---
title: "Build a checklist for an Indian tribe's constitution and bylaws under the Indian Reorganization Act"
url: "https://ailawframework.com/practice/native-title-and-first-nations-legal-work/build-a-prescribed-body-or-indigenous-corporation-governance-checklist/united-states"
type: "task_jurisdiction_version"
site: "AI Law Framework"
id: "A36-T1-R7-US"
practice_area: "Native Title & First Nations Legal Work"
tier: "yellow"
lawyer_review: "required"
jurisdictions: ["US"]
last_reviewed: "2026-10-22"
---

# Build a checklist for an Indian tribe's constitution and bylaws under the Indian Reorganization Act

> From the draft constitution the lawyer supplies, list whether a tribal request for an election is in the file and the dates of any Secretarial steps the papers already record. Write no governance advice.

Canonical page: https://ailawframework.com/practice/native-title-and-first-nations-legal-work/build-a-prescribed-body-or-indigenous-corporation-governance-checklist/united-states  
Last reviewed: 2026-10-22

Site index for agents: https://ailawframework.com/llms.txt

## Key facts

| Fact | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Practice area | [Native Title & First Nations Legal Work](https://ailawframework.com/practice/native-title-and-first-nations-legal-work.md) |
| Human involvement | Yellow: Lawyer and AI draft together |
| How AI is used | From the draft constitution the lawyer supplies, list whether a tribal request for an election is in the file and the dates of any Secretarial steps the papers already record. Write no governance advice. |
| What the lawyer must review | 25 USC section 5123 gives an Indian tribe the right to organise and to adopt a constitution and bylaws, effective when ratified by a majority of the adult members at a special election called by the Secretary and approved by the Secretary under subsection (d). The Secretary must call the election within 180 days after a tribal request to ratify or revoke a constitution, and within 90 days after a request to ratify an amendment. This is not an Australian corporations-statute checklist and it is not a native-title prescribed body corporate. Tribal law and the tribe's own constitution control day-to-day governance. Model Rule 1.6 and Opinion 512: constitutional drafts and membership information stay out of a public tool. |
| Written for | United States |
| Applies to | [Build a prescribed-body or Indigenous-corporation governance checklist](https://ailawframework.com/practice/native-title-and-first-nations-legal-work/build-a-prescribed-body-or-indigenous-corporation-governance-checklist.md) |

## Checking plan

- What the AI does: From the draft constitution the lawyer supplies, list whether a tribal request for an election is in the file and the dates of any Secretarial steps the papers already record. Write no governance advice.
- Basis: Checked against the linked sources on 22 October 2026. Confirm the current instrument before reliance.

## Notes

- Section 5123 is the federal election and approval path. It is not the tribe's entire law.
- The next Cornell heading is section 5124, Incorporation of Indian tribes; charter; ratification by election. That section was not opened.

## Sources

- [25 USC section 5123 (organisation of Indian tribes; constitution and bylaws)](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/25/5123) (checked 2026-10-22)
- [ABA Model Rule 1.6, Confidentiality of Information](https://www.americanbar.org/groups/professional_responsibility/publications/model_rules_of_professional_conduct/rule_1_6_confidentiality_of_information/) (checked 2026-10-22)
- [ABA Formal Opinion 512, Generative Artificial Intelligence Tools (29 July 2024)](https://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/professional_responsibility/ethics-opinions/aba-formal-opinion-512.pdf) (checked 2026-10-22)

## Forms and precedents for this task

| Form or precedent | Kind | AI level | Summary |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [ORIC annual report selector: corporation size, income band and the general report](https://ailawframework.com/precedents/native-title-and-first-nations-legal-work/oric-report-selector.md) | Checklist | Green | Lookup for which ORIC reports a CATSI corporation lodges, using the Registrar's size tests and the report table published on 12 October 2026, plus the contents of the general report. |

Signed-in accounts can read the full text of each one.

*Practice guidance for planning and review. Confirm current primary sources and the requirements of the actual matter. This is general information, not legal advice.*