Here.
MLive: “1836 treaty puts Michigan tribes at center of Nestle water bid”
Here.
Author: Matthew L.M. Fletcher
NABA-DC Mentorship and Brownbag Lunch Series Announcement
From the NABA-DC Executive Board:
With summer on the horizon, the Native American Bar Association of Washington, DC (NABA-DC) is gearing up its programming for DC summer interns interested in Indian law and policy, including our brownbag lunch series and mentorship program!
Below is a sign up link for interns to receive NABA-DC summer event information, request a mentor, and participate in the brownbag lunch series!
Interns sign up here: https://goo.gl/forms/uO3tErRM8NDbqXvl2
Also, if you are an attorney in DC, we hope you will consider serving as a mentor and/or hosting a brownbag lunch for interns!
Mentors sign up here: https://goo.gl/forms/2Izr3Sj79OB1u9mF2
Mentorship Program: NABA-DC coordinates a mentorship program each summer to give legal interns working in Indian law a personal networking experience. Interns are matched with professionals working in Washington D.C., with efforts made to find mentors who are working in the same fields the interns wish to enter. The goal of the program is to enrich the interns’ educational experience in D.C. and connect practitioners with the next generation of Native leaders.
If you have any questions about the NABA-DC mentorship program, please contact nabadcmentorship@gmail.com.
Brownbag Program and Other Events: Every year, NABA-DC organizes events for summer interns working in the field of Indian law and policy. Events include brownbag lunches at government agencies, law firms, and non-profit organizations, as well as happy hours and a summer picnic. The brownbag lunch series is a wonderful opportunity for interns to network with fellow interns and potential employers.
Please note: Brownbag hosts that have participated in the program in the past have been contacted regarding scheduling for this summer. If your organization has not participated in the past and would like to participate this summer or if you have any questions about the brownbag lunch series please contact nabadcbrownbag@gmail.com.
Many thanks,
The NABA-DC Executive Board
Carl Tobias on Nominating Judge Diane Humetewa to the Ninth Circuit
Here is “Nominating Judge Humetewa to the Ninth Circuit,” which appears in the Los Angeles Review of Books blog. HT.
An excerpt:
Obama could have nominated Humetewa, but little time remained in his tenure for the Senate to confirm her. Thus, President Trump should promptly make Humetewa’s nomination. Elevation is a venerable tool which modern Presidents have employed, because the Senate has already confirmed the jurist, who has compiled a lengthy, accessible record. Trenchant Ninth Circuit illustrations encompass Judges Mary Murguia and Jacqueline Nguyen. The White House must assiduously consult McCain and Flake, who should be very supportive, as they promoted Humetewa’s district court appointment, especially by persuading GOP colleagues to favor her approval.
In sum, President Trump should promptly nominate Judge Diane Humetewa to the Ninth Circuit. Because she is a well qualified, consensus jurist, who has much experience addressing critical issues that the Ninth Circuit resolves, Humetewa will serve with great distinction.
New Scholarship on Navajo Nation Car Buyers and the Subprime Lending Problem
Megan Horning has published “Border Town Bullies: The Bad Auto Deal and Subprime
Lending Problem Among Navajo Nation Car Buyers” in the National Lawyers Guild Review:
Federal Court Rules Against Burley Faction in California Miwok Dispute
Here are the materials in California Valley Miwok Tribe v. Zinke (E.D. Cal.):
Tribal Law Journal Volume 17 Issue
Here is a link to the Tribal Law Journal’s newest issue, Volume 17: http://lawschool.unm.edu/tlj/volumes/index.php
Volume 17 features three recently published law review articles written by students:
- Federal Restrictions of Tribal Customary Law: The Importance of Tribal Customary Law in Tribal Courts by Concetta R. Tsosie de Haro (Dine)
- “Black Water” – The Devastating Effects of Alcohol on the Core Values of the A:Shiwi (Zuni) by Christy Chapman (Zuni)
- “Postcolonial” Management of the Transboundary Guaraní Aquifer System: Indigenous Input As A Guide For Environmental Sustainability by Melissa Leonard
Contract Breach Action against Pinoleville Pomo Nation
Here are the materials so far in Forster-Gill Inc. v. Pinoleville Pomo Nation
Federal Court Orders More Briefing on Ownership Liability in CERCLA Suit Involving Navajo Reservation Uranium Mining
Here are the materials in El Paso Natural Gas Co. LLC v. United States (D. Ariz.):
114 Plaintiff Motion for Summary J
An excerpt:
Plaintiff El Paso Natural Gas Company brought suit under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (“CERCLA”) against Defendants United States of America, United States Department of the Interior, United States Bureau of Indian Affairs, United States Geological Survey, United States Department of Energy, and United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (collectively, “United States”). Doc. 55. Plaintiff has filed a motion for partial summary judgment. Doc. 114. The motion is fully briefed (Docs. 114, 119, 123), and the Court heard oral argument on June 1, 2017. For reasons that follow, the Court rejects the United States’ sovereign immunity defense and will require additional briefing on the question of its CERCLA owner liability.
Ninth Circuit Affirms French v. Starr
Here is the unpublished order.
Prior posts here.
Federal Claims Court Dismisses Crow Creek Sioux Water Rights Takings Claim
Here are the materials in Crow Creek Sioux Tribe v. United States (Fed. Cl.):
An excerpt:
Plaintiff Crow Creek has sued the United States through the Department of the Interior alleging a Fifth Amendment taking of its reserved water rights. See Winters v. United States, 207 U.S. 564, 576–78, 28 S.Ct. 207, 52 L.Ed. 340 (1908). Defendant filed a motion to dismiss pursuant to Rule 12(b)(1) for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. Its motion has several bases, including standing, ripeness, and issues related to the statute of limitations. Defendant also contends that the Government’s bare trust relationship with Crow Creek does not provide the “money-mandating” statute or regulation necessary for jurisdiction in this court. See United States v. Testan, 424 U.S. 392, 400, 96 S.Ct. 948, 47 L.Ed.2d 114 (1976).
Plaintiff’s pleadings do not show how damages from an alleged taking could have accrued currently, and oral arguments did not clarify this threshold issue. Nevertheless, plaintiff urged the court to permit sufficient discovery for it to address defendant’s jurisdictional arguments. Given the opportunity to inquire into the extent of defendant’s diversion of its rights in the waters of the Missouri River, the Tribe argued it would be able to definitively establish damages. Plaintiff believes that granting defendant’s dispositive motion at this stage would be premature.Crow Creek would pursue expensive and time-consuming litigation to find some evidence that defendant has taken an amount of water that the Tribe could have used for another, unnamed purpose. For example, counsel stated during oral arguments that plaintiff could hire experts to submit reports on various methods of obtaining appraised values for those waters. Plaintiff believes that those values would supply evidence of the damages that its case now lacks.
The relationship between Native American tribes and the United States is a special one in this court; plaintiff is entitled to every latitude in its efforts to establish a cause of action. In this case, however, opening discovery in response to defendant’s motion to dismiss would result in a waste of resources for both parties. We must grant defendant’s motion for the reasons described below.
Turtle Talk 
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