Author: Victoria Sweet

USDOJ Releases Report to Congress on Indian Country Investigations and Prosecutions

Victoria Sweet

The Department of Justice released today a report to Congress entitled Indian Country Investigations and Prosecutions which provides a range of enforcement statistics required under the Tribal Law and Order Act of 2010.  The report, based on data compiled from the case management system used by U.S. Attorney’s Offices (USAO) with Indian Country jurisdiction shows among other things a 54 percent increase in Indian Country criminal prosecutions since Fiscal Year 2009.

Press Release here.

Read the report here.

CA Senate Approves Casino Deal for North Fork Rancheria of Mono Indians

Victoria Sweet

The 22-11 vote, which split members of both parties, will allow the North Fork Rancheria of Mono Indians to build a new casino with 2,000 slot machines on a 300-acre parcel just north of Madera in the Central Valley that was once slated to be a NASCAR track.

The deal was made possible through a rare federal approval process that allowed the tribe to build on land it has just recently acquired. Federal law stipulates that typically casinos can be build only on lands recognized as belonging to tribes before 1988, the year the federal government officially sanctioned tribal gambling.

The exception made for North Fork angered other neighboring and large casino-owning tribes around the state who said the North Fork were “reservation shopping.” The new location’s proximity to a major state highway and the city of Madera also touched off concerns about the encroachment of Indian casinos into urban areas.

Article here.

Previous coverage here.

Federal Judge Rejects Ute Tribe’s Request for Injunction in Jurisdiction Fight with State

Victoria Sweet1 Comment

A federal judge on Monday rejected the Ute Indian Tribe’s “emergency” request for a preliminary injunction that would have blocked prosecutions of several tribal members charged in state court with offenses that allegedly occurred on tribal lands.

The tribe argued it faces “irreparable harm” if the state prosecutes them before U.S. District Judge Bruce Jenkins has a chance to rule on the merits of its jurisdictional dispute with Uintah and Duchesne counties. At issue is where exactly does tribal jurisdiction end and state jurisdiction begin in the “checkerboard” pattern of tribal trust lands in the Uinta Basin.

But the state has agreed to stay the criminal cases in question pending the outcome of this latest dispute, the judge found. The tribe was not satisfied and wanted assurances that the state would refrain from bringing new cases against its members.

“They are only willing to stay the existing cases. There are several thousand members. We don’t want this issue of the tribe’s boundaries litigated in state court without our knowledge. [When new cases are filed] they should be required to bring it to our attention,” argued the tribe’s lawyer Frances Bassett.

Article here.

In the judge’s frustration with the attorneys’ failure to agree on the issues to be resolved, he sequestered them in the jury room, giving them until 2:00 that day to “identify genuine issues” in the case. Here.

Santa Ysabel Announces Support of Same Sex Marriage

Victoria Sweet1 Comment

Among those who have suffered the denial of basic human rights in this country, Native Americans can unfortunately take a prominent place. Because their historic experience of prejudice strongly resonates to this day, the Santa Ysabel Tribe, founded in 1893 in California, has announced its firm support for the LGBT community as it strives for same-sex marriage equality and an end to governmental discrimination. As sovereign nations, Tribes in the United States have the power to issue proclamations on public policy issues affecting their membership and others occupying their reservations.

Santa Ysabel is one of only four Tribes in the U.S., and the only Tribe in California, to date, to recognize same sex marriage. The Santa Ysabel Tribe’s announcement comes as the Supreme Court contemplates the constitutionality of DOMA and Californians await a decision regarding the legality of prop 8 in their state.

Story here.

2013 Healing Circle Run/Walk, July 13-19, 2013

Victoria Sweet

From the Great Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife Commission:

The 2013 Healing Circle Run/Walk will occur from July 13-19, 2013. The run/walk will connect eight Ojibwe reservations in northern Wisconsin, Michigan, and Minnesota (see map) starting at the Lac Courte Oreilles Reservation and ending at Lac du Flambeau on July 13 (Day 1), then ending at Mole Lake on July 14 (Day 2), at Lac Vieux Desert on July 15 (Day 3), at Bad River/Red Cliff on July 16 (Day 4), at Fond du Lac/Black Bear Casino on July 17 (Day 5), at St. Croix on July 18 (Day 6), and at Lac Courte Oreilles on July 19 (Day 7).

For more information or if you are interested in participating as a core runner, or having a group of runners from your reservation participate, please contact Jenny Krueger, Sue Lemieux, or Neil Kmiecik at GLIFWC at (715) 682-6619. All participants must assume personal liability, as well as responsibility for their own transportation and expenses.

Map.

GLIFWC site.

I participated in this event for a few days in 2011 and had a wonderful experience. Participants range from young children to elders and both walkers and runners. Some people go for only one day and others for the whole week. I hope to join this event again one of these summers.

New Report, Half of First Nations Children Live in Poverty

Victoria Sweet

Half of status First Nations children in Canada live in poverty, a troubling figure that jumps to nearly two-thirds in Saskatchewan and Manitoba, says a newly released report.

“The poverty rate is staggering. A 50 per cent poverty rate is unlike any other poverty rate for any other disadvantaged group in the country, by a long shot the worst,” said David Macdonald, a senior economist at the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives and co-author of the report.

The study released late Tuesday by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives and Save the Children Canada found that the poverty rate of status First Nations children living on reserves was triple that of non-indigenous children.

Article here.

ND Tribe Plans to Launch Riverboat Gambling Yacht

Victoria Sweet

The Three Affiliated Tribes plans to dedicate a yacht next month that eventually will be used for a riverboat gambling operation on the Missouri River in North Dakota.

The tribe earlier this year reached an agreement with the state to allow for the expansion of gambling on the Fort Berthold Reservation, which straddles the Lake Sakakawea reservoir on the Missouri. A yacht currently is being assembled at the tribally owned 4 Bears Casino and Lodge west of New Town, the Minot Daily News reported.

Here.

Grant Opportunity, Exploratory Research on the Impact of the Growing Oil Industry in the Dakotas and Montana on Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, Sexual Assault, and Stalking

Victoria Sweet

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Office of Justice Programs (OJP), National Institute of Justice (NIJ) is seeking applications for funding to support an exploratory study on the domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking implications of the oil industry across communities in the Dakotas and Montana.

Research proposed may be focused at the Federal, State, local, and/or tribal levels.

Information on this opportunity here.

Still No Decision On Baby Veronica Case

Victoria Sweet

Ugh, the suspense . . . .

SCOTUS will be releasing more opinions on Thursday.

Previous coverage here.

Alta Outcome Document Released in Preparation for 2014 World Conference on Indigenous Peoples

Victoria Sweet

Indigenous peoples from around the world today issued a common position for the high-level plenary meeting of the United Nations General Assembly, also known as the World Conference on Indigenous Peoples, to be held at New York Headquarters from 22 to 23 September 2014.

The “Alta Outcome Document” is a set of recommendations adopted by the Global Indigenous Preparatory Conference in Alta, Norway.  Indigenous peoples from the seven regions of the world — Asia; Africa; North America; Central and South America and the Caribbean; Eastern Europe, Russian Federation, Central Asia and Transcaucasia; the Arctic; and the Pacific, as well as the Indigenous Women and Youth Caucuses — gathered in Alta at a global meeting organized by the Saami Parliament of Norway.

“This is a crucial step leading up to the World Conference,” said Paul Kanyinke Sena, Chair of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues.  “By formulating a common position, indigenous peoples have given their voices added strength and relevance in the dialogues that will make up the World Conference.”

Link to press release here.

Link to a pdf copy of the document here.