federal recognition

Federal Circuit Revives Part of Samish Indian Nation Damages Claims against US in Federal Recognition Case

Matthew L.M. Fletcher3 Comments

Here is today’s opinion in Samish Indian Nation v. United States.

An excerpt:

The issues on appeal before this court are ones of statutory construction. We must decide whether certain claims are premised on money-mandating statutes and are therefore within the jurisdiction of the United States Court of Federal Claims pursuant to the Tucker Act, 28 U.S.C. § 1491(a), and the Indian Tucker Act, 28 U.S.C. § 1505. The Court of Federal Claims dismissed for lack of jurisdiction over the claims brought by the Samish Indian Nation (“Samish”) because some of their allegations were not premised upon any statute that was moneymandating, and the allegations reliant on moneymandating statutes were limited by other statutes. We affirm the Court of Federal Claims’ decision that it lacked jurisdiction over some of the Samish’s allegations because the Tribal Priority Allocation (“TPA”) system is not money-mandating. We conclude, however, that the trial court’s ability to provide a monetary remedy under the State and Local Fiscal Assistance Act of 1972 (“Revenue Sharing Act”) is not limited by operation of the AntiDeficiency Act, 31 U.S.C. § 1341. We therefore reverse the trial court’s dismissal of the Samish’s Revenue Sharing Act allegations and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

Here are the briefs:

Samish Appellant Brief

Brief for the United States

Samish Reply

Lower court materials here.

Claims to Benefits from Table Mountain Rancheria Restoration Dismissed

Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

Here are the materials in Lewis v. Salazar (E.D. Cal.):

61 – Memorandum Order Granting Motions to Dismiss With Prejudice

50.1 – Tribal Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss SAC

52.1 Salazar – MPA re Motion to Dismiss SAC

53 – Opposition to TribalDefendants Second Motion To Dismiss

54 – Opposition to Salazar’s Second Motion To Dismiss

55 – Tribe’s Reply Brief re Motion to Dismiss SAC

57 – Salazar Reply Brief re Motion to Dismiss SAC

Christian Science Monitor Article on Federal Recognition

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here. It mostly focuses on the Winnemem Wintu.

A photo slideshow of the Winnemem Wintu sacred sites to be affected by the proposed raising of the Shasta Dam is here.

Federal Court Dismisses Sandy Lake Chippewa Band’s Suit Seeking Federal Recognition

Matthew L.M. Fletcher2 Comments

Here are the materials in Sandy Lake Band of Mississippi Chippewa v. United States (D. Minn.):

DCT Order Dismissing Sandy Lake Band Complaint

Government Motion to Dismiss

Sandy Lake Opposition

Government Reply

Challenge to Alaska Native Federal Recognition in Alaska Supreme Court

Matthew L.M. Fletcher2 Comments

Here are the available materials in McCrary v. Ivanof Bay Village:

McCrary Initial Brief [UPDATED 5/2/12]

Ivanof Bay Village Brief

McCrary Reply Brief

Federal Courts Rules against Snohomish Recognition Effort

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here are the materials in Evans v. Salazar (W.D. Wash.):

DCT Order in Evans v Salazar

Interior Motion for Summary Judgment in Evans

Snohomish Motion for Summary J

Interior Motion for Summary Judgment 2 & Motion to Strike Affidavit

New Yorker Profile on Shinnecock Indian Nation

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here.

Makes us wish The Great Gatsby could be revised….

Miigwetch to A.K.

BIA Issues Proposed Finding on Tolowa Nation Petition

Kate Fort

From the press release:

WASHINGTON – Acting Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs George T. Skibine has issued a proposed finding not to acknowledge the petitioner known as the Tolowa Nation (TN), Petitioner #85, located in Fort Dick, Calif., as an Indian tribe under the regulations governing the federal acknowledgment process at 25 CFR Part 83. The evidence in the record is insufficient to demonstrate that Petitioner #85 meets the criterion 83.7(b), one of the seven mandatory criteria of the regulations for a determination that the petitioning group is an Indian tribe. In accordance with the regulations, the failure to meet all seven criteria requires a determination that the petitioning group is not an Indian tribe within the meaning of federal law. Therefore, the Interior Department proposes to decline to acknowledge Petitioner #85 as an Indian tribe.

The Proposed Finding and Federal Register notice will be posted here.

MSU NALSA to Host Panel on Federal Recognition — Nov. 8 @ 7:30PM

Matthew L.M. Fletcher2 Comments

The members of the Native American Law Student Association (NALSA) at Michigan State University College of Law invite you to attend the following panel discussion on Monday, November 8, 2010 at 7:30pm in the Castle Boardroom of the law school building.

What Does it Mean to be Federally Recognized?
There are currently 565 federally recognized tribes in the United States, but there are many others that do not have the benefit of that distinction. John Shagonaby, Curtis Chambers, and Matthew Fletcher will discuss their unique perspectives on this issue.

John L. Shagonaby is the Chief Executive Officer of the Gun Lake (federally recognized) Tribal Gaming Authority. John started this role in March 2004. Previously, John served as the Executive Director of the Tribe’s administrative office. John has also served on the Tribal Council for 12 years as a Council Member, Treasurer and Vice-Chairman.

Curtis Chambers, Chairman of the Burt Lake Band (non-federally recognized) was re-elected on August 9, 2008. He is also the Harbormaster of Cheboygan County Marina and a devout Catholic.

Curtis’s first priority for the Burt Lake Band is to be federally recognized. His second goal is to provide housing and health care to Burt Lake Band members. He also believes that diversity in business is a necessity to help move the tribe into the future.

Matthew Fletcher is Director of the MSU Indigenous Law and Policy Center. He is a member of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, the first tribe to be federally recognized under the Department of Interior’s federal acknowledgment process. He is the author of a forthcoming legal and political history of the Grand Traverse Band (Michigan State University Press).

NARF: Pamunkey Indian Tribes Files for Federal Acknowledgment

Matthew L.M. Fletcher2 Comments

From the NARF Press Release:

Boulder, CO – After years of preparing the necessary historical, legal, genealogical and anthropological evidence to fully document its petition for federal acknowledgment, the Pamunkey Indian Tribe, located on the Pamunkey Indian Reservation, Virginia, filed its petition with the Office of Federal Acknowledgment, Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) on October 14, 2010. It is the only Indian Tribe located in the Commonwealth of Virginia to have filed a fully documented petition. Established no later than 1646, the Pamunkey Indian Reservation is located next to the Pamunkey River, and adjacent to King William County, Virginia. The Reservation comprises approximately 1,200 acres and is the oldest inhabited Indian reservation in America.

The history of the Pamunkey people is rich and well documented. In the course of collecting evidence for the federal acknowledgment petition, researchers compiled more than a thousand documents recording their existence from the period of first European contact through the present. These documents comprise official censuses, correspondence between the Pamunkeys and officials of the Commonwealth and U.S. governments, numerous newspaper stories, church and school records, books by prominent scholars, popular authors, and federal officials, memoirs and much more. Because of these rich resources, continuous, detailed genealogies have been created for the Pamunkey Tribal members, which trace their lineage back over two hundred years.

Notably, documents have been preserved both in the United States and England that show the continual existence of the Pamunkey Indian Tribe as an independent sovereign since the first visit of Capt. John Smith in 1607, when the English settled Jamestown. At this time, Powhatan, father of Pocahontas, ruled a vast empire which included the great and powerful Pamunkey Indians who were at the core of his empire. A Treaty relationship between the Pamunkeys and Great Britain in 1646, followed by the Treaty of Middle Plantation in 1677, is still honored between the Pamunkeys and the Commonwealth of Virginia. One expression of this continuing relationship is the annual tribute ceremony at Richmond, Virginia where deer and other wild game are presented to the Virginia Governor by the Pamunkey Chief and members of Tribal Council.

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