Matthew L.M. Fletcher

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We have scoured the web. Here are some of the latest materials related to Indian Law. Find all of the latest updates at https://narf.org/nill/bulletins/

U.S. Supreme Court Bulletin

http://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/sct/2020-2021update.html
One petition for certiorari was denied on 6/21/21:

Club One Casino v. Haaland (Jurisdiction)

Federal Courts Bulletin
https://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/federal/2021.html

Big Sandy Rancheria Enterprises v. Bonta (Sovereign Immunity; Indian Taxation)
Backcountry Against Dumps v. Bureau of Indian Affairs (Trust Relationship; Cultural Resources)

State Courts Bulletin
https://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/state/2021.html

In the Matter of the Welfare of the Children of: B.M.S., T.J.R.T., and D.A.M. (Indian Child Welfare Act; Minnesota Indian Family Preservation Act)

Tribal Courts Bulletin
https://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/tribal/2021.html

Mayes v. Cherokee Nation Election Commission (Tribal Elections)
Morales v. Fort Peck Tribes (Tribal Law)

U.S. Legislation – 117th Congress Bulletin
https://narf.org/nill/bulletins/legislation/117_uslegislation.html

S.2071 – A bill to provide grants to States, territories, Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia, and eligible Tribal entities to promote access to affordable, high-speed broadband and digital equity.
S.2092 – A bill to permanently authorize the Native Community Development Financial Institutions lending program of the Department of Agriculture, and for other purposes.
S.2167/H.R.4052 – A bill to establish a national, research-based, and comprehensive home study assessment process for the evaluation of prospective foster parents and adoptive parents and provide funding to States and Indian tribes to adopt such process.
S.2177 – A bill to amend the Mineral Leasing Act to ensure sufficient bonding and complete and timely reclamation of land and water disturbed by Federal and Indian oil and gas production, and for other purposes.
H.R.4054 – To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to treat Indian tribal governments in the same manner as State governments for certain Federal tax purposes, and for other purposes.

Law Review & Bar Journal Bulletin (contact us if you need help finding a copy of an article)
https://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/lawreviews/2021.html

The sky will not fall in Oklahoma.
A coherent ethic of lawyering in post-McGirt Oklahoma.
Renewable energy depends on tribal sovereignty.
White tape and Indian wards: Removing the federal bureaucracy to empower tribal economies and self-government.
Hawai’i ’78: Collective memory and the untold legal history of the reparative action for Kānaka Maoli.

News Bulletin
https://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/news/currentnews.html
This week, in brief:

Secretary Haaland announces federal Indian boarding school initiative
Yakama Nation celebrates ‘resounding victory’ for treaty lands
Navajo Nation disappointed in lack of Native Americans selected for New Mexico Citizen Redistricting Committee
Pueblo of Acoma signs 15-year agreement with Colorado energy company, makes plans to maintain its own utility
‘We’re just somebody little’: Amid plans to mine lithium deposit, Indigenous, rural communities find themselves at the center of the energy transition
South Dakota Native Homeownership Coalition celebrates upward trend in Native American homeownership during National Homeownership Month
‘Bring us your dreams.’ This Native-led fund aims to ‘decolonize philanthropy’ in the Northwest
There are many unmarked graves of Indigenous kids at US boarding schools too
Decolonize climate adaptation research
Indigenous women invite Deb Haaland to see devastation of Line 3 for herself
Juneteenth from a Black Indigenous perspective

ICRA Habeas Petition by Washoe Tribe Prisoners

June 24, 2021Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here are the materials so far in Lundy v. Balaam (D. Nev.):

1 Habeas Petition

2 TRO Motion

11 Balaam Motion to Dismiss

12 Response

15 Reply

16 DCt Order

Ninth Circuit Decides Deschutes River Alliance v. Portland General Electric Company in Favor of Tribal Immunity

June 23, 2021Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here:

CA9 Opinion

Briefs here.

DOI: “Secretary Haaland Announces Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative”

June 23, 2021Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here.

Related Secretarial Memo here:

Secretarial Memo

Federal Court Enjoins Pinoleville Pomo Nation Tribal Court Designed to Challenge Federal Court RICO Judgment

June 23, 2021Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is the order in JW Gaming Development LLC v. James (N.D. Cal.):

363 DCT Order

An excerpt:

Shortly after judgment was entered in this case, PPN constituted its Tribal Court for the first time; there is no evidence that it ever existed in any meaningful way until then. Days after the newly appointed judge issued standing orders, PPN filed a civil complaint in that Tribal Court that seeks to (1) declare the judgment issued in this case invalid, (2) limit and control—indeed, vitiate—the scope of enforcement of that judgment, and (3) impose roughly eleven million dollars in liability on JW Gaming for alleged fraud stemming from the same loan agreement here. The lawsuit names not only JW Gaming but its attorneys in this matter and the bank at which PPN maintains accounts that was recently subpoenaed in the course of enforcement of the judgment. It is the first (and, as far as the record shows, only) case brought in the Tribal Court. Remarkably, up until the eve of the hearing on a temporary restraining order (“TRO”) against the proceeding, which I ultimately denied, JW Gaming could not find publicly available information about how appear in that proceeding (despite being served with a summons), who the judge was, or what the rules were.

JW Gaming moved for an order to show cause why an injunction should not issue, which I denied. It then moved for the TRO, which I converted into a motion for a preliminary injunction once PPN’s counsel committed to placing the Tribal Court proceeding on hold. That motion is now ripe for decision.

It is critical that federal courts respect tribal sovereignty and tribal court jurisdiction. Tribes are sovereign nations. Their ability to govern themselves and enjoy the full benefits of sovereignty is unquestioned. Tribal courts, as arms of the tribe, are entitled to substantial comity and deference under established federal law. I previously denied JW Gaming’s motion for an order to show cause why an injunction should not issue out of these concerns. I remain vigilant about the compelling interest that PPN has in maintaining its sovereignty.

Those concerns, however, do not prevent an injunction against a Tribal Court proceeding that seeks to invalidate or interfere with the judgment entered in this Court. There are compelling interests in ensuring that enforcement of valid federal-court judgments is not interfered with, that JW Gaming is not required to litigate a lawsuit precision-engineered to invalidate and interfere with this one, and that third parties are not exposed to court orders or liability for simply enforcing a judgment or attempting to comply with the procedures for enforcing it. To the extent the lawsuit seeks to invalidate the judgment or interfere with enforcement, it is unquestionably meritless: a tribal court lacks authority to invalidate a federal court’s judgments or to dictate the scope of executing that those judgments. JW Gaming has shown it is entitled to a preliminary injunction to the extent that the Tribal Court proceedings attempts to invalidate, interfere with, or thwart the judgment entered here. I possess jurisdiction to enter this injunction to protect and effectuate the judgment. The doctrine of tribal court exhaustion does not apply because PPN exercised its sovereign power to clearly, expressly, and unequivocally waive it.