Here are the materials:
Call to Action Re California’s Proposed Violation of American Indian Prisoners’ Religious Freedoms
Sample Comment – California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation NCR 13-01
Author: Matthew L.M. Fletcher
Cert Petition Challenging Nebraska SCT Decision on Good Cause “Exception” to ICWA Tribal Court Transfer Rule
Here is the petition:
Zylena R v. Elise M. Cert Petition
The questions presented:
(1) Whether ICWA prohibits a state court from considering the “best interests of the child” when determining whether “good cause” exists to deny the transfer of an ongoing child welfare case.
(2) Whether ICWA requires a state court to treat a motion to terminate parental rights as a “new proceeding” for purposes of determining whether “good cause” exists to deny the transfer of an ongoing child welfare case.
Lower court decision here.
Ninth Circuit Rules against Grand Canyon Skywalk Challenge to Hualapai Tribal Court Jurisdiction
Here.
From the court’s syllabus:
Affirming the district court’s judgment in an action concerning a dispute over a revenue-sharing contract between a Nevada corporation and a tribally chartered corporation of the Hualapai Indian Tribe for the building and operation of the Grand Canyon Skywalk, the panel held that the Nevada corporation must exhaust tribal court remedies before proceeding in federal court on its claims challenging the Tribe’s authority to condemn its intangible property rights in the contract.
The panel concluded that the bad faith and futility exceptions to the exhaustion requirement did not apply. It held that where a tribal court has asserted jurisdiction and is entertaining a suit, the tribal court must have acted in bad faith for exhaustion to be excused; bad faith by a litigant instituting the tribal court action will not suffice. The panel held that the submitted evidence did not establish that the tribal court operated in bad faith or was controlled by the tribal council in its decision making. The panel also affirmed the district court’s conclusion that the evidence did not meet the narrow futility exception, which applies where exhaustion would be futile because of the lack of adequate opportunity to challenge the tribal court’s jurisdiction.
The panel held inapplicable the exhaustion exception for cases in which the tribal court plainly lacks jurisdiction. The panel stated that the main rule of Montana v. United States, 450 U.S. 544 (1981), that generally Indian tribes lack civil authority over the conduct of nonmembers on non-Indian land within a reservation, was unlikely to apply to the facts of this case. The panel held that the district court correctly relied upon Water Wheel Camp Recreation Area, Inc. v. LaRance, 642 F.3d 802 (9th Cir. 2011), which recognizes that a tribe’s inherent authority over tribal land may provide for regulatory authority over non-Indians on that land without the need to consider Montana. Moreover, even if the tribal court were to apply Montana’s main rule, the Nevada corporation’s consensual relationship with the tribal corporation, or the financial implications of their agreement, likely would place the case squarely within one of Montana’s exceptions and allow for tribal jurisdiction.
Briefs are here.
Grand Canyon Skywalk Development Corp. Sues Hualapai Officials for Defamation and Other Claims
Here is the complaint in Grand Canyon Skywalk Development Corp. v. Steele (D. Nev.):
An excerpt:
This is an action for defamation, business disparagement, and civil conspiracy. The Defendants have conspired to publish and have in fact published false and intentionally defamatory statements designed to disparage the reputation of Plaintiffs. The statements have resulted in damaging the reputations of GCSD, Jin and Quasula, and substantial damages have been incurred, in Las Vegas, Nevada, where Jin and Quasula reside, and where GCSD is headquartered.
Anti-Indian Movement in Washington State
Here.
Apparently the culverts case got their attention.
Arizona COA Holds Hopi Tribe May Proceed on Public Nuisance Claim against City of Flagstaff/Arizona Snowbowl
Here is the unpublished opinion:
An excerpt:
The superior court’s judgment dismissing the Tribe’s public nuisance claim is reversed. Although reversing, this decision does not address the merits of the public nuisance claim but, instead, addresses only the issues properly presented and decided on this appeal from the dismissal of the complaint pursuant to Arizona Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6).
News coverage.
NYTs Alleges Vast Fraud in Federal Settlements for Race Discrimination against Minority Farmers
Here. The worst allegations involve Black farmers but there are claims against the Keepseagle settlement, too.
An excerpt:
A 2010 settlement with Native Americans was contentious for its own reasons. Justice Department lawyers argued that the $760 million agreement far outstripped the potential cost of a defeat in court. Agriculture officials said not that many farmers would file claims.
That prediction proved prophetic. Only $300 million in claims were filed, leaving nearly $400 million in the control of plaintiffs’ lawyers to be distributed among a handful of nonprofit organizations serving Native American farmers. Two and a half years later, the groups have yet to be chosen. It is unclear how many even exist.
And:
Tribal Court Decides Interesting Election Challenge at Eastern Band Cherokee — It was Just a Typo
NAICJA Resolution Calling for Federal Consultation with Tribal Justice Systems
Update in Illegal Gambling Indictment at St. Regis Mohawk
Here are some updated materials in United States v. Gray (N.D. N.Y.):
DCT Order Denying Motion to Dismiss
USA Response re Jock and Square
The post with the indictment is here. The search warrant from last December is here: Search Warrant
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