Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Whether Wyoming’s admission to the Union or the establishment of the Bighorn National Forest abrogated the Crow Tribe of Indians’ 1868 federal treaty right to hunt on the “unoccupied lands of the United States,” thereby permitting the present-day criminal conviction of a Crow member who engaged in subsistence hunting for his family.

The Onion: “EPA To Drop ‘E,’ ‘P’ From Name”

October 10, 2017Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here.

Paul Spruhan on the Law of the Certificate of Degree of Indian Blood (CDIB)

October 10, 2017October 10, 2017Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

Paul Spruhan posted “CDIB: The Role of the Certificate of Degree of Indian Blood in Defining Native American Legal Identity” on SSRN.

The abstract:

This essay discusses the “CDIB” or Certificate of Indian or Alaska Native Blood, a document that proves an individual’s quantum of Native American blood. The CDIB is a federal document issued by the Bureau of Indian Affairs or by tribal nations through a “638” self-determination contract, but without published regulations or even clear written guidelines. The essay discusses its mysterious origins, its primary purpose, and its role in defining Native American legal identity. It also suggests some provisions to be included in final regulations, should the Bureau of Indian Affairs revive its attempt to publish CDIB regulations.

Tiya Miles Lecture on “The Dawn of Detroit” (Indigenous Peoples’ Day)

October 10, 2017Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

The book page is here. The blurb:

Most Americans believe that slavery was a creature of the South, and that Northern states and territories provided stops on the Underground Railroad for fugitive slaves on their way to Canada. In this paradigm-shifting book, celebrated historian Tiya Miles reveals that slavery was at the heart of the Midwest’s iconic city: Detroit.

In this richly researched and eye-opening book, Miles has pieced together the experience of the unfree—both native and African American—in the frontier outpost of colonial Detroit, a place wildly remote yet at the center of national and international conflict. Skillfully assembling fragments of a distant historical record, Miles introduces new historical figures and unearths struggles that remained hidden from view until now. The result is fascinating history, little explored and eloquently told, of the limits of freedom in early America, one that adds new layers of complexity to the story of a place that exerts a strong fascination in the media and among public intellectuals, artists, and activists.

A book that opens the door on a hidden past, The Dawn of Detroit is a powerful and elegantly written history, one that completely changes our understanding of slavery’s American legacy.

Here: