News

Tama County, Iowa Magistrate Vander Mey “Back in the Saddle”

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Reinstated to full duties, that is. The judge reversed an earlier order relating to a drunk driving arrest by Meskawki tribal police, but apparently not the order relating a tribal immunity defense in small claims court (see our post here).

Here is the news article.

An excerpt:

In one of the court actions, Vander Mey has now reversed the dismissal of a drunken driving charge he made on May 5.

He has directed Starla Fawn Durnin, rural Tama, to appear before Magistrate Ann Kuhter today (Tuesday, May 24) for an initial appearance on the charge.

Durnin continued to be held in the Tama County Jail in Toledo last Friday on an unrelated probation violation charge and a public intoxication charge filed after Vander Mey threw out the drunken driving charge.

He dismissed the drunken driving charge after Durnin was not brought to court for an initial appearance within 24 hours of her arrest by Meskwaki Nation Tribal Police.

ICT Coverage of “Coalition of Large Tribes” (Quoting GTB Chair Derek Bailey)

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is the article.

An excerpt:

Given the limited attention the federal government pays to all tribal issues, frustrations can and do develop among the tribes, although you have to scratch beneath the polite, polished surface of the public positions of many tribal leaders, who prefer to present a unified front for tactical purposes. Tex G. Hall, the chairman of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation, explains his rationale for the tribal-unity approach: “We don’t always run things [in American society]. But one of the things in our control is our ability to lead and forge a common voice from within our own nations. That is a hallmark of leadership and one of the basic responsibilities that comes with elected office such as my own.”

The paucity of federal attention to Indian issues is an ongoing concern. “Unfortunately, Indians seem to have always had a problem getting heard on Capitol Hill,” Hall says. “The sad reality is that very few legislators, and certainly not Congress as a whole, have really ever paid attention to the bigger picture. It would be great if we actually had the luxury of being able to pick and choose the battles that we could win. But we really don’t have a sense that we are going to win on any single issue or at any particular time.”

So what’s a tribal leader have to do to get his or her concerns addressed? Forming a coalition has been the preferred answer. There’s the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI), which bills itself as “the oldest, largest, and most representative American Indian and Alaska Native organization”; the National Indian Health Board (NIHB), which advocates for improved Indian health; United Southern and Eastern Tribes, Inc. (USET); the National Indian Gaming Association, for casino tribes; and many others. Some of these coalitions have had major successes, such as when NCAI, NIHB and others lobbied for reauthorization of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act last year. At the same time, some tribes have been loath to join this or that coalition because of perceived slights, historical tensions and/or a firm commitment to the principle of tribal sovereignty.

Derek Bailey, the chairman of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, says he finds the various coalitions useful for educating legislators on issues that will affect Indian country on both the micro and macro levels: “Coalition-building amongst tribes, be it regional or for a more defined purpose, definitely assists in promoting any particular agenda,” he says. At the same time, he notes that tribes have historically held differing opinions “and there is a time and place for that, but on larger issues, Indian country’s collective voice is incredibly strong. We have to continue to exercise that voice, be it as a single sovereign nation or as a collective body of sovereign tribal governments.”

Our 2011-2012 Incoming Fellow Profiled in the Jackson News

Kate Fort

Elaine Barr, our incoming fellow, was profiled this weekend in the Jackson newspaper.

While Barr never became a musician like her father, she did find her niche: law. According to Barr’s grandmother, Edna Barr of Blackman Township, Elaine “knew she wanted to be an attorney since she was 10 years old.”

Barr, now 22, earned her bachelor’s and law degree in five year’s time. After earning her bachelor’s from the University of Michigan, Barr went on to MSU law school, graduating this spring. According to the MSU registrar’s office, the feat usually takes between six and seven years, and it is uncommon to complete it in less.

Don’t Wear Moccasins To Nightclubs in Vancouver. And Leave Your Golf Club Home Too.

Peter Scott Vicaire2 Comments

Colleen Mitchell White, an Aboriginal woman, was denied access to “The Roxy,” a popular Vancouver nightclub, because she was wearing moccasins.  She was told by staff that there were no buffalo to hunt inside and that they didn’t “serve people in moccasins.”  The incident was recently re-heard before the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal; the Roxy had already succeeded in having the tribunal throw out the case in March, 2010, but Ms. Mitchell White applied for judicial review to the B.C. Supreme Court, which ordered the tribunal to take another look.

The Roxy accused Ms. Mitchell White of being confrontational with the security staff.  She was also arrested for public drunkenness after the incident.

Here’s the full story, as reported by The Globe and Mail.

Historical Boarding School Healing Symposium Press Release

Matthew L.M. Fletcher2 Comments

Historical Boarding School Healing Symposium provides

framework for moving forward

 

Boulder, Colo. – May 19, 2011 – More than 30 representatives from the Boarding School Healing Project, Native American Rights Fund, American Indian Law Clinic at the University of Colorado Law School, and Human Rights Clinic at the University of Wyoming and other organizations came together on May 14-15, 2011 to create a framework for healing from the abuses suffered by American Indian children as a result of the U.S. boarding school policy.

“This is a historical event, one that gives optimism that something is really going to happen,” said Don Coyhis of White Bison, Inc.

The goal of the two-day conference was to discuss and craft a national strategy to achieve both national recognition of and an apology for the wrongs visited upon individuals and communities of Indian Country by the U.S. boarding school policy. The strategy would also seek reparations to provide the framework for healing the wounds from these historic and enduring wrongs.

“Intergenerational trauma was a huge theme of the conference,” said Jill Tompkins, director of the American Indian Law Clinic at Colorado Law. “American Indian children forced into the boarding school system later on unintentionally imposed onto their children and their children’s children the scars of growing up without knowledge of their language and their culture, without affection and without a loving family support network.  When they finally returned to their tribal communities, they did not know who they were or where they fit anymore. “

Continue reading →

Stacy Leeds Named Dean at Arkansas-Fayetteville Law School — First American Indian Female Law Dean

Matthew L.M. Fletcher4 Comments

Incredible news!!!!

Here is the link the news release. And the text:

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Stacy L. Leeds, interim associate dean for academic affairs, professor of law and director of the Tribal Law and Government Center at the University of Kansas School of Law, has been named dean of the University of Arkansas School of Law. She will assume her duties effective July 1.

“We are honored to welcome Dean Leeds to the University of Arkansas,” said G. David Gearhart, university chancellor. “As a nationally recognized scholar, judge and administrator, she is the ideal person to guide our law school to unprecedented heights.”

Leeds has focused her teaching and extensive research on property, natural resources and American Indian law. While at the Kansas School of Law she has served as interim associate dean for academic affairs and as director of the Tribal Law and Government Center. Prior to joining Kansas, she was a professor and director of the Northern Plains Indian Law Center at the University of North Dakota School of Law. She began her career of teaching law at the University of Wisconsin School of Law, where she served as a William H. Hastie Fellow. She received her master of laws degree from the University of Wisconsin, her juris doctor from the University of Tulsa, her master of business administration from the University of Tennessee and her bachelor of arts degree from Washington University in St. Louis.

Among her many honors, Leeds was awarded the prestigious Fletcher Fellowship to support her work on tribal sovereignty and citizenship issues. As a Fletcher Fellow, she was named a nonresident fellow of the W.E.B. DuBois Institute at Harvard University during the 2008-09 academic year. In addition, she has served as a judge for many tribes including the Cherokee Nation, where she was the only woman and youngest person to ever serve as a Supreme Court Justice.

“Since first meeting Stacy Leeds, I have been impressed with her visionary leadership and drive,” said Sharon Gaber, university provost. “She not only has innovative ideas for moving the law school forward and building on its proud tradition, but the ability to see those ideas through to fruition.”

“I am truly honored to join the University of Arkansas family at this moment in the life of the law school,” Leeds said. “Under Dean Nance’s leadership, the work of the faculty, staff and students has garnered national attention. I am excited to join the law school community at a time of such immeasurable possibilities for continued successes.”

Leeds, a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, becomes the first American Indian woman to serve as dean of a law school. Leeds will replace Cynthia Nance, who has served as dean since her five-year appointment in 2006. Nance will return to the faculty as professor of law after spending a year on a research appointment.

“We are very grateful to Cynthia Nance for all she has done for the School of Law and for the University of Arkansas,” said Gaber. “Her tireless work on campus and her outreach to the bar and our alumni have been invaluable in guiding the law school to greater national prominence.”

Update on Iowa Magistrate that Lambasted Tribal Immunity

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

In short, he’s been suspended, at least partially. Here is the news clip.

And an excerpt:

It is unknown if the action is linked to either of two rulings made recently by Vander Mey which garnered headlines.

On April 20, Vander Mey handed down a ruling in a small claims case which found the Sac and Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa was not sovereign and could be ordered in Iowa Magistrate Court to pay the small claim for money owed to a pit boss who had been fired by the Tribal-owned Meskwaki Bingo • Casino.

On May 5, Vander Mey ordered a drunken driving suspect released because she was not brought before the court within 24 hours of her arrest by Meskwaki Nation Tribal Police. He ruled this violated the defendant’s right to a court appearence according to the Iowa Code.

That ruling has been appealed by Assistant Tama County Attorney Niki A.S. Whitacre.

And a link to the ruling that started this.

Department of Indian Affairs ~ Department of Aboriginal Affairs. What’s In a Name?

Peter Scott Vicaire

After the recent election, Prime Minister Stephen Harper shuffled his relatively large cabinet (39 Ministers) around and after the political dust settled, John Duncan remained in his former position as Minister of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada.  But Indian and Northern Affairs Canada underwent a name change; it is now called Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development.  The name change has been met with trepidation by some, while others heartily welcome it. 

Alas, if only getting rid of the Indian Act were so easy. 

Here’s an article from the Globe and Mail.

NYTs: Sixth Circuit “Most Dysfunctional Federal Appeals Court in the Nation”

Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

Here is a link to the article. And links to the materials in the underlying complaint here and here (from How Appealing).

An excerpt from the article:

The Belle Meade Country Club in Nashville has about 600 voting members. None of them are women, and none of them are black. But one of them is a federal judge.

In a confidential 10-to-8 decision last month, the Judicial Council of the Sixth Circuit, which hears misconduct complaints about federal judges in Tennessee and three other states, said the judge could keep his membership at Belle Meade.

The ruling opens windows on two odd institutions. One is a fading country club that was once an arbiter of success in Nashville’s social, political and business circles. The other is the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, which sits in Cincinnati and is surely the most dysfunctional federal appeals court in the nation.

“The record before this court paints a picture of Belle Meade as an old boys’ club that considers and admits Caucasian male applicants on a different basis than African-American and female applicants,” Judge R. Guy Cole Jr. wrote in a dissent from last month’s ruling. “We federal judges must sometimes make sacrifices for the honor of the office we hold, and the judge’s membership in Belle Meade should have been one of them.”

Wha?!?! Hydropower Surplus May Force Oregon to Shut Down Wind Power

Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

Here is the article.

Miigwetch to A.K.