Author: Matthew L.M. Fletcher – Page 252

Federal Court Dismisses Habeas Petition by Kickapoo Member for Failure to Exhaust Tribal Remedies

December 4, 2017Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here are the materials in Darnell v. Merchant (D. Kan.):

An excerpt:

Petitioner Bobbie Darnell, a member of the Kickapoo Tribe in Kansas (the “Tribe”), filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus pursuant to 25 U.S.C. § 1303 seeking relief from her tribal court convictions and sentence. Petitioner requests that the Court issue a writ of habeas corpus commanding her immediate release from jail in Brown County, Kansas, overturning her convictions in Kickapoo criminal cases numbers CRM016-11 and CRM016-23, and staying all further tribal court action against her (Doc. 1). In addition, Petitioner has filed a motion for release on her own recognizance (Doc. 25). As explained below, the Court denies the Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus because Petitioner has not exhausted her tribal remedies. The Court further denies Petitioner’s motion for release on her own recognizance as moot.

National Indian Law Library Bulletin (11/30/2017)

December 4, 2017Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here:

The National Indian Law Library added new content to the Indian Law Bulletins on 11/30/17.

U.S. Supreme Court Bulletin
http://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/sct/2017-2018update.html
Petitions for certiorari were denied on 11/27/17 in:
Town of Vernon v. U.S. (Land into Trust)
Upstate Citizens for Equality v. U.S. (Land into Trust)
Coachella Valley Water District v. Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians (Federal Reserved Water Right – Groundwater)
Desert Water Agency v. Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians (Federal Reserved Water Right – Groundwater)
Petition for certiorari was filed on 11/20/17 in: Public Service Company of New Mexico v. Barboan, et al. (Condemnation – Rights of Way)

Read the latest Tribal Supreme Court Project update published on 11/30/17.

U.S. Federal Courts Bulletin
http://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/federal/2017.html
Darnell v. Merchant (Exhaustion of Tribal Remedies; Sentencing)
Allen v. United States of America (Tribal Membership; Federal Recognition)

News Bulletin
http://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/news/currentnews.html
Read about a tribal groundwater case in the Land & Water section.

U.S. Legislation Bulletin
http://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/legislation/115_uslegislation.html
We added the following bills and resolutions:
H.R.4443: Urban Indian Health Parity Act.
H.R.4485: To direct the Attorney General to review, revise, and develop law enforcement and justice protocols appropriate to address missing and murdered Indians, and for other purposes.
H.R.4419: Bureau of Reclamation and Bureau of Indian Affairs Water Project Streamlining Act.
H.R.4436: Caguana Indigenous Ceremonial Park and Tribes Indigenous Ceremonial Center Study Act.
H.R.4448: To provide for an exchange of Federal land and non-Federal land in the State of Idaho, and for other purposes.
S.Res.342: A resolution expressing the sense of the Senate that States, cities, Tribal nations, businesses, and institutions of higher education in the United States should work towards achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement.

Law Review & Bar Journal Bulletin
http://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/lawreviews/2017.html
We feature these articles:
The fairness of tribal court juries and non-Indian defendants.
Access to energy in Indian Counrty: The difficulties of self-determination in renewable energy development.
Continuning to work for Indian Country in the 115th Congress.
The Tribal Labor Sovereignty Act: Do Indian tribes finally hold a trump card?
Indigenous people, human rights, and consultation: The Dakota Access Pipeline.
Yellowbear v. Lampert – Putting teeth into the Religous Land Use and Institutionalized Person Act of 2000.
Salvaging the United Nations REDD Program against the backdrop of international human rights violations.
Making strategic choices: How and why Indian groups advocated for Federal Recognition from 1977-2012.
Legacy in paradise: Analyzing the Obama adiminstration’s efforts of reonciliation with Native Hawaiians.
“Why should I go vote without understanding what I am going to vote for?” The impact of first generation voting.
The case against property rights in old intangible Indigenous cultural property.
Water Security.
To sue and be sued: Capacity and immunity of American Indian Nations.
(Re)Righting history: Deconstructing the Court’s narrative of Hawai’i’s past.
Mitigating state sovereignty: The duty to consult with Indigenous peoples.

Law Scholars Brief in Support of St. Regis Mohawk Patent

December 4, 2017Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is the brief from Lawrence Tribe, William Eskridge, Erwin Chemerinsky, Joe Singer, and David Orozco:

Brief of Amici Scholars iso of Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe

Sierra Teller Orneas: “Donald Trump Would Make a Terrible Navajo”

December 3, 2017December 3, 2017Matthew L.M. Fletcher

In the NYTs, here.

Grand Traverse Band Statement on the Navajo Code Talkers

December 2, 2017Matthew L.M. Fletcher2 Comments

GTB Statement to Honor the Navajo Code Talkers

To the Editor:

On behalf of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, I wish to express gratitude to the Navajo Nation’s Code Talkers for their service in World War II, and for their recent poise and grace in the face of the President’s cultural insensitivity.

In front of a backdrop portrait of Andrew Jackson—an Indian antagonist whose forced removal of Indian Tribes, commonly known as the Trail of Tears,—President Trump attempted to betray the Code Talkers by invoking a political slur against Senator Elizabeth Warren, who like many Americans, claims tribal descendancy. America’s Indian heritage should be a source of pride for all Americans.
The Navajo Code Talkers signify America’s constructive historical experience: Their Navajo/Diné language served as an unbreakable military code without which America would not have won World War II. Rather than praising the Code Talkers for the achievement, Trump debased himself during the ceremony by using an unnecessary slur in the presence of these Elder Navajo War Heroes.

Although the President obscured the message, the point of the ceremony has not been lost: It is to honor the Navajo Code Talkers as unique to America, and to recognize that they represent the pain and promise of American history. As Americans, we should embrace our shared history. For bearing this message, the Grand Traverse Band thanks the Navajo Code Talkers.