Announcements

National NALSA Moot Court Brief Judges Needed

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

From Shawn Watts:

Aloha!

Now that the holidays are coming to close, we are reaching out in hopes that you are willing to score briefs for the NNALSA Moot Court Competition.
We hope to get about 60 volunteers to score briefs, but we are far short as of now. If we do get 60, that will mean each judge will have three or fewer briefs to score. We have changed the moot court rules so that briefs will be submitted electronically. That means it will be easier to get the briefs to you and for you to get them back to us.
Signing up to score briefs is easier than ever thanks to this website that Hawaii has set up to streamline the process:
So, if you are willing to score briefs, sign up at the site above. Or, if you have questions about the process, please contact the competition organizer Maria Carmichael at maria.ann.carmichael@gmail.com, Derek Kauanoe at derek.kauanoe@gmail.com, or the competition administrator, National NALSA vice president, James Simermeyer at simermja@law.unm.edu.
The competition is just around the corner and we need your help to make the experience a rewarding one for the competitors!

Squaxin Island Tribe In-House Counsel Posting

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here.

Thanks, The Root!

Kate Fort2 Comments

Sherrilyn Ifill mentioned Turtle Talk as one of the best (if not THE best — that honor went to Darren Hutchinson’s Dissenting Justice) legal blogs of the year. Thanks for the recognition!

National NALSA Indian Law Writing Competition

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

11th Annual NNALSA Writing Competition

Hosted by Lewis and Clark Law School NALSA Chapter

 Submission Deadline: 5:00 pm PST, January 15, 2012.

All submissions must be electronically submitted to nalsacomp@lclark.edu.

The purpose of the competition is to recognize excellence in legal research and writing related to Indian law,  actively encourage the development of writing skills of NNALSA members, and enhance substantive knowledge in the fields of Federal Indian Law, Tribal Law and traditional forms of governance. The competition is open to matriculated law students at any point in their law school career and regardless of race or tribal membership status. Eligible topics are Federal Indian law and policy, Tribal law and policy,International law and policy concerning indigenous peoples, and Comparative Law (i.e intertribal or government-to-government studies). Existing work is welcomed.

  • First Prize – $1000.00 – Sponsored by Hobbs, Straus, Dean & Walker
  • Second Prize –  $500.00 – Sponsored by SNR Denton
  • Third Prize – $250.00 – Sponsored by Sonosky, Chambers, Sachse, Endreson & Perry

All awardees will also be recognized at the National NALSA yearly conference.

Writing Competition general information

Registration Form (please email nalsacomp@lclark.edu for the .doc version)

Writing Competition Rules

AUSA Positions in Michigan and Wisconsin

Kate Fort

From the State Bar of Michigan blog:

The Department of Justice has just posted the following positions in or adjacent to Michigan, noting that due to temporary funding restrictions, all the posts may not all be filled:

Native American Calling Program on Tribal Disenrollments TODAY

Matthew L.M. Fletcher3 Comments

Here is a description (the NAC website is here):

Thursday, December 22, 2011– Disenrollment Dividing Tribes: 
The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution guarantees American citizens the right to freedom of speech. Recently, seven members of a California tribe were banned from tribal lands for up to 10 years, allegedly for speaking out against the current tribal administration. Should a tribe be able to use its status as a sovereign nation to remove unwanted members from their tribal rolls, with no recourse? Does simply speaking out against your tribal leaders give them the right to kick you out of the tribe? Guests include former chairwoman Jessica Tavares (United Auburn Indian Community).

This will be my second time on the program (the first was about Carcieri).

KBIC Proposed Gaming Facility in Marquette County Approved by Department of Interior; Cayuga Request Dismissed

Kate Fort

From the press release (though the embedded links with additional information aren’t yet working):

The Keweenaw Bay Indian Community is located in Baraga County, Mich., and has approximately 3,310 members. It has more than 6,000 acres of existing trust lands on its reservation in the state’s Upper Peninsula. The tribe has been operating and regulating a class III gaming facility in Marquette County, about 90 miles from its headquarters, since at least 2000. The tribe is proposing to relocate this existing facility to a new location within Marquette County, on an 80-acre parcel at the site of the former Marquette County Airport. The new site is 18 miles closer to the tribe’s reservation than its existing facility. Under a 2000 settlement agreement with the state of Michigan, the tribe has agreed to close its existing off-reservation gaming facility if its proposal receives final approval and it begins gaming activities on the new site.

The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) prohibits Indian gaming on lands acquired in trust after the law’s enactment in 1988, unless one of three explicitly crafted exceptions applies. The Keweenaw Bay Indian Community submitted its application under IGRA’s “Secretarial Determination” exception, which requires the Secretary to determine the proposed gaming establishment is in the best interest of the tribe and its citizens, and would not be detrimental to the surrounding community. The governor of Michigan must concur in this determination before the land can be acquired in trust for the tribe for gaming.

Interior also dismissed an application by the Cayuga Indian Nation, stating it was incomplete. Here is press coverage of that decision. Senator Schumer’s quote is particularly disheartening:

Schumer acknowledged that the battle over the Cayuga application could continue if the Cayugas submit a new application.

“I fought tooth and nail to have the Interior Department block this application, and am pleased that the federal government has heeded our call,” he said. “I’ll continue to stand side-by-side with homeowners, businesses, and county government leaders to oppose further attempts to take land into trust without the consent of Seneca and Cayuga counties.”

The Cayugas started the trust application process in 2005. The 125 acres it sought to place into federal trust includes part of the nation’s ancestral homeland around the north end of Cayuga Lake.

Documents are also available here

LEAD Summer Business Institute for American Indian/Alaska Native/Native Hawaiian High School Juniors

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Deadline: January 9, 2012

LEAD Summer Business Institute
for Native American, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian
High School Juniors

Dartmouth College
Duke University
Stanford University
University of Pennsylvania

The LEAD Summer Business Institute is a dynamic summer program open to Native American, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian high school students in their junior year. Students spend 3-4 weeks on a college campus learning about exciting careers in business and finance. Students take finance, business, accounting and marketing classes with world-renowned professors and converse with executives during corporate site visits at companies such as Google and Apple. Tribal leaders and Native American professionals share with students exciting business developments and help them to understand how a financial career can benefit tribal communities. Students also participate in field trips to amusement parks and sporting events.

Cost and Scholarships: The cost of the program is $1,250 plus round trip airfare. Significant full and partial scholarships are available through NAFOA. Last year, 98% of students received financial aid.

Download an Application at: www.nafoa.org
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NAFOA Scholarship Program
For Tribal College, Undergraduate and Graduate Students

NAFOA is dedicated to supporting Native people pursuing their education. We are pleased to offer merit-based scholarships to Native American, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian students. Eligible majors include: Accounting, Business Administration, Economics or Finance. Awards are based upon academic merit, demonstrated involvement within the Native American community and demonstrated commitment to improving indigenous communities through a career in finance. Deadline: January 6, 2012

Download an Application at: www.nafoa.org

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NAFOA – Since 1982 – Bill Lomax – President

American Indian Law Center’s “Pre-Law Summer Institute for American Indians and Alaskan Natives” Recognized by the American Bar Association

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Outstanding news! And well-deserved!

Here is the press release: PLSI ABA Award PressRel_FINAL

An excerpt:

Albuquerque, NM – December 13, 2011 – The Pre-Law Summer Institute for American Indians and Alaskan Natives (PLSI) today announced that it will be recognized by the American Bar Association (ABA) Council for Racial and Ethnic Diversity in the Education Pipeline for exemplary leadership in pipeline programming. PLSI is a program of the American Indian Law Center, Inc., that has been attended by many of the nation’s preeminent Native attorneys, judges, law school professors and deans, and tribal chairs since its inception in 1967.

The ABA 2012 Raymond Pace and Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander Award for Excellence in Pipeline Diversity recognized PLSI for their exemplary leadership in pipeline work. The ABA Council on Racial and Ethnic Diversity commended PLSI for its “outstanding accomplishments and significant contributions to diversifying” the law profession. The ABA will formally honor PLSI at the ABA Midyear Meeting in New Orleans, LA on February 3, 2012.

Job Posting: Little River Band of Ottawa Indians General Counsel Position

Kate Fort

The position is with the Executive Branch. Announcement here (pdf).