Here is the order:
DCT Order Denying Navajo Motion to Dismiss
Briefs are here.
cultural resources
Federal Court Dismisses Most Claims by Oklevueha Native American Church re: Cannabis
Here are the materials in Oklevueha Native American Church v. Holder (D. Haw.):
DCT Order Partially Dismissing Claims
The Ninth Circuit’s previous remand is here.
Arizona Snowbowl Snow Made From Treated Effluent is Yellow?
Arizona Cattle Grazing Enjoined due to Possible Indian Archeological Sites
Here are the materials in Western Watersheds Project v. USFS (D. Ariz.):
First Nations protests over Canadian Bill C-45
Articles can be found here, here, and here, among other places.
A snippet of one of the articles here:
Approximately 200 people braved the cold to attend a Bill C-45 Prayer Gathering in front of the Saskatchewan Legislature on Sunday. The event was part of a growing opposition from First Nations communities against the second federal omnibus budget implementation bill.
The far-reaching bill includes changes to the Indian Act, the Navigable Waters Protection Act and the Fisheries Act, among others.
According to many First Nations groups these changes will have a drastic and negative affect on their communities and were proposed without proper consultation.
“We hope that Canadian society and the Saskatchewan public will stand with us and not let this happen,” said Chief Barry Kennedy of Carry the Kettle First Nation.
Ninth Circuit Affirms Conviction for Selling Eagle Parts
Here are the materials in United States v. Wahchumwah:
The court’s summary:
The panel affirmed in part and reversed in part a criminal judgment in a case in which a jury convicted the defendant of offenses relating to the sale of eagle parts. The panel held that an undercover agent’s warrantless use of a concealed audio-video device in a home into which he has been invited by a suspect does not violate the Fourth Amendment. The panel held that Count 2 charging the defendant with offering to sell Golden Eagle tails, in violation of the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, and Count 3 charging the defendant with the subsequent sale of a Golden Eagle tail, in violation of the Lacey Act, are multiplicitous because the offer to sell is a lesser included offense. The panel held that Count 4 charging the defendant with offering to sell a pair of eagle plumes from a collection of plumes and Count 5 charging him with the subsequent sale of a pair of plumes, both premised on a violation of the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, are likewise multiplicitous. The panel rejected the defendant’s objection to the admission of certain photographs of eagles and other bird parts under Fed. R. Evid. 403. The panel held that the district court did not err under the Confrontation Clause by permitting officers to testify to receiving complaints from unnamed tribal members that the defendant was selling eagle parts, when the complaints were offered not to prove that the defendant was selling eagle parts, but merely to explain why federal agents began investigating him.
I found this portion of the opinion a little odd (not the opinion, but what it describes):
United States Fish and Wildlife Service agents began an undercover investigation of Wahchumwah based on anonymous complaints that he was selling eagle parts. As part of this investigation, Special Agent Robert Romero began developing a rapport with Wahchumwah in April 2008, at a powwow in Missoula, Montana. Romero claimed to have an interest in eagle feathers, and showed Wahchumwah a Golden Eagle tail he had brought with him. Later that evening, Romero bought a set of eagle wings from Wahchumwah for $400.
It just seems odd to use eagle parts for the purpose of entrapment….
Update: A related unpublished opinion in United States v. Jim is here.
Hopi Tribe Sues USDA Forest Service under Endangered Species Act over Arizona Snowbowl
Here is the complaint in Hopi Tribe v. United States Dept. of Agriculture — Forest Service (D. D.C.):
Petroglyphs Stolen and Vandalized at Bishop Colony
Awful news.
Here.
Petition to Protect Maya Lands in Southern Belize from Unauthorized Drilling
Please consider signing this petition. The government of Belize is ignoring Belize Supreme Court precedent that confirms that this land is the homeland of Maya communities.
Ray Cross on Fracking and the Fort Berthold Reservation
Probably the most important article on fracking in Indian country so far.
Raymond Cross has published “Development’s Victim or Its Beneficiary?: The Impact of Oil and Gas Development on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation” in the North Dakota Law Review.
Turtle Talk 
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