News

Sen. Akaka and Rep. Cole on Carcieri Fix: “Create Jobs, Cost Taxpayers Nothing”

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here. An excerpt:

In the Carcieri v. Salazar decision, the Supreme Court reversed 75 years of policy and practice. The Indian Reorganization Act (IRA) of 1934 authorized the secretary of the Interior to take lands into trust for federally recognized tribes. The court threw all tribes into a tailspin of uncertainty by ruling that the secretary did not have the authority to take land into trust for tribes that were not considered “under federal jurisdiction” when the IRA was enacted. The court did not define “under federal jurisdiction,” and in 1934 there wasn’t an official list of federally recognized tribes. The decision creates two classes of tribes: those that can have land in trust and those that cannot. Such a system promises to be both chaotic and unfair.

So much land has been taken from tribes and tribal members — it is unconscionable to make it harder for tribes to gain back their traditional lands. Congress enacted the IRA to protect tribal homelands and to restore land that was previously seized from the native peoples. It is the responsibility of Congress to act when its intentions are misconstrued by the courts, and so we must act now.

And here (hope it is readable):

Continue reading →

More Spying by the Canadian Government–Child Welfare Edition

Kate Fort

The article is in the Toronto Star:

Why is the federal government spying on Cindy Blackstock?

When does a life-long advocate for aboriginal children become an enemy of the state?

The answer, it would seem, is when you file a human rights complaint accusing your government of willfully underfunding child welfare services to First Nations children on reserves.

Accusing your government, in other words, of racial discrimination.

That’s what Blackstock, as executive director of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada, did in 2007.

Since that time, federal officials attended 75 to 100 meetings at which she spoke, then reported back to their bosses.

They went on her Facebook page during work hours, then assigned a bureaucrat to sign on as himself after hours to check it again looking for testimony from the tribunal.

On at least two occasions, they pulled her Status Indian file and its personal information, including data on her family.

H/T to our Senior Canadian Correspondent.

Navajo Nation SCT Hears Case at Yale Law School

Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

The Supreme Court of the Navajo Nation came to Yale to hear a case on Monday evening.

The Supreme Court of the Navajo Nation came to Yale to hear a case on Monday evening. Photo by Jennifer Cheung.

News coverage here.

NYTs on Law Professors and SCT Amicus Briefs

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here.

The paper to which this article discusses is here.

BMIC Election Results: Kurt Perron To be New Chairman

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is the news coverage from Sault Evening News.

NYTs: Obama Administration to Delay Keystone XL Pipeline Decision

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here.

DOJ Release on Special AUSAs from Indian Country (Arizona)

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

MULTIPLE TRIBAL COMMUNITY PROSECUTORS RECEIVE FEDERAL CROSS-COMMISSIONING

From October 31 through November 4, the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona held a week-long course to train prosecutors from several of Arizona’s tribal governments so they may participate in the federal prosecution of offenders from their communities.

The training kicks off the U.S. Attorney’s Office -Tribal Special Assistant United States Attorney (SAUSA) program.  This cross-commissioning is encouraged by the Tribal Law and Order Act and mandated by the District of Arizona’s Operational Plan for Public Safety in Indian Country click.

The goal of the Tribal SAUSA program is to train eligible tribal prosecutors in federal law, procedure and investigative techniques to increase the likelihood that every viable criminal offense is prosecuted in tribal court, federal court or both.  The program also allows the tribal prosecutors to co-counsel with federal prosecutors on felony investigations and prosecutions of offenses arising out of their respective tribal communities. After completing training, each tribal SAUSA will be mentored by an experienced federal prosecutor assigned to the District of Arizona’s Violent Crime Section

The District of Arizona’s SAUSA program currently has 13 participants from 8 participating tribes – the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, the Gila River Indian Community, the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation, the Pascua Yaqui Tribe, the Colorado River Indian Tribes, the Tohono O’odham Nation, the Hopi Tribe, and the White Mountain Apache Tribe —  and is expected to grow.

Seven tribal prosecutors participated in the training course this week, which included classroom work and participation in proceedings before the federal court and grand jury. The remaining participants will attend an identical training planned for January 2012.

RELEASE NUMBER: 2011-247(Tribal SAUSAs)

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For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visithttp://www.justice.gov/usao/az

Criminals Stage Elaborate Effort at Barona Casino to Steal Fake Money

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here, via Legal Blog Watch.

An excerpt:

Four gunmen attempted to steal a promotional booth filled with cash from Barona Casino early Wednesday, firing off several shots in the process, but no one was hurt and the money was recovered after being abandoned by the robbers, authorities said.

The general manager of Barona said there were 500 people inside the casino at the time of the robbery but it happened so quickly that no one noticed.

However, patrons playing slot machines told reporters they heard gunfire and scrambled to cash out before searching for loved ones gambling in other areas of the casino.

The gunmen entered the casino and approached a promotional booth filled with cash, then proceeded to attach a steel chain around the booth, according to sheriff’s Sgt. Tom Poulin. The other end of the chain was attached to a black SUV parked outside the casino, he said.

***

Audrey Doherty, a representative for Barona, told 10News most of the cash inside the box was fake.

“It’s like a Hollywood prop,” Doherty said, adding that although the promotion is for a $250,000 prize, there was only a couple of thousand dollars in the box.

Burial Site Disturbed on Mackinac Island

Kate Fort

From Interlochen Public Radio

 On Mackinac Island, developers of a new hotel discovered what appears to be a massive burial site last week. Police say it’s now clear some of the bones unearthed in the excavation are human, likely ancestors of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians.

Several hundred bones have been unearthed so far after a historic building known as the McNally Cottage was demolished. Property owner, Ira Green, plans to build a new three-story hotel where the building once stood. Some of the bones on the construction site belong to animals, while others are human remains. Mayor of Mackinac Island, Margaret Doud, said Saturday that she was not surprised bones had been found on the property. Downtown business owner, Tony Brodeur agreed, “You know, I’m not entirely surprised. And now… it’s going to stir up a lot of emotions… There has got to be a diplomatic solution.”

***

One historian thinks more care should be taken to preserve the historic integrity of the site. Brian Leigh Dunnigan is the curator of maps for the William L. Clements Library at the University of Michigan and released a book which is an iconographic history of the Straits of Mackinac region from 1615-1860. Dunnigan says the site is just beside the original St. Anne’s Catholic Church which was relocated in the mid-1800s. He explained further, “After the cemetery was closed in December of 1851, supposedly all of the burials were removed and put in the new Catholic cemetery behind fort Mackinac.”