Announcements

Safety for Native Women: VAWA and American Indian Tribes

Victoria Sweet

The National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center (NIWRC) has published a new book that traces the history of violence against Native women, legal barriers to protecting Native women, and a breakdown of VAWA provisions that impact tribes. Safety for Native Women: VAWA and American Indian Tribes is available on Amazon or through the NIWRC website.

In addition, the 12th Women are Sacred Conference will be held in Rapid City, SD, June 1-3, 2015. More information and registration will be available on the NIWRC web site here.

Arizona State Law to Host Conferences on Tribal E-Commerce and Indian Country Health Care

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here:

Inaugural Tribal Government E-Commerce: Innovating a New Geography of Indian Country CLE Conference

Date:   February 12, 8:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. & February 13, 8:00 a.m. – 5:15 p.m.

Place:  Wild Horse Pass Hotel & Casino Resort, Chandler, AZ
Contact:  Darlene Lester at darlene.lester@asu.edu or (480) 965-7715
Click here for Agenda & Registration  Early Rate ends Jan 9.  Register Early (Limited Seating)

Banquet Reception: Thursday, February 12, 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.

Many tribes have recently become involved in pursuing business operated over the Internet.  These E-Commerce opportunities have not only created thriving economies, but they have also led to a tangled web of legal issues where state, tribal and federal laws and policies are colliding. The quick growth of E-Commerce in Indian Country has outpaced a general understanding of how E-Commerce law is intertwined with federal Indian law especially as it may relate to States’ rights.

The goal of this conference is to explore the legal issues surrounding the development of E-Commerce in Indian Country including: jurisdictional complexities and the necessity of fostering open dialogue with federal and state counterparts, the possible implications to tribal sovereignty, and the ongoing need for tribes to build infrastructures that facilitate economic growth on their reservations while complying with appropriate federal guidelines.

This conference will bring together tribal leaders and officials, lawyers practicing in Indian country, on and off reservation economic planning and development experts, business and finance specialists, virtual casino managers and executives, online vendors and entrepreneurs, regulatory experts and cutting‐edge scholars to explore the legal issues of tribal E-Commerce.

 

 

Opportunities and Challenges to Providing Health Care in Indian Country CLE Conference

Date:   Thursday, February 26, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. & February 27, 9 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Place:  Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law / Great Hall / Armstrong Hall / Tempe ASU
Contact:  Danielle Williams at danielle.williams.1@asu.edu or (480) 965-2922
Click here for Registration & Agenda  Early Rate ends Jan 16.

  Continue reading →

FBA Indian Law Section Members, Nominations are open for the Baca Lifteime Achievement Award

Ann Tweedy

If you’re not a member of the Federal Bar Association’s Indian Law Section, there’s still time to join. Here is the notice from Lawrence Baca, Chair of the Nominations Committee:

Dear Indian Law Section Members:

Please consider nominating someone for the Lawrence R. Baca Lifetime Achievement Award. Past recipients of the Baca Lifetime Achievement Award include Lawrence Baca, Professor Phil Frickey, John Echohawk, Professor David Getches, Alan Taradash, Professor Carole E. Goldberg and Tom Fredericks.

The deadline for nominations is Friday, February 6, 2015. Please submit nominations to the Chairman of the Nominations and Awards Committee, Lawrence Baca, at lawrence.baca@yahoo.com with a cc to svalerio@fedbar.org . Nominations should specifically address why the nominee meets the criteria for the award outlined below.

Qualifications for Lawrence Baca Lifetime Achievement Award:

1. Nominee must have worked in the field of Indian law for at least twenty years as a practitioner, judge, legislator, leader, scholar or educator;
2. Be of good standing and held in high esteem in his or her professional arena;
3. And have made significant contributions to the field of Indian law through litigation, development of legislation, scholarship or the development of Indian law students or through tribal leadership.

The nomination submission must include:
1. A nominating letter that specifically addresses in narrative form how the nominee meets each of the three Award criteria.
2. A current resume or vitae.
(Reference to a website where the information can be found is not accepted as a substitute for the written narrative.)

The nomination submission may include:
1. 1-3 letters of support for the nomination.
2. Up to 3 articles about the nominee
Do not include articles written by the nominee.

Respectfully,

2015 Nominations and Awards Committee
Lawrence Baca
Chairman

White House Tribal Nations Conference Today

Kate Fort

Here is the press release from the White House.

Here is the press release from the BIA

Here is the link to the live stream, where Eric Holder is speaking now (10:00am).

 

Native American Concert Friday in Bellingham, WA

Ann Tweedy

This should be a good antidote to Thanksgiving. I’ve gone in past years and highly recommend it.

scan Cindy

Tribal In-House Counsel Assn. & MSU ILPC Announce 2015 Conference — Call for Proposals and Save and Date — November 5-6, 2015

Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

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CALL FOR PAPERS & SAVE THE DATE

***

12th ANNUAL MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY INDIGENOUS LAW CONFERENCE

&

INAUGURAL TRIBAL IN-HOUSE COUNSEL ASSOCIATION LAW CONFERENCE

@

MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF LAW

INDIGENOUS LAW AND POLICY CENTER

NOVEMBER 5-6, 2015

EAST LANSING, MICHIGAN

KEYNOTE SPEAKER:

VENUS McGHEE PRINCE, TICA Co-Founder

***

TICA members interested in presenting on the following topics are invited to submit proposals:

  • Tribal regulatory structures: Indian nations operate tribal employment rights offices, gaming commissions, natural resource commissions, and other regulatory structures.
  • Federal-tribal relations: Indian nations deal with the federal government through self-determination (638) and self-governance contracting, legislative and agency lobbying, fee to trust applications, administrative appeals, and numerous other ways.
  • State-tribal relations: Indian nations negotiate and execute intergovernmental agreements over a wide variety of issues.
  • Indian child welfare: Indian nations develop child welfare codes and court structures, litigate ICW matters in tribal and state courts, and advocate for Indian children in other ways.
  • Internal conflicts of interest (ethics panel): Tribal in-house counsel are confronted with issues relating to client conflicts of interest, internal tribal government conflicts, and inter-branch conflicts.
  • Working with outside counsel: Indian nations engage outside counsel on a variety of matters that tribal in-house counsel supervise.
  • Internal control systems: Indian nations have developed a wide variety of administrative structures to govern employment, finance, procurement, and other matters.
  • Jurisdiction: Indian nations’ assertion of jurisdiction of nonmembers is highly controversial. Tribal in-house counsel advise tribal clients on strategies to regulate nonmembers and litigation strategies as appropriate.

Deadline for formal proposals is February 1, 2015. Please keep proposals to 300 words or less.

Want to present but aren’t a member? Become a TICA member at www.tribalinhousecounsel.com.

MSU will cover reasonable travel expenses for speakers selected for the conference. We will be applying for CLE credits for the conference and so speakers must prepare written materials. MSU can provide research support for speakers in preparing materials, if requested.

Primary contacts:

Doreen N. McPaul, TICA President (Doreen.McPaul@tonation-nsn.gov)

Matthew L.M. Fletcher (matthew.fletcher@law.msu.edu)

Kathryn E. Fort (fort@law.msu.edu)

MSU LAW ILPC LOGO

DOI Indian Water Rights Office extends Comment period to December 15, 2014

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here:

NoticeofExtensionofcommentPeriod11 20 14

NNALSA Request for Information

Kate Fort

From NNALSA:

For Immediate Release

November 18, 2014

CONTACT:

Alex Kitson, NNALSA Public Relations Director
nnalsa.publicrelations@gmail.com
Help National NALSA Celebrate Its 45th Anniversary

2015 marks the 45th anniversary of the founding of the National Native American Law Students Association (NNALSA). In recognition of this occasion, NNALSA is seeking information and memorabilia from over the last 45 years.

If you were involved in the founding of NNALSA, we need your help! We want to hear from you and how it all started. To share your story, please email nnalsa.publicrelations@gmail.com. We are also gathering pictures of NNALSA boards and activities throughout the last 45 years. Pictures can also be sent to nnalsa.publicrelations@gmail.com.

 

Senate Committee on Indian Affairs Hearing Tomorrow on Childhood Trauma in Indian Country

Kate Fort1 Comment

Here.

Nov 19, 2014 at 2:30 P.M. (EST): Oversight Hearing on “Protecting our Children’s Mental Health: Preventing and Addressing Childhood Trauma in Indian Country.”

Date: 11/19/2014 02:30 PM
Location: 628 Senate Dirksen Bldg
Type: Oversight Hearing

Witnesses:

THE HONORABLE ROBERT L. LISTENBEE JR.
–

DR. YVETTE ROUBIDEAUX
Acting Director-Indian Health Service

MS. KANA ENOMOTO
Principal Deputy Administrator-Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration

Panel 1

MR. RICK VAN DEN POL
Director and Principal Investigator-Institute of Educational Research and Service, The University of Montana National Native Children’s Trauma Center

MS. VERNÉ BOERNER
President/CEO-Alaska Native Health Board

Call for Subject Matter Experts Participation: Training Development Assistance to Protect Indian Sacred Sites

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Call for Subject Matter Experts Participation: Training Development Assistance to Protect Indian Sacred Sites

November 2014

 

Federal land managing agencies hold in public trust a great diversity of landscapes and sites, including many culturally important sites held sacred by Indian tribes. Recognizing a common goal and obligation to consider the impacts of agency actions on historic properties of traditional cultural and religious importance to tribes, on December 5, 2012, the Departments of Defense, the Interior, Agriculture, Energy, and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to improve the protection of and Indian access to sacred sites through interagency coordination and collaboration.

As part of this effort, we are soliciting volunteer Subject Matter Experts from the federal government, academia, tribes and tribal NGOs to assist in the development of a training module. This training would improve knowledge among federal employees on the legal, regulatory and policy requirements of federal agencies pertaining to management of federal lands with tribal sacred sites, places and landscapes.

We plan to identify potential Subject Matter Experts in January 2015 and work creating the training will begin immediately. The completed product will be presented at the 2015 White House Tribal Nations Conference later in the year.

If you have experience working with issues or knowledge related to the identification, protection and/or management of Indian sacred sites or places and would like more information, or to be considered to serve as a volunteer Subject Matter Expert, please submit your name, contact information, and federal or state agency, tribal or professional affiliation to:

http://www.denix.osd.mil/na/TribalConsultation.cfm

(***At the above address, please click “Contact Native American Affairs” from the menu on the left)

Inquiries should be submitted no later than December 31, 2014