Author: Matthew L.M. Fletcher – Page 587

Harvard Law Review Note on “Bad Men” Clause Litigation

June 27, 2014Matthew L.M. Fletcher

The Harvard Law Review has published, “A Bad Man Is Hard to Find” (PDF).

Here is an excerpt:

Nine treaties concluded between the United States and various Indian tribes in 1867 and 1868 each contain what is known as a “bad men” provision. Within each of these provisions is a clause in which the United States promises to reimburse Indians for injuries sustained as a result of wrongs committed by “bad men among the whites, or among other people subject to the authority of the United States.”

Although these “bad men among the whites” clauses have rarely been used in the last century and a half, they remain the source of a viable cause of action for Indians belonging to those tribes that signed the nine treaties of 1867 and 1868. In 2009, Lavetta Elk won her action for damages under the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868, recovering a judgment in the Court of Federal Claims of almost $600,0004 from the United States government.

Eighth Circuit Briefs in Tribal Court Jurisdiction Matter — Belcourt Public School District v. Davis

June 27, 2014Matthew L.M. Fletcher3 Comments

Here:

Belcourt Public School District Opening Brief

Tribal Response Brief

Belcourt Public School District Reply Brief

Lower court materials here.

Indian Land Tenure Foundation Upcoming CLE on Cobell v. Jewell: July 16, 2014 in Washington, D.C.

June 27, 2014Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here:

Eighth Circuit Briefs in Tribal Court Jurisdiction Matter — Fort Yates Public School District No. 4 v. Murphy

June 27, 2014July 28, 2014Matthew L.M. Fletcher3 Comments

Here:

Fort Yates School District Brief

CMB Brief

Standing Rock Sioux Tribe Response Brief

Reply briefs TK

Fort Yates School District Reply Brief

Lower court materials here and here.

Federal Court Issues Stay Pending Appeal in Alaska Fee to Trust Case

June 27, 2014Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here are the updated materials in Akiachak Native Community v. Jewell (D.D.C.):

139 Alaska Motion for Stay

140 Akiachak Opposition

143 Alaska Reply

145 DCT Order

An excerpt:

For the foregoing reasons, the Court will GRANT IN PART Alaska’s motion for an injunction by enjoining the Secretary from taking any land into trust in Alaska, pending the outcome of the appeal. The Court’s ruling does not apply to the pre-existing exception for the Metlakatla Indian Community of the Annette Island Reserve or its members. 25 C.F.R. § 151.1; see also 79 Fed.Reg. 24,648, 24,649.

Materials on the merits here. Materials on the motion for reconsideration here.

Ninth Circuit En Banc Oral Argument Audio in United States v. Zepeda

June 26, 2014Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here.

Panel opinion here.

Al Jazeera Profile on Indian Country Payday Lending

June 26, 2014Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Nick Nehamas’ profile, “The tribe that said no: How one rogue tribal member tried to drag the Oglala Sioux into payday lending.”

DOJ ENRD (Indian Resources) Seeks Trial Attorney for Denver Office

June 26, 2014Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here.

A description:

The Indian Resources Section, U.S. Department of Justice, Environment & Natural Resources Division, is seeking an experienced attorney for the position of Trial Attorney in Denver, CO. The Indian Resources Section represents the United States in its trust capacity in litigation pending in federal and state courts for the benefit of Indian tribes and individual Indians. These suits include seeking to establish tribal water rights, protecting treaty hunting and fishing rights, remedying trespasses on tribal lands, and establishing reservation boundaries and rights to land. The Indian Resource Section also defends the United States in legal challenges to agency programs designed to further tribal sovereignty, such as the Department of the Interior’s program for the acquisition of trust land for tribes. The litigation handled by the Indian Resources Section is of vital interest to Indian tribes and often addresses issues of first impression.