Kate Fort

As we guessed earlier, in light of Salazar v. Ramah Navajo Chapter, the Supreme Court GVR’d Arctic Slope v. Sebelius this morning. The case returns to the Federal Circuit for further consideration.

Sebelius v. Southern Ute Indian Tribe was denied

The order list is here.

In other Supreme Court news:
No health care decision today.

U.S. v. Arizona (immigration law case) was reversed in part and affirmed in part.

Fitch Press Release on Patchak Decision

June 20, 2012Kate Fort1 Comment

Here.

NEW YORK, Jun 19, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) — On June 18, 2012, the Supreme Court ruled 8-1 that David Patchak, an individual, has standing and can file suit against the government’s decision to take land into trust on behalf of a Native American tribe. The court offered no conclusions regarding the merits of Patchak’s case; it simply allows the case to proceed in the lower courts. Fitch believes this ruling has several key credit implications for the gaming sector:

–It is likely to result in increased challenges from anti-gaming interests regarding land-into-trust decisions for tribes, as it lengthens the statute of limitations on judicial review to six years from 30 days;

–Raising capital for Native American casino projects could become more difficult/expensive, as investors are likely to have heightened concern about potential challenges regarding land-into-trust decisions;

–Casino operators that face the possibility of increased competition from potential casino projects tied to land-into-trust decisions could benefit from a longer regulatory process.

Prof. Singel Sworn In to the St. Lawrence Seaway Advisory Board

June 14, 2012Kate Fort

The post from Secretary Ray LaHood’s blog is here.

Deputy Secretary John Porcari, Secretary LaHood, Prof. Singel, Prof. Fletcher, the ever adorable E & O, Seaway Acting Administrator Craig Middlebrook:

Briefs in Te-Moak Tribe et al v. Interior

June 13, 2012Kate Fort5 Comments

Appellants’ Brief

Appellants, the Te-Moak Tribe of Western Shoshone Indians of Nevada (“Te-Moak Tribe”), the Timbisha Shoshone Tribe (“Timbisha Tribe”), the Western Shoshone Defense Project (“WSDP”), and Great Basin Resource Watch (“GBRW”)(collectively, “the Tribes”) challenge the federal Bureau of Land Management (“BLM’s”) approvals of Barrick Cortez Inc.’s (“Barrick”) Cortez Hills Project (“Project”), a large open pit, cyanide-leach gold mine on Mt. Tenabo, a mountain sacred to many Western Shoshone Indians and in particular to the Te- Moak Tribe and Timbisha Tribe and their members. In this appeal, the Tribes challenge the decision of the district court to deny, in whole or in part, the Tribes’ Motions for Summary Judgment (“SJ Motions”), which sought to overturn the BLM’s actions.

The district court had subject matter jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1331 because the action arose under the laws of the United States including: the Administrative Procedure Act (“APA”), 5 U.S.C. §§ 702-706, the National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”), 42 U.S.C. §§ 4321 et seq., the Federal Land Policy Management Act of 1976 (“FLPMA”), 43 U.S.C. § 1701 et seq., and their implementing regulations.

American Indian Law Professors Amicus Brief

Coverage of the case’s previous trip to the 9th Circuit here.

Petition for Cert in Young v. Fitzpatrick

June 13, 2012Kate Fort1 Comment

Questions presented:

QUESTIONS PRESENTED FOR REVIEW

1. Whether Police Officers, Employed by the Puyallup Indian Tribe, But Trained, Certified, and Cross-Commissioned by the State of Washington, and Armed, Equipped, and Provisioned by the United States, Are Subject to the Constitution, U.S. Civil Rights Laws, and State Tort Law;

2. Whether the Shelter or Conceal Clause of the Treaty of Medicine Creek, and Additional Sources of Federal and State Law, Preempts Any Claims of Qualified Immunity by Individual Puyallup Tribal Police Officer Defendants in a Suit for Violation of the Constitution, U.S. Civil Rights Laws, and State Tort Law.

Cert Petition

WA App Ct Decision (WA Supreme Court Decision denied petition for review)

Previous coverage here.

KBIC, Eagle Rock, and Kennecott Mine in Scientific American

June 13, 2012Kate Fort

The article is Part 5 in a series called “Pollution, Poverty and People of Color”

“A Michigan Tribe Battles a Global Corporation”:

An abundant resource, this water has nourished a small Native American community for hundreds of years. So 10 years ago, when an international mining company arrived near the shores of Lake Superior to burrow a mile under the Earth and pull metals out of ore, the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community of the Lake Superior Band of Chippewa had to stand for its rights and its water.

And now, as bulldozers raze the land and the tunnel creeps deeper, the tribe still hasn’t backed down.

“The indigenous view on water is that it is a sacred and spiritual entity,” said Jessica Koski, mining technical assistant for the Keweenaw Bay community. “Water gives us and everything on Earth life.”

The Keweenaw Bay Indians are fighting for their clean water, sacred sites and traditional way of life as Kennecott Eagle Minerals inches towards copper and nickel extraction, scheduled to begin in 2014.

It’s a good longreads article. Our previous coverage, including the multitude of lawsuits the article mentions, is here.

Voters Reject Fighting Sioux Mascot

June 13, 2012June 13, 2012Kate Fort1 Comment

From NPR:

Voters in Tuesday’s North Dakota primary were being asked whether to uphold or reject the Legislature’s repeal of a state law requiring the school to use the nickname and American Indian head logo.

The vote sends the matter back to the state’s Board of Higher Education, which is expected to retire the moniker and American Indian head logo.

Coverage here, and here (discussing the NFL in the context of this vote).

Review of The Indian Civil Rights Act at Forty

June 12, 2012Kate Fort

Here.

Together, the fifteen authors have done the essential spadework; they have tracked down scores of tribal constitutions, statutes, and case law that apply to ICRA. To the extent that numbers can convey scholarship, there are about 1,600 footnotes over about 77 pages. The sources include tribal authorities from the Navajo Nation to Bill Moore’s Slough, a settlement in Alaska. So apart from its effective analyses, the book becomes valuable just as a database. This intensive research represents a great deal of time saved for the academic and the practitioner.

All the authors who analyzed available tribal authorities cited the difficulty of generalization. This diversity is a reasonable result of possibly hundreds of different tribal courts. [*288]

LA Kings Win Stanley Cup with the Help of Two Native Players

June 12, 2012June 14, 2012Kate Fort

Coverage here and here and here.

Turtle Talk

Author: Kate Fort

Quarterly Reminder of Federal Press Release Page

Arctic Slope Native Assn. v. Sebelius Granted, Vacated and Remanded (GVR)