Congress

Mary Pavel Announced as Staff Director of Senate Indian Affairs Committee under Sen. Cantwell

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

CANTWELL ANNOUNCES NEW STAFF DIRECTOR OF INDIAN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Incoming U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs Chairwoman Maria Cantwell (D-WA) announced Friday that Mary J. Pavel will serve as Staff Director for the committee in the 113th Congress.

Pavel, a member of the Skokomish Tribe of the state of Washington, is an expert on Tribal law and policy. A graduate of Dartmouth College and the University of Washington School of Law, Pavel became one of the first Native American women to be made a partner in a National Indian Law Firm. She joined Sonosky, Chambers, Sachse, Endreson & Perry in 1992 and became a partner in January 1999.

Pavel is the Founding President of the Native American Bar Association of Washington, D.C., and is a member of both the Washington State Bar Association and the District of Columbia Bar Association.

“Mary is well-known as one of the best and sharpest policy experts in Native American and Alaska Native policy and law,” Cantwell said. “Mary grew up in Washington state and understands the diverse issues facing Tribes in the Pacific Northwest and across the country. I look forward to working with Mary to improve economic opportunity, strengthen education and increase access to health care for all of Indian Country. With Mary on board, I am confident that the Senate Indian Affairs Committee is ready to tackle tough issues and make significant progress for Tribes.”

Congrats to Georgene Louis!

Matthew Campbell1 Comment

Among the victories last night, Georgene, Pueblo of Acoma, won her election contest and will be a representative in the New Mexico House of Representatives!

You can view her information here.

Sen. Akaka Release on Senate Passage of Three Indian Affairs Bills

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Washington D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Daniel K. Akaka (D-Hawaii), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, made the following statement on the unanimous Senate passage of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe Judgment Fund Distribution Act of 2011 (H.R. 1272), the Barona Band of Mission Indians Land Transfer Clarification Act of 2012 (S. 3193), and the National Native American Heritage Month Resolution (S.Res. 561). All three bills passed the Senate over the weekend.

“Since becoming Chairman of this committee last spring, I have worked hard with Vice Chair Barrasso and the other Senators on this committee to advance the priorities of all Native American peoples and to work to improve their lives. Each of these bills will have a positive impact on tribes and surrounding communities.” said Chairman Akaka. “Mahalo – thank you- to my colleagues in the Senate for working with me in a bipartisan manner to pass these bills.”

H.R. 1272 would distribute settlement funds to compensate tribal members for the improper taking and sale of their land and timber. This bill passed the House of Representatives on June 18, 2012, and was favorably reported out of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs on June 28, 2012. It now heads to the President for enactment.

S. 3193 would make technical corrections to the legal description of certain land to be held in trust for the Barona Band of Mission Indians. This bill was favorably reported out of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs on June 28, 2012, but awaits consideration by the House of Representatives.

S.Res. 561 recognizes November as Native American Heritage Month and celebrates the heritages and cultures of Native Americans and the contributions of Native Americans to the United States. S.Res. 561 was introduced by Chairman Akaka on September 19, 2012.

Ryan Dreveskracht on VAWA and the Objections to an Oliphant Fix

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Ryan Dreveskracht has provided a draft of his paper, “House Republicans Add Insult to Native Womens’ Injury,” forthcoming in the University of Miami Race and Social Justice Law Review.

Here is the draft:

 

Aug_16_2012 VAWA Manuscript Submission

Improper State Taxation of Reservation-Domiciled Military Servicemembers

Peter Scott Vicaire1 Comment

A week before the country celebrated Independence Day, the Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma became the first Native nation to adopt an official resolution in support of restoring improperly withheld pay to eligible Native American veterans and service members.

Continue reading →

HEARTH Act Passes Sentate; Goes to President for Signature

Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

Press release from Rep. Heinrich’s office:

WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 17, 2012) – Legislation sponsored by U.S. Representative Martin Heinrich (NM-1) to remove barriers between Native American families and homeownership cleared the Senate today by a unanimous vote.  The bill, the Helping Expedite and Advance Responsible Tribal Homeownership (HEARTH) Act (H.R. 205), would allow tribes to exercise greater control over their lands and eliminate bureaucratic delays that stand in the way of homeownership and economic development in tribal communities.

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Witnesses and Testimony in House Resources Committee Hearing on Federal Recognition

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here (from June 27):

OPENING STATEMENT:

The Honorable Don Young
Chairman

WITNESSES AND TESTIMONY:

Panel I

The Honorable Ken Salazar*
Secretary
U.S. Department of the Interior

Stephen R. Adkins
Chief
Chickahominy Tribe

Scott Gabaldon
Tribal Chair
Mishewal Wappo Tribe of Alexander Valley

Ann Tucker
Chairwoman
Muscogee Nation

Framon Weaver
Chief
MOWA Band of Choctaw Indians

The Honorable Diane Dillon
Supervisor
Napa County District 3

Legislating in Light of the ideology and Politics of the Super-Legislature (On Obamacare and an Oliphant Fix)

Matthew L.M. Fletcher2 Comments

This week, the Supreme Court likely will strike down the individual mandate of the health care law, and perhaps go so far as to strike the whole thing down. It is telling to hear about how Democratic Congressional leaders never took seriously arguments that the health care law was unconstitutional.

Under the current constitutional law, it IS constitutional. But the Supreme Court can use a vehicle like Obamacare to drastically change constitutional law. That’s how judicial review works. Ideology matters. Politics matters. Elections matter. Only the hardest cases reach the Supreme Court, and those cases are usually cases where prior precedent fails. The vast majority of Americans want Obamacare struck down. It would be shocking if the most conservative Supreme Court in memory DIDN’T strike it down.

Tribal advocates should be feeling deja vu, of course. The Court changes Indian law all the time. Ideology matters here, more than politics (because most Americans couldn’t care less about Indian law).

In the past weeks, during the VAWA Reauthorization and SAVE Native Women Act debates, Dems assumed the constitutionality of a partial Oliphant fix. Under current law, it’s obviously constitutional. But the Supreme Court can change things. And it does, as Indian law observers know.

Harold Monteau pointed out the disingenuity of the Congressional Research Service report asserting the unconstitutionality of a partial Oliphant fix. He was right to do so under the law, but that doesn’t make the report wrong.

If I am right and Obamacare goes down, then the world will know what Indian law observers have known (or should know) for a long while.

TOMORROW, if the health care decision doesn’t come out, why Justice Kennedy’s consent theory of tribal governance may play an important role in the theorizing constitutional limits on the commerce clause.

SCIA Hearing on Tax Burdens on Tribes

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is the witness list (prepared testimony linked to the witness name):

Witnesses

Panel # 1
The Honorable John Yellow Bird Steele
President
Oglala Sioux Tribe, Pine Ridge, SD

The Honorable Athena Sanchey-Yallup
Secretary of the Tribal Council, Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation
Toppenish, WA

Panel # 2
Mr. Aaron Klein
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Economic Policy Coordination
U.S. Department of the Treasury, Washington, DC

Ms. Christie J. Jacobs
Director
Office of Indian Tribal Governments, Internal Revenue Service, U.S. Department ofthe Treasury, Washington, DC

Panel # 3
Ms. Lynn Malerba
Chief of Mohegan Tribe
on behalf of the United South and Eastern Tribes, Inc., Nashville, TN

Mr. William Lomax
President
Native American Finance Officers Association, Washington, DC