Here.
Published Definition of Indian Child Case out of California
Here.
Author: Kate E. Fort
Disproportionate Numbers of Native Kids in Care in Canada
Article here.
Notice Violation Case out of Illinois
That’s right–out of Illinois. According to Westlaw (ICWA & “Indian Child Welfare Act”), there are a grand total of 11 ICWA cases from the Illinois appellate courts.
Here is the most recent. The appeals court reversed and remanded due to ICWA notice violations (for one child–the other was not the biological child of the father):
At the dispositional hearing on April 26, 2011, the trial court found Dwight to be unfit and awarded guardianship of N.L. to DCFS. Among the reports submitted for the court’s consideration was a social history report, dated March 23, 2011, indicating that Dwight is a registered member of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, White Earth Reservation (the Tribe).
***
The trial court questioned the State about the children’s eligibility for tribal registry and was advised that the State had already received notices that both minors were ineligible for registry with the Tribe. The State was ordered to provide documentation of its compliance with the statute at the status hearing on December 18. No documents addressing the issue of tribal registry for the minors were submitted at that or any subsequent proceeding until the hearing on the State’s motion to supplement the record during the pendency of this appeal.
***
The State’s Tribe letters suggest that the Tribe was provided with the minors’ names and dates of birth and imply that Dwight’s name was provided with reference to N.L. The State’s Tribe letter for N.L is dated September 16, 2011, and that for M.L. is dated February 25, 2013. In its order granting the State’s motion to supplement the record, the court expressed concern with Dwight’s solicitation of new evidence while the case was on appeal. However, many of the documents the State was allowed to include with its supplementation were dated after the termination hearing and after Dwight’s notice of appeal.
Dwight filed a motion with this court to supplement the record with his own Tribe letter– from the same person who had signed the State’s letters– showing that N.L. and M.L. were eligible for tribal membership. He acquired this letter as a result of his solicitation for evidence related to the appeal. This court allowed Dwight to submit his Tribe letter with his case pending our decision of the propriety of its inclusion in the record. Dwight’s Tribe letter states that the minors are eligible for tribal membership and suggests that the Tribe was provided with the dates of birth for both minors, the correct spelling of N.L.’s name, and the names and dates of birth for both Dwight and Emily.
For reference, here’s the list of the Illinois appellate ICWA cases:
New Scholarship from Circe Strum on the Cherokee Freedmen
Here.
Abstract:
Despite a treaty in 1866 between the Cherokee Nation and the federal government granting them full tribal citizenship, Cherokee Freedmen—the descendants of African American slaves to the Cherokee, as well as of children born from unions between African Americans and Cherokee tribal members—continue to be one of the most marginalized communities within Indian Country. Any time Freedmen have sought the full rights and benefits given other Cherokee citizens, they have encountered intense opposition, including a 2007 vote that effectively ousted them from the tribe. The debates surrounding this recent decision provide an excellent case study for exploring the intersections of race and sovereignty. In this article, I use the most recent Cherokee Freedmen controversy to examine how racial discourse both empowers and diminishes tribal sovereignty, and what happens in settler-colonial contexts when the exercise of tribal rights comes into conflict with civil rights. I also explore how settler colonialism as an analytic can obscure the racialized power dynamics that undermine Freedmen claims to an indigenous identity and tribal citizenship.
ICWA Termination/Placement Case out of California
Here. Straightforward case, but an example of a clan mother from a tribe (Tuscarora) in New York working with California social services to find multiple placements for the baby.
In-House Tribal Attorney Posting: Stillaguamish Tribe
STILLAGUAMISH TRIBAL ATTORNEY
The Stillaguamish Tribe of Indians, a sovereign, federally-recognized Tribe, is looking to hire an in-house Tribal Attorney with a minimum of three years’ experience in federal Indian law, to serve the Tribe as it collectively defines its future for generations to come.
The in-house legal work is very diverse and challenging, but the primary focus of this position will be on employment law in Indian Country, commercial transactions, Indian Gaming, Tribal economic development, and realty.
The Tribe is looking for someone with excellent people skills and the ability to work collegially, flexibly and creatively. An interest in conflict transformation and alternative dispute resolution would be a plus. A strong ethical character and an egalitarian willingness to work hard as part of a small legal department team is important. A sense of humor, a flexible temperament, a practical sensibility, creativity and intellectual and philosophical curiosity are also highly desired!
Indian preference will be exercised in the hiring of this position in accordance with the Tribe’s Personnel Policies.
APPLICATION: The Tribe would like to hire someone for this position as soon as possible, but will take the time it needs to find the right candidate. Please submit the following:
Application for Employment (you may request this application on the Stillaguamish Tribe of Indians website: http://www.stillaguamish.com/)
Cover letter including salary requirements.
Résumé or CV with the names of at least three professional references.
Legal writing sample.
Please send the above to Human Resources at the Stillaguamish Tribe of Indians, PO Box 277, Arlington, WA 98223 and a copy addressed to the Director, Stillaguamish Tribe of Indians Legal Department, PO Box 277, Arlington, WA 98223. Phone: Human Resources Department at 360-652-7362.
Navajo Boy Sent Home for Having Long Hair on First Day of School
Here is one of many articles.
And here is what the Fifth Circuit has already said about such nonsense regarding the treatment of another 5-year-old in Texas:
A Native American boy and his parents challenge a school district’s requirement that he wear his long hair in a bun on top of his head or in a braid tucked into his shirt. We agree with the district court that the requirement offends a sincere religious belief and hold it invalid under Texas law.
And as @NativeApprops pointed out, one might also check out the name of the district and the mascot where this happened.
Active Efforts Case Out of Washington Court of Appeals
Here.
Despite Louch’s argument that visitation is a remedial service under ICWA, that term is not defined in the federal or state version of ICWA. Louch cites no state or federal case holding that visitation itself is a remedial service for purposes of ICWA. Visitation as part of a parenting class or other therapy might be part of a remedial service, but consistent with T.H., visitation in and of itself is not “remedial.”
Finally, even assuming visitation is a remedial service, “ICWA does not require the State to continue making active efforts to remedy parental deficiencies at the expense of physical or emotional damage to the child.”43 Numerous courts have held that active efforts under the federal ICWA does not mean persisting with futile efforts.44***
He also claims that, due to his severe mistrust of the child welfare system, the Department was required to “determine a different approach” to working with him in order to engage him in services.48 But services were coordinated through the Nooksack Indian Tribe, and Louch cites no authority supporting his argument that the Department did not engage in active efforts by failing to provide access to the specific cultural activities referenced above.4
According to the opinion, the child in this case was placed with an American Indian family who are also taking care of her two other siblings.
NPR Story on Cigarette Smoking Prevention Policies on Reservations
Here.
Walking onto the gaming floor at the Twin Arrows Casino near Flagstaff, Ariz., is a sensory-rich experience, with winning bells and slot machine jingles a constant. But in addition to hearing the sounds of the gaming floor, visitors also smell cigarette smoke.
The Smoke-Free Arizona Act doesn’t apply to this casino, located just inside the southern borders of the Navajo Nation. That means smoking in an enclosed public space is legal.
But in some communities on the reservation, that’s beginning to change. Dozens of Navajo Nation communities passed local clean air resolutions this year. The measures ban tobacco use in government buildings and workplaces.
The Oso Vista Ranch Project, a youth development organization in northwestern New Mexico, is working to prevent Native American youth from smoking. In May, the group persuaded the Crownpoint chapter to ban smoking in public buildings, making it the first Navajo government entity to do so.
2015 Summer Law Clerk Position for Fredericks Peebles & Morgan
Here.
FPM is seeking applications from second year law students for 2015 Summer Law Clerks for its offices in Louisville, Colorado; Omaha, Nebraska; Sacramento, California; and Washington, D.C. Applicants must be enrolled in an ABA accredited law school. Experience or coursework in tribal and Federal Indian Law required. Applicants must also possess excellent analytical, research and communication skills, and the ability to work well independently and as a team in a fast-paced environment. FPM offers a competitive hourly wage for a 10 – 12-week summer position.
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