The Hoopa Valley Tribal Council voted unanimously to begin the process of banishing all non Hoopa tribal member sex offenders from Hoopa.
The article can be found here.
Author: Victoria Sweet
Professor Barbara Creel Receives Faculty of Color Award
Congratulations to Professor Barbara Creel from the University of New Mexico School of Law. On April 30, 2013, Professor Creel was honored by the Project for New Mexico Graduates of Color in the UNM Office of Graduate Studies Special Initiatives. Thirty-three different professors were nominated, and Professor Creel received the All-Around Award, which recognizes an exceptional individual who positively impacts students of color and the UNM community at large.
A write up of the event can be found here.
Thanks to AB.
Call for Papers, University of Tromso
The University of Tromso has released a call for papers for its upcoming international symposium:
Extractive Industries in the North – what about Environmental Law and Indigenous Peoples Rights?
The symposium will be held November 17-19, 2013.
The announcement and call for papers can be found here.
Assistant Public Defender Opening, Minnesota
Minnesota Job Announcement, Assistant Public Defender:
This position is in Bemidji, and directly impacts many tribal members in the area.
VAWA Bill Set for Vote on Monday, NCAI Press Release
The official NCAI Press Release Here.
Senator Coburn has filed an amendment to strip the tribal provisions from VAWA. Here
Letter from NCAI Task Force co-chairs expressing opposition to amendments like the Coburn Amendment Here
Excerpt from the letter:
The NCAI Task Force on Violence Against Women is extremely concerned that misunderstandings of the political status of Indian tribes and the internal workings of the tribal court system are causing confusion on how this provision will work on the ground. Indian tribes are not a racial class, they are a political body – so the question is not whether non-Indians are subject to Indian court – the question is whether tribal governments, political entities, have the necessary jurisdiction to provide their citizens with the
public safety protections every government has the inherent duty to provide.
Amendments which place more funding in the hands of federal authorities will not address this immediate local need. We believe strongly that local government is the best government for addressing public safety concerns. For example, an amendment is being offered today which would require that tribal governments petition a U.S. District Court for an “appropriately tailored protection order excluding any persons from areas within the Indian country of the tribe.” This level of procedure for an intimately local issue is not practical and will do little to improve matters on Indian reservations. Tribal courts are the appropriate venue to issue such protection orders.
Official Release, Statement of Administration Policy on S. 47 – Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act 2013
Link to the Official Release
Click to access saps47_20130204.pdf
Today the Senate approved a motion to move forward with debate on the Violence Against Women Act. The vote was 85-8.
Here is the link to the C-Span video coverage of today’s Senate proceedings.
Navajo Nation Declares State of Emergency
The Navajo Nation is facing such severe water shortages due to frozen waterlines, run-down water storage containers and weather-damaged water systems that President Ben Shelly has declared a state of emergency for the reservation.
He signed an emergency resolution on Friday January 25 after the Commission on Emergency Management passed it unanimously, according to a statement from the Navajo Nation.
Link to article from Indian Country Today:
Suquamish Tribe Loses Preliminary Injunction in Bangor Construction
“The Tribe filed a lawsuit in Washington Western District Court Aug. 27 against the U.S. Navy, Army Corps of Engineers and the National Marine Fisheries Service, stating the Navy did not acknowledge Suquamish’s fishing rights in the Hood Canal when it was left out of the project’s mitigation agreements.
According to a 1985 court case, Suquamish has secondary fishing rights in the canal, and can fish there upon invitation by the Skokomish Tribe.”
Link to North Kitsap Herald article:
http://www.northkitsapherald.com/news/189436801.html
U.S. District Court Western District of Washington at Tacoma, Order Denying Preliminary Injunction:
Brookings Institute Recent Scholarship on Arctic Indigenous People, Internal Displacement, and Climate Change
From the Brookings Institute site:
“For thousands of years, Arctic peoples have migrated in response to changing environmental conditions. But today climate change is putting unprecedented pressure on those indigenous communities. Temperatures are rising much faster in the Arctic than in the rest of the world, raising questions about the extent to which significant numbers of indigenous people will move away from their traditional habitats and whether they will be able to maintain their cultures and livelihoods. For the 400,000 indigenous people in the Arctic these are not only questions of adaptation but also of culture and survival.”
The issue of internal displacement also lead to questions of governmental and administrative responsibilities. If an Indigenous community is displaced because of rising waters, will the government set aside new lands? Where would they be? Would current subsistence and cultural needs also be considered? Some serious concerns for communities in Alaska as well as Indigenous communities around the world.
Here is the link to the articles:
http://www.brookings.edu/events/2013/01/30-arctic-displacement-climate-change
Arctic Law Symposium, Michigan State University College of Law
The Michigan State International Law Review’s upcoming symposium “Battle for the North: Is All Quiet on the Arctic Front?” has received international attention in the Arctic Law Thematic Network Newsletter. What is the Arctic Law Thematic Network?
From the Arctic Law Thematic Network site:
From 2013, Arctic Law Thematic Network (ALTN) publishes a Newsletter with latest news from the Network partners – information on publications, conferences, master and doctoral programmes, new projects, as well as news and analyses of interest for the members of the Network.
To see the newsletter see: http://www.arcticcentre.org/InEnglish/RESEARCH/The_Northern_Institute_for_Environmental_and_Minority_Law/University_of_the_Arctic_Thematic_Network_on_Arctic_Law/Newsletter_-_ALTN.iw3
For information on the symposium or to register see: http://www.law.msu.edu/battle-north/
Turtle Talk 