Here.
And here are a series of published opinions in cases involving Russell Means. Very colorful.
State of South Dakota v. Means
State of South Dakota v. Means — bail
US Marshals Service v Means — Fees
The last two cases, of course, are important precedents in tribal and federal Indian law. The Navajo Supreme Court spoke on the question of tribal criminal jurisdiction over nonmember Indians, holding arguments at Harvard Law School:
NATIONAL INDIAN CHILD WELFARE ASSOCIATION RESPONDS TO THE DR. PHIL SHOW’S COVERAGE OF SOUTH CAROLINA INDIAN CHILD WELFARE ACT CASE
Portland, Ore.–On October 18, 2012, the Dr. Phil show aired an episode that focused on a disputed custody case involving an American Indian child, Veronica. The case pits a loving father’s attempts to parent his daughter against a non-Indian couple from South Carolina–the Capobiancos–and their attorneys who orchestrated an illegal attempt to adopt Veronica. The National Indian Child Welfare Association (NICWA) is gravely disappointed in the heavy slant toward the Capobiancos’ recounting of the situation and interpretation of the legal issues in the case.
Veronica’s father, who has been relentlessly vilified in the media as a “deadbeat dad” is, in fact, a loving parent and a decorated Iraq war veteran. Rather than acknowledge his right to protect his daughter from a media firestorm that has proven deeply biased, the Dr. Phil show instead allowed personal attacks on his character and speculation on his parenting–from those who admittedly have had no contact with him–to continue unchallenged. We find these attacks unsupported by court records and unacceptable.
Veronica’s pre-adoptive placement was kept secret by her mother and attorneys representing the Capobiancos. Her placement with them was not revealed to Veronica’s father for four months–just days before he was sent to Iraq. Upon learning of his daughter’s proposed adoption, the father quickly moved to affirm his rights to parent Veronica. After three decisions supporting his rights in the South Carolina courts, he has been parenting her since January 2012.
Dr. Phil and several of his guests ignored the fraudulent process attorneys representing the Capobiancos used to help them gain custody of Veronica during their unsuccessful attempt to adopt her. That Veronica is American Indian was known by the Capobiancos and their attorneys, as was the fact that any adoptive process involving her would be covered by the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA). Instead of delving into why the Capobiancos were advised to circumvent the law, putting Veronica at high risk, Dr. Phil instead chose to rebuff the two guests with the most knowledge of this case and experience in such matters, Assistant District Attorney of the Cherokee Nation Chrissi Nimmo and Les Marston, attorney and tribal judge.
NICWA understands this case is emotionally-charged and has attracted worldwide attention. Nonetheless, we must reject the subjective definitions of what is in Veronica’s best interest that Dr. Phil disappointingly reinforced. Not only did the discussion of Veronica’s “best interest” completely discount the importance of her cultural identity and rights as a tribal citizen, it more shockingly ignored the significance of her being raised within a loving home with her father, sister, stepmother, and loving grandparents–and among a community that includes extended family and tribal members who love her. As Nimmo correctly stated, if Veronica was a non-Indian child, existing state and federal laws would have afforded the father an opportunity to seek custody of her and not reward those who violated the law.
Furthermore, NICWA firmly believes that Veronica’s best interest is not served by the continued negative media campaign currently pursued by the Capobiancos and their public relations firm. We have no doubt they love Veronica, but in this case, the ends they hope to accomplish certainly do not justify the means. Dr. Phil’s portrayal only serves to put Veronica at further risk.
The show’s characterization of ICWA was also filled with misinformation and inaccuracies. ICWA is a law that has helped protect thousands of American Indian children and keep them with their families. Veronica’s story illustrates the clear ongoing need for federal protections like ICWA for American Indian children who continue to be the victims of questionable, and sometimes illegal, attempts to adopt them out.
To learn more about how you can support the National Indian Child Welfare Association’s efforts to strengthen protections for American Indian children and families and to access more information on this case, please visit our website at http://www.nicwa.org.
Here.
An excerpt:
Today, the judges that preside over the Tulalip Tribal Court are provided by the Northwest Intertribal Court System and aren’t tribal employees, Taylor said. The judges, Theresa Pouley and Gary Bass, both members of the Colville Confederated Tribes, have decades of legal and judicial experience.
Pouley, the Tulalips’ chief judge, is president of the Northwest Tribal Court Judges Association. She also formerly served on the board of directors for the National American Indian Court Judges Association. She’s provided testimony to the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs and last year was appointed to the federal Indian Law and Order Commission.
In remarks to the U.S. Senate in 2008, Pouley said, “No government has a greater stake in effective criminal justice system in Indian Country than the tribes themselves.”
The Tulalip Tribal Court’s expansion has been significant since 2001. That’s when the Tulalips successfully petitioned the state and federal governments to return law enforcement powers on the reservation to the tribes and federal authorities. The retrocession cleared the way for the Tulalips to create their own police force to oversee public safety on the reservation.
Here is the article.
An except:
The incident has prompted an investigation by Canadian environmental officials, and in the United States, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said it was misled into providing ocean-monitoring buoys for the project.
The entrepreneur, Russ George, said his team scattered 100 tons of iron dust in mid-July in the Pacific several hundred miles west of the islands of Haida Gwaii, in northern British Columbia, in a $2.5 million project financed by a native Canadian group.
The substance acted as a fertilizer, he said, fostering the growth of enormous amounts of plankton. He said that could help the project meet what it casts as its top goal: aiding the recovery of the salmon fishery for the native Haida people. Mr. George said the team remained at sea for several months monitoring the plankton growth.
Another story from Michigan Radio this morning. We hope the January meeting will include invitations to tribes as well.
A new project is going to try to predict the future of the Great Lakes.
It’s called… wait for it… the Great Lakes Futures Project. It’s a collaboration of 21 universities from the U.S. and Canada.
Don Scavia is the director of the Graham Sustainability Institute at the University of Michigan. He’s one of four project leaders. He says students will team up with a counterpart from the other country, along with a faculty mentor. The teams will develop white papers outlining the biggest things driving change in the Great Lakes region.
“They’ll be looking at things like climate, economics, demographics, chemical and biological pollution, invasive species. Looking back, what have the trends been in the past 50 years and what do we expect trends to look like in the next 50 years?”
Apropos of our conference tomorrow.
Here.
The proposed $245 million casino project involves a complicated business and land deal between the city of Lansing, private developers and an indian tribe from the Upper Peninsula.
So complicated those involved were not able to reach an agreement on the various aspects of the project by an August deadline. So they gave themselves an extension until November 1st.
But with two weeks before the extended deadline there’s still no final agreement.
John Wernet is an attorney for the Sault Ste Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians. He says they are “on track to close on the purchase by November 1, though the amount of work….is a bit daunting.”
Here. h/t PropertyProf Blog.
An excerpt:
Doug Craven, the natural resources director for the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians in Michigan, said tribal members there frequently encounter feathers from around 25 bald eagle nesting sites on their reservation. But it wasn’t always clear to them whether they could keep the feathers for ceremonial use or if they’d have to send them off to a repository.
“They feel that’s been gifted to them and they have a responsibility for that feather,” said Craven, who was part of a group consulting with the Justice Department on the eagle feather policy. “This policy supports that.”
Yay! It’s nice no longer being a crook.
Here.
Here. The full policy is here.
From the press release:
The policy provides that, consistent with the Department of Justice’s traditional exercise of its discretion, a member of a federally recognized tribe engaged only in the following types of conduct will not be subject to prosecution:
· Possessing, using, wearing or carrying federally protected birds, bird feathers or other bird parts (federally protected bird parts);
· Traveling domestically with federally protected bird parts or, if tribal members obtain and comply with necessary permits, traveling internationally with such items;
· Picking up naturally molted or fallen feathers found in the wild, without molesting or disturbing federally protected birds or their nests;
· Giving or loaning federally protected bird parts to other members of federally recognized tribes, without compensation of any kind;
· Exchanging federally protected bird parts for federally protected bird parts with other members of federally recognized tribes, without compensation of any kind;
· Providing the feathers or other parts of federally protected birds to craftspersons who are members of federally recognized tribes to be fashioned into objects for eventual use in tribal religious or cultural activities.
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