Announcements

State Department Consultations on the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

Kirsten Matoy Carlson

Tribal Leaders Consultation – July 7, 2010
1pm, Department of State, Washington, DC

Meeting with NGOs – July 8, 2010
10am, National Museum of the American Indian, Washington, DC

The State Department is currently reviewing the United States’ failure to endorse the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. As part of this formal review, the State Department is holding consultations to discuss the upcoming review process and receive comments from Indian and Alaska Native nations, NGOs, and individuals.

How To Participate:

Members of federally recognized tribes can participate in the July 7th Consultation either in person or by conference call. RSVP to Declaration@state.gov by July 2, 2010, and include “RSVP – July 7th Tribal Consultation” in the subject line. Please indicate if you will be attending in person or participating via conference call.

Anyone can submit written comments to the State Department by July 15, 2010

– By email to declaration@state.gov

– By mail to S/SR Global Intergovernmental Affairs, U.S. Department of State, 2201 C Street NW., Suite 1317, Washington, DC 20520.

More information on the consultations is available at the State Department website: http://www.state.gov/s/tribalconsultation/declaration/

First Video Up on TT’s Vimeo Channel

Kate Fort

The first video for the TurtleTalk channel is up.  We’ve also added an RSS feed to the side of the blog where viewers can click on the link to whatever video was posted most recently.

TurtleTalk Vimeo Channel

Kate Fort

We’ve started a Vimeo channel for videos.  I don’t expect it to be very busy, but we are adding a CLE on protecting Intellectual and Cultural Property Rights that was filmed at the Squaxin Island Museum in February.  It should be up and running tomorrow.

If you’re interested, the link to the channel is here.  If you’re interesting in having a relevant video hosted there, let us know.  It’s a public venue, however, much like this blog, so you’d have to have all the necessary releases.

Angela Riley Elevated to Chief Justice of Citizen Potawatomi Nation Supreme Court

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Congrats, Chief Justice Riley!

From Potawatomi.org:

Meeting in Shawnee, Oklahoma for their 12th annual Family Reunion Festival, Citizen Potawatomi Nation members have retained Linda Capps for a new four-year term as the Nation’s Vice Chairman. CPN voters also filled four seats in the tribe’s 16-member legislature and filled out the ranks of the CPN’s judiciary.

* * *

CPN voters retained CPN member Angela Riley, [UCLA law prof and Director of the UCLA American Indian Studies Center], as a Supreme Court Justice and elevated her to the post of Chief Justice. She replaces G. William Rice, who has held the post since the mid-1980s. Robert Coulter, Robert Coffey, and James White were also retained on the Supreme Court.

Judge Phil Lujan, who helped establish the Citizen Potawatomi Nation court system in the mid-1980s and who has been a CPN District judge since the days of the Court of Indian Offenses, won retention as the Nation’s Chief District Court Judge.

* * *

Jim Olson to Receive Champion of Justice Award from Michigan State Bar

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Quoting Mike Dettmer: “It is well deserved and long overdue recognition of a great advocate.  And buy him a glass of tap water when you see him!”

James M. Olson

Previous Champion of Justice Award winners are here.

New Book: “Citizenship and Its Exclusions” by Ediberto Román (NYU Press)

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

From the Faculty Lounge (Kevin Maillard):

Ediberto Roman’s new book, Citizenship and its Exclusions, has just been published by NYU Press.  He has been at Florida International since 2003, and previously served as Associate Dean.  Prof. Roman is also the editor of NYUP’s Citizenship book series.  Submission information for the series can be found here.

From the Press website:

Citizenship is generally viewed as the most desired legal status an individual can attain, invoking the belief that citizens hold full inclusion in a society, and can exercise and be protected by the Constitution. Yet this membership has historically been exclusive and illusive for many, and in Citizenship and Its Exclusions, Ediberto Román offers a sweeping, interdisciplinary analysis of citizenship’s contradictions.

Román offers an exploration of citizenship that spans from antiquity to the present, and crosses disciplines from history to political philosophy to law, including constitutional and critical race theories. Beginning with Greek and Roman writings on citizenship, he moves on to late-medieval and Renaissance Europe, then early Modern Western law, and culminates his analysis with an explanation of how past precedents have influenced U.S. law and policy regulating the citizenship status of indigenous and territorial island people, as well as how different levels of membership have created a de facto subordinate citizenship status for many members of American society, often lumped together as the “underclass.”

Indian Law Resource Center among winners of $500K Gruber Foundation International Justice Prize

Kirsten Matoy Carlson

The Indian Law Resource Center, based in Helena, Mont., and Washington, D.C., is among three organizations to share the 2010 Gruber Justice Prize given to individuals and groups that, through the legal system, champion the rights of oppressed peoples.

http://www.gruberprizes.org/GruberPrizes/Justice_PressRelease.php?awardid=58

Navajo DOJ/HSGU Attorney Job Posting

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

News Paper Ad Attorney pos

A Note about Walter Echo-Hawk’s “In the Courts of the Conqueror”

Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

Any day now, Fulcrum will publish Walter R. Echo-Hawk’s “In the Courts of the Conqueror: The 10 Worst Indian Law Cases Ever Decided.” (Book website here.)

This is one of the finest works of legal history I’ve seen in Indian law and policy. I’m deeply impressed by the depth of the scholarship here — and from a practicing lawyer who doesn’t get summers off to contemplate his navel!

Walter chooses several of the more notorious Supreme Court cases, along with a few surprises (especially from lower courts), to comprise the ten worst Indian law cases. Cherokee Nation, Lyng, Tee-Hit-Ton, Lone Wolf, and six others all make the grade (I won’t list them all, so as not to spoil the surprise).

What do you think are some of the worst Indian law cases of all time? Comments welcome!

State Dept. Seeking Comments on Review of the U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here:

The Department of State has created a new website to enable public input during the U.S. review of its position on the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. On April 20, 2010, United States Permanent Representative to the United Nations Ambassador Susan E. Rice announced at the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues that the United States has decided to review the U.S. position on the Declaration.

The Administration recognizes that, for many around the world, this Declaration provides a framework for addressing indigenous issues. During President Obama’s first year in office, tribal leaders and interested non-governmental organizations (NGOs) encouraged the United States to reexamine its position on the Declaration – an important recommendation that directly complements our commitment to work together with the international community on the many challenges that indigenous peoples face.

As part of the U.S. government’s review, the U.S. Department of State, together with other Federal agencies, will be hosting consultations with federally-recognized tribes and dialogues with interested NGOs and other stakeholders. The consultation and meeting schedules will be listed on the website located athttp://www.state.gov/s/tribalconsultation/declaration/index.htm. Tribal leaders, NGOs, and others are encouraged to contribute to the review by emailing us at Declaration@state.gov, or by submitting comments via mail to the Department of State at: S/SR Global Intergovernmental Affairs, U.S. Department of State, 2201 C Street N.W., Suite 1317, Washington, D.C. 20520.

Written comments are requested by July 15, 2010 to ensure that they can be given due consideration in the review.