 | Articles |
| 1.2 to 1.4 | Unpublished essays and speeches; handwritten notes. |
| 1.5 to 1.8 | Correspondence while at Harvard Law School, 1983-1987; resume; some originals and handwritten notes. |
Contains photocopies unless otherwise noted.
| Box/Folder | Contents |
| 2.1-2.8 | Bibliographies, articles |
| 3.1-4.3 | Book excerpts (8 folders) |
| 4.4-5.3 | Unpublished conference papers (5 folders) |
| 5.4-5.5 | Excerpts from British treatises; British court cases |
| 6.1-6.4 | American Indian Law course notes |
| 6.5 | Legal references from the Seneca cases before the United States Indian Claims Commission |
| 6.6 | Articles about Felix S. Cohen |
| 7.1-7.2 | Bibliographies, articles |
| 7.3-8.5 | Book excerpts (6 folders) |
| 8.6 | Alaska --including government document: Russian America. Message from the President of the United States, in answer to a resolution of the House of 19th of December last, transmitting correspondence in relation to Russian America...., 1868. [40th Cong/2d Sess Ex. Doc. No.177] 361 p. |
| 8.7 | Florida |
| 8.8 | Hawaii --including government document: Message from the President of the United States transmitting correspondence respecting relations between the United States and the Hawaiian Islands from September, 1820, to January, 1893. [52d Cong/2d Sess Ex.Doc. no.77] 192 p. and Government for the Territory of Hawaii…report to accompany H.R. 2972., 1900 [56th Cong/1st Sess Rep. no. 305] 108 p. |
| 8.9 | Wisconsin |
| 9.1-9.2 | Border Crossing: copies from the papers of George P. Decker Papers located at St. John Fisher College, Rochester, New York, and assorted articles, cases, memos and handwritten Berman notes. |
| 9.3-9.5 | Citizenship |
| 9.6 | United States trust responsibility |
| 10.1-10.4 | United Nations Human Rights Commission (UNHRC) complaint filed in 1980: background documents by the Indian Law Resource Centerand the Institute for Polity Studies, correspondence, official petitions and complaints. Includes handwritten Berman notes. |
| 11.1-11.8 | United States Congressional material, 1775-1892 |
| 12.1-12.9 | United States statutes, cases, records and briefs. |
| 13.1 | United States Attorney General opinions, 1841-1936 |
| 13.2 | U.S. War Dept. Division of Insular Affairs, Cases 1102 & 1244 (1899) |
| 13.3 | Selections from American State Papers, Class II Indian Affairs, 1832 |
| 13.4 | Selections from Diplomatic Correspondence of the United States, Canadian Relations 1784-1860 by William R. Manning, 1940 |
| 13.5 | Selections from European Treaties bearing on the History of the United States and its Dependencies to 1648, edited by Frances G. Davenport, 1967; Treaty between Virginia and Maryland with the Six Nations, 1744; treaties with Great Britain |
| 13.6 | Treaty of Canandaigua, 1794: diary selections from William Savery and James Emlem |
Contains photocopies unless otherwise noted.
| Box/Folder | Contents |
| 14.1 | Haudenosaunee Grand Council; includes some originals and handwritten Berman notes. |
| 14.2-14.3 | Cayuga Nation: Photocopies Berman made in 1982 from the papers of George P. Deckerlocated at St. John Fisher College, Rochester, New York with a numbered table of contents created by Karen L. Spencer in 1982; materials on the Arbitration of Outstanding Pecuniary Claims Between Great Britain and the United States of America, 1914 |
| 14.4-14.10 | Mohawk Nation: Akwesasnecrisis, 1990including Berman correspondence and handwritten notes, New York Assembly documents and communications; St. Regis Reserve map and photocopies from the National Archives; Berman correspondence and other materials on gaming, taxation and pollution. See also Oversize item no. 4 |
| 15.1 | Oneida Nation: gaming compact; court briefs |
| 15.2-15.5 | Onondaga Nation: briefs and other litigation materials on Jones v. Dillon, 124 A.D.2d 1042 (4th Dept. 1986) and Papineau v. Cook ; record & brief on Onondaga Nation v. Thatcher, 53 A.D. 561 (4th Dept. 1900); includes Berman handwritten notes and brief |
| 16.1 | Tonawanda Senecas |
| 16.2-17.5 | Seneca Nation of Indians: history of the nation including photocopies of the Constitution of the Seneca Nation of Indians (, 1933-1993); political crisis, 1994-95 including correspondence, litigation papers, court decision of Bowen v. Doyle, 880 F. Supp. 99 (W.D.N.Y., 1995), newspaper clippings; oil & gas leases; Salamanca lease; Southern Tier Expressway; New York laws and U.S. Congressional materials (10 folders) |
| 17.6 | Hearings in Favor of the Bill (H.R. 12270) for the Allotment of Lands in Severalty Among Seneca Nation of New York Indians, and for Other Purposes hearings before the United States House Committee on Indian Affairs, Fifty-Seventh Congress, first session, on Mar. 15, 22, 29, 1902. 112 p. |
| 17.7 | Report of the Secretary of War, submitting a communication from the Commissioner of Indian Affairs: with a report from the commissioner appointed to investigate whether the Seneca Indians have sustained losses through a late sub-agent of the United States. , 1848. 77 p. |
| 17.8 | U.S. Congress. Senate. Committee on Indian Affairs. Seneca Nation of New York Indians…Papers to accompany S.2828. to regulate the collection and disbursement of moneys arising from leases made by Seneca Nation of Indians, and for other purposes., 1898. [55th Cong./2d Sess. Doc. No. 145] 15 p. |
| 17.9 | In the Senate of the United States letter from the Secretary of the Interior, transmitting information relating to the Odgen Land Company, and to the claim of said company to certain lands of the Seneca Nation of Indians. , 1895.[53rd Cong/3d Sess. Exec. Doc. No. 52] 40 p. |
| 17.10 | Seneca Nation of New York Indians message from the President of the United States, transmitting a communication from the Secretary of the Interior and a memorial of the council of the Seneca Nation of New York Indians against the passage of Senate bill no. 19. , 1882. [47th Cong./1st Sess. Ex. Doc. No.83] 12 p. (2 copies) |
| 17.11 | United States. Congress. Senate. Report of the Secretary of the Interior relative to the claim of the Brotherton Indians. , 1855. [33rd Congress, 2nd session, Ex. Doc. no. 45] 28 p. |
| 17.12 | New York. Senate. Message from the governor, transmitting papers in relation to the Seneca Indians, No. 59 in Senate, Feb. 11, 1850. 14 p. |
| 17.13 | New York. Assembly. Report of the Comptroller on the memorial of the St. Regis Indians, No. 318 in Assembly, March 24, 1835. 22 p. |
| 18.1-18.6 | New York Indian Law (1950) --book excerpts, New York Assembly and Senate documents, court cases |
| 19.1-19.4 | Land claims, Berman essays & handwritten notes, United States Indian Claims Commissioncases |
| 19.5 | Cultural heritage |
| 19.6 | Taxation |
| 19.7 | Jurisdiction |
| 20.1-20.3 | U.S. Congressional materials, U.S. Commissioner of Indian Affairs reports, 1870-1930 |
| 20.4-20.14 | Photocopies Berman made in 1982 from the papers of George P. Deckerlocated at St. John Fisher College, Rochester, New York. Each folder has a numbered table of contents created by Karen L. Spencer in 1982. |
Contains photocopies unless otherwise noted.
| Box/Folder | Contents |
| 21.1-21.5 | Articles, bibliographies, unpublished papers and reports |
| 22.1 | United Nations Human Rights Committee (UNHRC) complaints, 1981-1984 |
| 22.2 | Algonquin Nation (Lac Barriere Band) |
| 22.3 | Huron Band Indians |
| 22.4 | Innu People |
| 22.5 | James Bay Agreement |
| 22.6 | Kaska Dena |
| 22.7 | Lubicon Lake Indian Band |
| 22.8 | MeĢtis |
| 22.9 | Musqueam Indian Band: R. v. Sparrow, Supreme Court of Canada, May 31, 1990 - fishing rights |
| 23.1 | Jesuits |
| 23.2 | Six Nations Band: Isaac v. Davey |
| 23.3 | Mohawk Band, Quebec lands |
| 23.4 | The Covenant Chain: The General Council of the Six Nations, and the Delegates from different Bands in Western and Eastern Canada, June 10, 1870 ; The Chain by Paul Williams (thesis, 1982) 407 leaves |
| 23.5-24.5 | Deskaheh & the Six Nations appeal to the League of Nations, 1923 (6 folders) |
Contains original and copies of correspondence, original pamphlets and photocopies of articles, reports, book excerpts, news clippings, League of Nations and United Nations documents.
| Box/Folder | Contents |
| 25.1 | Aaland Island: League of Nations documents, 1920-21 |
| 25.2 | Amazonia |
| 25.3 -25.5 | Australia: includes Eddie Mabo and Ors and The State of Queensland, decision from the High Court of Australia, 1992 on native title; Our Land Is Our Life, VHS videotape documentary by Aboriginal peoples. |
| 25.6 | Bolivia: The Legal Status of Indians in Bolivia by Cecilia Medina, prepared for The Conference on Discrimination Against Indigenous Peoples: The Americas, The United Nations, Geneva, Switzerland, 1977 [also includes similar titles for Colombia, Brazil and Chile] |
| 26.1-26.6 | Bougainville Crisis, Papua New Guinea, 1988-: includes handwritten Berman notes. |
| 26.7 | Brazil; see also folder 25.6 |
| 26.8 | Central Asia |
| 27.1 | Chile |
| 27.2 | Congo |
| 27.3 | Ecuador: Huaorani |
| 27.4 | Greenland |
| 27.5 | Guatemala |
| 27.6 | Krajina (Bosnia and Hercegovina): Draft Agreement on the Krajina, Slavonia, Southern Baranja and Western Sirmium, January 18, 1995 [Krajina Constitution] |
| 27.7 | Latin America: some material in Spanish |
| 27.8 | Liberia |
| 28.1 | Mali: Le Pacte National pact signed by representatives of the rebel movements and the government in Mali, April 11, 1993 [in French] |
| 28.2 | Mexico: some material in Spanish |
| 28.3-28.5 | New Zealand: includes documents from the Waitangi Tribunal and The Treaty of Waitangi: The Validity of the Treaty of Waitaingi in International and Municipal Law and Comparative Analysis with selected North American Treaties with Indian Peoples by Pauline Kingi, L.L.M. Thesis, 1984 |
| 28.6-29.1 | Nicaragua |
| 29.2 | Nunavut |
| 29.3 | Peru |
| 29.4 | Saami |
| 29.5-29.7 | Taiwan: includes Berman handwritten notes. |
| 30.1 | Tanzania |
| 30.2-30.4 | Tibet |
| 30.5 | Ukraine |
| 30.6 | West Papua |
| 30.7 | Vietnam |
| 30.8 | Samoa including two government documents: Pacific Ocean and South Seas. Letter from the Secretary of the Navy, transmitting a report of J.N. Reynolds, in relation to islands, reefs, and shoals in the Pacific Ocean…, 1835. [23rd Cong/2d Sess Doc. No. 105] 28 p. and American rights in Samoa. Message from the President of the United States, with inclosures, in response to the resolution of the House of Representatives in relation to the affairs in Samoa. , 1888. [50th Cong/1st Sess. Ex. Doc. No. 238] 311 p. |
| Box/Folder | Contents |
| 31.1-31.12 | American Society for International Law, Asian Development Bank, The Coordinating Commission of Indigenous Nations and Organizations of the Continent (CONIC), Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (Organization) (CSCE), Council of Europe, Ethnic Conflicts Resolution Project, Indigenous Populations Documentation Research and Information Center (doCip), Indian Law Resource Center European Parliament, Indigenous Alliance of the Americas, Inter-American Commission on Human Rights |
| 32.1-32.8 | International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs (IWGIA), Project on Religion and Human Rights (New York) (includes paper by Howard Berman), Survival International, World Council on Indigenous Peoples, World Rainforest Movement, World Uranium Hearing, World Wildlife Fund |
| 33.1-33.3 | The World Bank |
| 34.1 | Cultural Heritage |
| 34.2 | Territoriality |
| 34.3-34.10 | Various conferences on indigenous peoples, 1982-1993 includes statement by Haudenosaunee - The Six Nations in 34.5 |
Contains photocopies of official documents, articles, reports, and book excerpts.
| Box/Folder | Contents |
| 35.1-35.3 | Berman course materials for International Organizations (Harvard Law School, 1987) |
| 35.4 | ILO manual on procedures |
| 35.5 | Bibliographies |
| 35.6-35.7 | Articles |
| 36.1-36.4 | Forced Labor Convention, Land Rights, Nomads, Ratification Charts |
| 36.5-36.6 | ILO, 1925-1929 |
| 37.1-37.3 | ILO, 1952-1957 |
| 38.1-38.5 | ILO, 1960-1988 |
| 39.1-39.4 | ILO, 1988, Official documents, Indigenous groups' materials, Berman reports |
| 40.1-40.4 | ILO, 1989, Official documents, Indigenous groups' materials |
| 40.5 | ILO, 1990-1995, Official documents, Indigenous groups' materials |
| 40.6 | Analysis of ILO Conv. No. 169, Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention (1989) 1995: Berman correspondence, official documents, reports |
Contains photocopies of official documents, articles, reports, and book excerpts.
| Box/Folder | Contents |
| 41.1-41.5 | League of Nations: articles and documents |
| 42.1-42.4 | European documents: European Parliament, Permanent Court of International Justice, European Court of Human Rights |
| 42.5 | Articles on Europe and Asia |
| 43.1 | Bibliographies |
| 43.2 | Berman handwritten notes |
| 43.3-43.5 | Slavery: League of Nations documents, United Nations documents, articles |
| 44.1-44.3 | United Nations protection of minorities: documents and articles to, 1980 |
| 44.4 | United Nations Study of the Problem of Discrimination Against Indigenous Populations, 1970's |
| 45.1-45.3 | United Nations Study of the Problem of Discrimination Against Indigenous Populations - Final Report, 1981-1983 |
Contains photocopies of official and working documents.
| Box/Folder | Contents |
| 46.1-46.6 | Official and working documents, 1982-86 |
| 47.1-46.4 | Official and working documents, 1987-90 |
| 48.1-48.4 | Official and working documents, 1990-1993 |
| 49.1-49.3 | Official and working documents, 1994 |
| 50.1-50.5 | Official and working documents, 1995; draft United States response, miscellaneous UN documents |
| 50.6 | The United Nations Draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples: An Analysis. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission, 1996 |
| Box/Folder | Contents |
| 51 | Miscellaneous journals by indigenous peoples organizations, 1982-1996 |
| 52 | Miscellaneous law reviews & journals containing articles on human rights and indigenous peoples, 1979-1993 |
| 53 | Miscellaneous law reviews & journals containing articles on American Indian Law, 1987-1995 |
| 54-56 | Akwesasne Notes, 1970-1978 |
| 57 | Indigena, 1975-1977; Black Hills Report, 1979; Spirit of the People (Native American Solidarity Committee), 1976 |
Oversize materials stored in Special Collection Librarian's office.
| Box/Folder | Contents |
| Oversize 1 | Photocopy of news clipping : “In the Mohawk Valley – Sir William Johnson and His Influence”, The Tri-Weekly Tribune, Monday November 10, 1902 with photos of Sir William Johnson, Johnson Hall, and the Old Johnstown Jail. |
| Oversize 2 | Photocopy of book excerpt: Laws and ordinances newly made by his majesty for the government of the Indies and good treatment and preservation of the Indians, by Joan Vazquez [King of Spain],1543 |
| Oversize 3 | Photocopy of book excerpt: [Indian Treaties with the Confederate States of America – 1861] |
| Oversize 4 | Field notes of the dependent resurvey of that portion of the boundary of the St. Regis Indian Reservation thtat conforms to the boundary of the original reservation, And retracement of the remaining boundaries of the reservation as now held and occupied, by the U.S. Dept. of Interior, General Land Office, 1938 [obtained by Berman from the National Archives] |
| Oversize 5 | Photocopy of [A Map of the late Onondaga Reservation…cut into lots of 250(?) Acres each – 1795] |
| Oversize 6 | Photocopy of [A Map of the Onondaga Reservation…cut into lots and partly Surveyed in the Year 1795…] |
| Oversize 7 | Photocopy of a map of Onondaga County, New York [undated] |
| Oversize 8-10 | Photocopy of a map of [The State of New York – in three parts with numbered tracts and an index, named purchases, Indian reservations, and cities, 1819] |
| Oversize 11 | Photocopy of a map by A. Anderson, The State of New York from the best Information, 1800 |
| Oversize 12 | Photocopy of a map of lands along the Niagara River, 1805; |
| Oversize 13 | Photocopy of map of "Lands along the Niagara River reserved to the State out of the Cession to Massachusetts, surveyed under the direction of Simeon De Witt, Esq., Surveyor General" |
| Oversize 14 | Photocopy of a “map fragment from an 1857 Surveyor General’s Report showing location and extent of New York Indian Lands [in] Kansas” – taken from Berman notes on exterior cover. Original map fragment is fragile and not to be copied. |
| Oversize 15 | Encapsulated "Map of the Wagon-Road from Platte River via Omaha Reserve and Dakota City to Running Water River" by the U.S. Department of Interior, 1858 |
| Oversize 16 | 1980 Native American Calendar by Akwesasne Notes |
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the Library's online catalog.
Howard R. Berman Collection Books, also kept in Law Special Collections, may be identified by searching the University Libraries Online Catalog using an EXPERT search: "wcl=LARCH and wrd=Berman"
