Author: Matthew L.M. Fletcher – Page 214

For 187 years, Indian nations status in the United States has not been fully developed or consistently approached within the law. They are viewed as Domestic Dependent Nations located within the geographical boundaries of the United States. Although Chief Justice John Marshall acknowledged that Indian nations had a certain amount of sovereignty, the exact extent of such sovereignty as well as the place of tribes within the federal system has remained ill- defined. This Article examines what has been the role of the Supreme Court in integrating Indian nations as the third Sovereign within our federalist system. The Article accomplishes this task by examining the Court’s Indian law record in the last 30 years. The comprehensive survey of Indian law decisions indicates that while the tribal win-loss record at the Supreme Court is improving, the Court has had difficulties upholding the federal policy of respecting tribal sovereignty and encouraging tribal self-government.

After categorizing the cases between victories and losses, the Article divides the cases into categories for analytical purposes. The Second half of the Article focuses on the interaction between the Court and Congress concerning the incorporation of tribes as the third sovereign within the federalist system, and ends by arguing that through its disproportionate use of federal common law in its Indian law decisions, the Court has not attempted to reach a consensus with Congress about the place of Indian nations within our federalism.

“3 Risk Management Tips To Protect Your Tribe’s Resources”

June 1, 2018Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

By Venus Prince & Kristalyn Kinsel, here.

New Scholarship on Voting Rights Act Litigation in Indian Country

May 31, 2018Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is Jennifer L. Robinson and Stephen L. Nelson, The Small but Powerful Voice in American Elections: A Discussion of Voting Rights Litigation on Behalf of American Indians , 70 Baylor L. Rev. 91.

Texas Appellate Court Holds Choctaw Nation Liable for Bus Crash

May 31, 2018Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is the opinion in Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma v. Sewell (Tex. Ct. App.):

bus crash opinion

American Indian Law Bibliography (2018 ed.)

May 30, 2018Matthew L.M. Fletcher

By Patrick O’Donnell, here.

National Indian Law Library Bulletin (5/29/18)

May 30, 2018Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here:

The National Indian Law Library added new content to the Indian Law Bulletins on 5/29/18.

U.S. Supreme Court Bulletin

http://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/sct/2017-2018update.html

A decision was published in Upper Skagit Indian Tribe v. Lundgren (Tribal Sovereign Immunity) on 5/21/18.

Petition for certiorari was granted in Royal v. Murphy (Reservation Boundaries) on 5/21/18.

Petition for certiorari was filed in Makah Indian Tribe v. Quileute Indian Tribe, et al. (Treaty Fishing Rights) on 5/21/18.

Law Review & Bar Journal Bulletin

http://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/lawreviews/2018.html

• Establishing the denominator: The challenges of measuring multiracial, Hispanic, and Native American populations.

• Counting America’s first peoples.

• Accountability or merely “good words”? An analysis of tribal consultation under The National Environmental Policy Act and The National Historic Preservation Act.

• Consenting to dispossession: The problematic heritage and complex future of consultation and consent of Indigenous peoples.

• Cultural heritage protection and sacred spaces: Considering alternative approaches from within the human rights framework.

• Federal Indian Reserved Water Rights and the No Harm Rule.

• The puzzle of traditional knowledge.

• Protecting cultural rights in the South Pacific Islands: Using UNESCO and marine protected areas to plan for climate change.

• “Indian” as a political classification: Reading the tribe back into the Indian Child Welfare Act.

• Policy considerations and implications in United States v. Bryant.

• Presidential authority and the Antiquities Act.

• The controversy over permit-exempt wells in Washington.

• “With the Indian tribes”: Race, citizenship, and original constitutional meanings.

• Presidential authority and the Antiquities Act.

• Standing together: How the Federal government can protect the tribal cultural resources of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe.

Federal Courts Bulletin

http://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/federal/2018.html

Mono County v. Walker River Irrigation District (Tribal Water Rights)

United States v. Walker River Irrigation District (Tribal Water Rights)

Fawn Cain, Tanya Archer and Sandi Ovitt v. Salish Kootenai College, Inc. (Tribal Colleges; Tribal Sovereign Immunity)

FSS Development CO., LLC v. Apache Tribe of Oklahoma (Indian Gaming; Diversity Jurisdiction)

State Courts Bulletin

http://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/state/2018.html

In re Williams (Michigan Indian Family Protection Act)

People In Interest of I.B.-R. (Indian Child Welfare Act – Notice)

News Bulletin

http://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/news/currentnews.html

In the Health & Welfare section, we feature an article about a U.S. Congressional bill to combat Native American veteran homelessness.

U.S. Legislation Bulletin

http://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/legislation/115_uslegislation.html

The following bills were added:

• S.Res.529: A resolution promoting minority health awareness and supporting the goals and ideals of National Minority Health Month in April 2018, which include bringing attention to the health disparities faced by minority populations of the United States such as American Indians, Alaskan Natives, Asian Americans, African Americans, Hispanics and Native Hawaiians or other Pacific Islanders.

• S.2943: A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to exempt Indian tribal governments and other tribal entities from the employer health coverage mandate during the time the employer health coverage mandate exists.

• H.R.5847: To amend the Indian Health Care Improvement Act to improve recruitment and retention of employees in Indian Health Service, restore accountability in the Indian Health Service, improve health services, and for other purposes.

• S.2907: A bill to provide for the withdrawal and protection of certain Federal lands in the State of New Mexico.

• H.R.5911: To amend Public Law 115-97 (commonly known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act) to repeal the Arctic National Wildlife oil and gas program, and for other purposes.