News

NCAI Press Release in Support of Diane Humetewa and John Tuchi Federal Judicial Nominations

Matthew L.M. Fletcher
NCAI Applauds President’s Nominations of Diane Humetewa and John Tuchi for Federal District Court Judge in Arizona; 
Confirmation will make Humetewa First American Indian Woman Federal Judge
 
Washington, DC – The National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) has endorsed President Obama’s nomination of Diane J. Humetewa from the Hopi Tribe to serve as a United States District Court Judge for the District of Arizona. Senator John McCain of Arizona is credited with recommending the nomination. Upon confirmation, Humetewa will be the first American Indian woman in history to serve as a federal judge. Humetewa served as the United States Attorney for the District of Arizona from 2007 to 2009 under President George W. Bush.
 
NCAI also endorsed the President’s nomination of John Joseph Tuchi to serve as a United States District Court Judge for the District of Arizona. Tuchi’s service as Tribal Liaison from 2009-2012 demonstrated his knowledge of federal Indian law and his commitment to the critical role of tribes in the American family of governments. His nomination has the strong support of tribes in Arizona.
 
“These nominations are a significant step forward for Indian Country. Diane Humetewa is highly qualified and has been recognized and nominated for important federal positions by both Present Obama and President Bush. John Tuchi is highly qualified and has a strong record of upholding the trust responsibility to tribal nations. NCAI endorses the President’s nominations and we urge the Senate to move quickly to confirm them both,” said NCAI President Jefferson Keel.
 
“This also represents a great step forward for the federal courts. For many years we have stressed the importance of including Native Americans in the federal judiciary. Senator McCain should be applauded for recommending the nomination of Ms. Humetewa,” added Keel. “We have also underscored the need for all federal judges to understand federal Indian law. Mr. Tuchi has a firsthand understanding of the importance of federal Indian law, an asset that is far too rare among federal judges.”
 
NCAI First Vice Present Juana Majel also praised the nomination of Humetewa. “In 2013 we have witnessed the passage of the Violence Against Women Act Reauthorization that included extraordinarily important protections for Native women. With the nomination of Diane Humetewa to be the first Native woman to be a federal judge, 2013 is truly a landmark year for Native women.”
 
Biographies provided by the White House:
Diane J. Humetewa: Nominee for the United States District Court for the District of Arizona
Diane J. Humetewa currently serves as Special Advisor to the President and Special Counsel in the Office of General Counsel at Arizona State University.  She is also a Professor of Practice at Arizona State University’s Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law.  From 2009 to 2011, Humetewa was Of Counsel with Squire, Sanders & Dempsey LLP.  She worked in the United States Attorney’s Office in the District of Arizona from 1996 to 2009, serving as Senior Litigation Counsel from 2001 to 2007 and as the United States Attorney from 2007 to 2009.  During her tenure in the United States Attorney’s Office, Humetewa also served as Counsel to the Deputy Attorney General from 1996 to 1998.  From 1993 to 1996, she was Deputy Counsel for the United States Senate Committee on Indian Affairs.  Humetewa received her J.D. in 1993 from Arizona State University College of Law and her B.S. in 1987 from Arizona State University.  She is a member of the Hopi Indian Tribe and, from 2002 to 2007, was an Appellate Court Judge for the Hopi Tribe Appellate Court. 
 
John Joseph Tuchi: Nominee for the United States District Court for the District of Arizona
John Joseph Tuchi has been an Assistant United States Attorney in the District of Arizona since 1998.  He currently serves as Chief Assistant United States Attorney in the office and has previously served as Interim United States Attorney in 2009, Senior Litigation Counsel and Tribal Liaison from 2009 to 2012, and as Chief of the Criminal Division from 2006 to 2009.  Tuchi also worked as an associate at the law firm of Brown & Bain, P.A. from 1995 to 1998.  He began his legal career as a law clerk for Judge William C. Canby of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.  Tuchi received his J.D. magna cum laude in 1994 from Arizona State University College of Law, his M.S. in 1989 from the University of Arizona, and his B.S. in 1987 from West Virginia University.

Tulsa World: Judge Confirms Mediations Are Underway

Kate Fort

Article here.

The settlement judge informed the Tulsa World at mid-day Thursday that negotiations were ongoing but that no final agreement had been reached.

It was the first confirmation that this week’s mysterious proceedings were a mediation conference, where legal disputes are settled by negotiations.

NNABA Press Release on Diane Humetewa Nomination

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

For Immediate Release, September 19, 2013
Contact: Mary L. Smith (202) 236-0339

NNABA APPLAUDS THE HISTORIC NOMINATION OF
DIANE HUMETEWA TO BE A FEDERAL JUDGE IN ARIZONA

Phoenix, AZ. – The National Native American Bar Association applauds the historic nomination of Diane Humetewa to be a district court judge for the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona. If confirmed, Ms. Humetewa will be the first Native American woman in the history of our nation to serve on the federal judiciary.

Ms. Humetewa has had a distinguished career in public service. She is an enrolled member of the Hopi Tribe. She previously served as the Senate-confirmed U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona. Earlier in her career, she worked as an attorney on the U.S. Senate Indian Affairs Committee under then Chairman John McCain. Ms. Humetewa also worked in the U.S. Department of Justice and served as an Appellate Judge on the Hopi Appellate Court.

“NNNABA applauds President Obama for the historic nomination of Diane Humetewa to the federal bench in Arizona. Ms. Humetewa’s stellar career,including her position as a federal prosecutor, will serve her well as the first female Native American ever appointed to the federal judiciary and the only American Indian in the federal judiciary,” said Mary Smith, NNABA President.

Founded in 1973, NNABA serves as the national association for American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian attorneys, judges, law professors and law students. NNABA strives for justice and effective legal representation for all American indigenous peoples; fosters the development of Native American lawyers and judges; and addresses social, cultural and legal issues affecting American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians.

For more information contact 480-727-0420 or visit http://www.nativeamericanbar.org.

Latest Tulsa World Article on Baby Girl Case

Kate Fort

Here.

This is the third day of hearings. Proceedings are still under a gag order.

Op/Ed on Bay Mills Case by Nottawaseppi Huron Potawatomi & Saginaw Chippewa Chairmen

Matthew L.M. Fletcher
Bids for Limitless Off-Reservation Casinos Turns into Tragic Supreme Court Showdown
 
Indian Country is all too familiar with the perils of taking cases before the U.S. Supreme Court.  Even under the best legal circumstances, the high court has repeatedly handed down staggering losses that impact the most sacred issues to Indian Country.  That is why we are so concerned about a recent case the Supreme Court has decided to review that could severely limit tribal sovereignty for all of Indian Country.
 
The case is Michigan vs. Bay Mills Indian Community which originated in late 2010 when the Bay Mills Tribe opened an off-reservation casino in Vanderbilt, Michigan, about 125 miles south of its reservation without proper approvals from federal and state governments.  The Bay Mills Tribe, and its sister tribe Sault Ste. Marie, have argued in federal court that the Michigan Indian Land Claims Settlement Act of 1997 allows them to buy land anywhere in the United States to build a casino, so long as the land was purchased with land claim settlement trust funds.  The two tribes assert they are not restricted by geography or quantity of casinos. 
  
Both tribes have pursued federal litigation despite the fact that both the National Indian Gaming Commission and the Department of the Interior issued separate legal opinions concluding that Bay Mills claims are completely without merit. 
 
The U.S. Supreme Court granted review of the Bay Mills case after the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals sided with the Tribe’s assertion that sovereign immunity prevents the State of Michigan from suing to close an illegal off-reservation casino.  While we believe the State had the ability to close the casino under state law, Michigan’s Attorney General felt the need to seek relief from the Supreme Court since no federal entity would step in and close the illegal Vanderbilt casino.  We think it is safe to assume the Supreme Court did not grant review to affirm the lower court ruling.
 
All the Michigan gaming compacts contain a provision which states that no tribe shall pursue off-reservation gaming unless there is a written agreement between all the state’s federally recognized tribes to share in the revenue.  In March, a federal district court judge ruled that this provision is legally binding on all Michigan tribes – putting both the Sault Tribe and Bay Mills in violation of the compact.
 
Now, the Bay Mills case presents two questions to the Supreme Court; whether federal courts have jurisdiction to enjoin activity that violates IGRA but takes place outside of Indian lands, and whether tribal sovereign immunity bars a state from suing in federal court to enjoin a tribe from violating IGRA outside of Indian lands.  Given the Court’s recent decisions, we are deeply concerned the Court will cut away at the sacred doctrine of tribal sovereign immunity. 
 
Off-reservation gaming has already created a strong backlash from Congress.  It is unfortunate that some tribes who seek to build casinos far from their reservations are willing to risk the inherent sovereign rights of all tribes.  Once again, Indian Country finds itself before the Supreme Court in a case that should have never been considered in the first place. 
 
 
Homer A. Mandoka, Chairman
Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi
 
Dennis V. Kequom, Chief
Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe

Bloomberg on Sea Change on Indian Gaming from Bush’s Interior to Obama’a Interior

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here.

An excerpt:

Skibine said the Bush administration was in the thick of a lawsuit in which tribes sued the federal government for mismanaging reservation land and were reluctant to take more into trust — a precursor to any reservation gaming project that isn’t located on the tribe’s traditional grounds.

The Bush White House was also operating in the midst of the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal, in which Capitol Hill aides and Republican advocates secretly pitted tribes and Christian groups against one another while raking in millions.

The administration’s policy was presented in a Jan. 3, 2008, Indian Affairs memo that limited how far from a tribe’s existing reservation a casino project could be located.

“No application to take land into trust beyond a commutable distance from the reservation should be granted unless it carefully and comprehensively analyzes the potential negative impacts on reservation life and clearly demonstrates why these are outweighed by the financial benefits of tribal ownership in a distant gaming facility,” Carl Artman, Bush’s assistant secretary of Interior for Indian Affairs, wrote.

Nez Perce Tribe Press Release on MegaLoads Decision

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here:

NPT Press Release

NPT Press Release

Case materials are here.

Veronica Update from WaPo

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here (h/t How Appealing).

An excerpt:

The late justice Robert H. Jackson famously wrote of his colleagues on the high court: “We are not final because we are infallible, but we are infallible only because we are final.”

But sometimes the court is final only in the narrow question of law before it. That question decided, it sends the case back to lower courts, where sometimes the whole process starts anew.

Such is the fate of Veronica’s case. If anything, the Supreme Court’s decision has only heightened the stakes surrounding the rights of birth parents, the legal standing of adoptive parents and the sovereignty of Native American tribes.

NPR: Sequestration and Mental Health in Indian Country

Kate Fort

Here.

Previous coverage of sequestration here.

NYTs Coverage of Tribal Payday Lender Suit against New York

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here.

An excerpt:

Online lending has become a popular venture for Indian tribes over the last several years as states have cracked down on payday loans. The tribes say that in many cases, e-commerce activities have become a vital source of revenue, especially because their remote locations inhibit their ability to operate casinos. For the Otoe Missouria Tribe, lending revenue accounts for roughly half of the tribe’s nonfederal budget, according to a court filing.

“Every Indian tribe worth its salt has to provide health care, public safety, education and a panoply of essential services to its members,” said Matthew Fletcher, a law professor at Michigan State University and an authority on Indian law. “These tribes must reach off the reservation to conduct business because there is a desperate need for revenue.”