Here.
News coverage here, via Pechanga.
economic development
Materials in Challenge to Designation of New Mexico’s Mt. Taylor as Cultural Property
Here are the materials in Reyellen Resources Inc. v. New Mexico Cultural Properties Review Committee:
2011-02-04 Rayellen Resources v. NM CPRC dist ct dcn
2012-03-08 NMCA order certifying Mt. Taylor TCP to NMSC
An excerpt from the trial court opinion:
Petitioners, variolls surface and mineral owners, filed a First Amended Petition for Writ of Certiorari challenging the Respondents’ listing of “more than 700 square miles spanning portions of three New Mexico counties encompassing the entirely of Mt. Taylor–from its peak to its surrounding mesas–as a traditional cultural property on the New Mexico State Register of Cultural Properties.” Respondents herein are the New Mexico Cultural Properties Review Committee. Alan “Mac” Watson, individually and as Chairman oflhe Cultural Properties Review Committee and the Pueblo of Acoma, will be hereinafter collectively referred as “Respondents”. This Court granted certiorari and now reverses and remands tor the reasons stated below.
Little River Band Ottawa Signs Second Collective Bargaining Agreement Under Tribal Law
(March 22, 2012) Manistee, MI
Second Collective Bargaining Agreement Signed under Tribal Law
The Little River Casino Resort and the United Steelworkers Union have entered into a collective bargaining agreement covering slot machine technicians. This is the second collective bargaining agreement entered into by the Resort and the Union under tribal law. The first, involving the Resort’s security guards, was signed in December, 2010.
“Like our first agreement, this is the product of hard work and long negotiations,” said Tom Davis, General Manager at the Resort. “It reflects a lot of give and take from both sides of the bargaining table.”
In 2007, the Band enacted a law governing labor unions and collective bargaining modeled on state labor relations laws. The law allows collective bargaining within the Band’s governmental operations, which includes its gaming operations at the Little River Casino Resort. It requires unions to hold a license from the Band, and it provides a structure for resolving unfair labor practice charges. “In designing our law, we found there was much to learn from the way state governments regulate collective bargaining in the public sector,” said Tribal Council Speaker Stephen Parsons. “In the end, however, this law reflects the unique values of our Ottawa community.”
Few Indian nations have laws governing collective bargaining. The short list includes the Navajo Nation and the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation. “We decided that it was in the best interests of our community to give employees the right to bargain collectively,” explained Parsons. “As a sovereign tribal government, we have authority to grant employees those rights.” he said.
Federal Court Denies Ex Parte TRO in Tribal Court Jurisdiction Matter
Here are the materials in Admiral Ins. Co. v. Blue Lake Rancheria Tribal Court (N.D. Cal.):
From the order:
Admiral seeks a TRO enjoining the Defendants from exercising tribal court jurisdiction over Admiral and conducting any further proceedings against Admiral. Proposed Order, ECF No. 10-4. Admiral argues that a TRO “is needed in order to preserve the status quo so that the jurisdictional issues can be determined first. If this request is not granted, Admiral is forced to submit to the jurisdiction of the Tribal Court without due process or be subject to sanctions for failing to file a substantive motion on whether Admiral owes a duty to defend and indemnify WRI and have a motion for summary judgment be pending against it to which it cannot oppose, since an opposition would be viewed as subjection to the Tribal Court’s jurisdiction.” TRO Appl. 7
Diné CARE National Parks Conservation Association v. EPA Complaint: Clean Air Act Suit regarding Navajo Coal
Here is the complaint, filed in D.C.:
An excerpt:
1. The federal Clean Air Act requires the Administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“Administrator” or “EPA”) to promulgate modern pollution control limits at the massive Navajo Generating Station (“NGS”) and Four Corners Power Plant (“Four Corners”), located on Navajo tribal lands in Arizona and New Mexico, to remedy unhealthful, scenery-impairing air pollution in protected national parks and wilderness areas in the American Southwest. Because EPA has failed to promulgate such pollution control limits without unreasonable delay, Plaintiffs bring this action to secure an order from the court that directs EPA to issue haze-reducing pollution control limits at NGS and Four Corners forthwith.
2. In particular, this Clean Air Act Section 304(a) citizen suit, 42 U.S.C. §7604(a), seeks an order compelling EPA to perform its nondiscretionary duties by date or dates certain to promulgate federal implementation plans (“FIPs”) establishing Best Available Retrofit Technology (“BART”) for NGS and Four Corners. EPA’s failure to perform these duties within a reasonable time has deprived Plaintiffs’ members of health, welfare, and procedural protections provided by the Clean Air Act.
IPR on the W. Great Lakes Salmon Fishery
Here.
The intro:
Managers of salmon in Lake Michigan must soon decide how many fish to put into the lake each year. The salmon fishery is a man-made industry in the Great Lakes, produced by planting millions and millions of fish in the lakes. Keeping the salmon population in balance with the food supply is a challenge these days. Some scientists are raising new questions about the salmon’s demise in Lake Huron and whether it can be stopped in Lake Michigan.
Grand Canyon Skywalk Case Stayed Pending Tribal Court Resolution
Here are the materials:
Prior materials on the request for TRO are here.
Public Radio Coverage of Grand Canyon Skywalk Controversy
An excerpt:
The Hualapai council members say the unfinished site is an embarrassment to the tribe, which approved the project despite some internal objections about building on land roughly 30 miles from a place central to the Hualapai creation story. Traditional tribal belief places man’s origin on Hualapai lands.
“I believe the canyon is a sacred place. The Hualapai look at is as a church. Why take trash and throw it in the church. I voted against it,” said Philip Bravo, a former council member. “What does the tribe have out there? A half-finished building.”
Angry at the developer, the tribe passed an ordinance last year creating a legal path to effectively cancel the developer’s contract through the sovereign right of eminent domain.
The tribe set compensation for the seizure at $11.4 million, a sum they said represents the fair value of a project that the Las Vegas-based developer says is worth over $100 million.
“They took everything. And then the tribal court issued an order that we were trespassers if we were even there. You do understand this is like Hugo Chavez’s Venezuela, don’t you?” said Troy Eid, a lawyer for the Grand Canyon Skywalk Development Corporation, which built the skywalk.
There is little doubt that tribes can legally seize property for the public good, much like a state or the federal government. But by seizing a non-tangible asset of a non-Indian company as a way to escape a contentious business deal, the tribe may have stepped into untested waters.
“I think on first glance the tribe is exercising a power that they have. Whether they are exercising it wisely is a different question,” said Addie Rolnick, an expert in Indian law at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas.
Western Mohegan Bankruptcy Petition
Petition for Bankruptcy filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Northern District of Illinois.
WSJ on Bankruptcy and Indian Tribes (In Light of W. Mohegan Bankruptcy)
Here.
Turtle Talk 
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