Student Activities

Udall Congressional Internship Information 2012

Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

Fully-Funded Congressional Internship for Native American and Alaska Native Students!

If you’re committed to applying your education and training directly to solving problems in Indian Country and are interested in learning about policy issues that impact Native communities, check out the Udall Foundation’s Native American Congressional Internship Program!

The Native American Congressional Internship is a ten-week summer internship in Washington, DC for Native American and Alaska Native students who wish to learn more about the federal government and issues affecting Indian country. Interns work in congressional and agency offices where they have opportunities to research legislative issues important to tribal communities, network with key public officials and tribal advocacy groups, experience an insider’s view of the federal government, and enhance their understanding of nation-building and tribal self-governance.

The Udall Foundation provides housing, travel to and from DC, a per diem for everyday expenses, and an educational stipend at the close of the program. Current graduate students, law students, and undergraduate juniors and seniors are eligible to apply along with recent graduates of four-year and tribal colleges.

For full eligibility requirements and additional information, please visit www.udall.gov or contact Mia Ibarra at Ibarra@udall.gov.

Application Deadline:  January 31, 2012

Michigan Law Student Protest at Commencement against Anti-Gay Senator

ilpc1 Comment

Here (video link also):

In many ways Senior Day 2011 at the Michigan Law School was like any other commencement ceremony. Graduates donned caps and gowns. They discussed their time together and their plans for the future. Families asked passersby to snap photos of themselves with the new lawyer in the clan. Graduates and guests laughed politely at Dean Evan Caminker’s attempts at humor. It was a day of celebration.

But it was also a time for protest.

As families and friends entered Hill Auditorium they were handed a pamphlet explaining how this year’s Senior Day ceremony would be a little bit different than normal. The pamphlet explained the students’ plans to walk out during Senator Rob Portman’s commencement address.

Portman, a 1984 alum of the law school, was a six-term congressman before being tapped by President George W. Bush in 2005 to serve as the U.S. Trade Representative and, later, director of the Office of Management and the Budget, both cabinet-level positions. He was elected to the U.S. Senate in November 2010.

Portman came under fire for his voting record. He has opposed gay adoption in Washington, D.C. and opposes gay marriage. A number of students who took part in the protest said that such views are incompatible with basic, human dignity.

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National NALSA Election Results

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

The new National NALSA board is:

 

President

Shawn Watts

Columbia Law School

 

Vice President

James Simermeyer

University of New Mexico School of Law

 

Secretary

Christina Snider

UCLA School of Law

 

Treasurer

Caitlin Smith

Columbia Law School

 

American Bar Association Liaison

Jenny Patten

Columbia Law School

 

Public Relations Director

Precious Benally

Columbia Law School

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Michigan NALSA Indian Law Day — April 1, 2011

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is the schedule:

Rights, Resources, Respect: Native American Environmental & Land Use Issues

Michigan Law School, Room 132 Hutchins Hall

12:00 pm: Light lunch

12:15 pm: Colette Routel, Assistant Professor of Law at WilliamMitchell College of Law (speaking about the intersection ofenvironmental & Indian law)

1:00 pm: Matthew L.M. Fletcher, Associate Professor of Law & Directorof the Indigenous Law & Policy Center of Michigan State University College of Law and Nick Reo, Post-Doc, University of Michigan Schoolof Natural Resources & Environment (speaking about traditionalindigenous knowledge and how it might help to influence environmentalpolicy)

1:50 pm: 10 minute break

2:00 pm: Kirsten Carlson, Indian Law Resource Center (discussing howtribes can encourage the mainstream environmental community torecognize them separate sovereigns who can manage their ownenvironmental affairs)

2:45 pm: End

 

Montana NALSA Indian Law Week Announcement — April 11-14, 2011

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Indian Law Week

Weeklong event examines critical issues
in Indian Law and Indian Country

Missoula, MT, March 18, 2011  —  Nationally-renowned leaders and educators in Indian Country will gather at the University of Montana School of Law on Monday, April 11, to Thursday, April 14, as part of the annual University of Montana, School of Law Indian Law Week, hosted by the University of Montana Native American Law Student Association (NALSA).  In a weeklong series of events, Indian Law experts will examine critical legal issues affecting Indian Country in 2011.  The speaker series is free and open to the public.

On Monday, April 11, at noon, Indian Law Week will kick off with an hour-long panel discussion “Expansion of Montana v. U.S: A 30-year Reflection.”  The panel, which will feature University of Montana Law School Professor Raymond Cross and attorney Urban Bear Don’t Walk Sr., will examine the United States Supreme Court decision that significantly limited tribal jurisdiction, how the decision has been used and interpreted the past three decades, and how the decision continues to impact Indian law today.

On Tuesday, April 12 at noon, the panel, “Comparative Law in Indian Country,” will examine the different and unique laws that exist within individual American Indian Tribes in the state of Montana.  This panel, which will feature Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribal Attorney John Harrison, University of Montana Law School Professor Elizabeth Kronk, and Crow Joint Lead Executive Counsel Heather Whiteman Runs Him, will examine what every Montanan should know when dealing with individual tribes; what every Montanan should know when doing business with individual tribes; and what every Montanan should know when entering tribal land.

On Wednesday, April 13, at noon, United States Attorney Michael Cotter will discuss the “Tribal Law and Order Act,” signed into law by President Barack Obama on July 29, 2010.  The law has been touted as an important step forward by the federal government in addressing public safety challenges unique to tribal communities.

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MSU NALSA Event Today at Noon

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

The Native American Law Students Association invites you to lunch and  a panel discussion on Native American freedom of religion and the law.

Castle Board Room12:00p.m.Monday, March 28th, 2011

The discussion will focus on the James Arthur Ray Sweat Lodge Trial;  and the Declaration of War Against Exploiters of Lakota Spirituality.

The panelists include Clarence Syrette, and Professors Frank Ravitch  and Matthew Fletcher.

Clarence Syrette will be speaking about the traditional significance  of Native American spiritual ceremonies from his perspective as a  medicine man.

Professor Frank Ravitch and Professor Matthew Fletcher will be sharing  their insights on the American Indian Religious Freedom Act and other  laws as they apply to the case.

California Powwow is “Disingenuous” and “Cheap”

Peter Scott Vicaire3 Comments

** UPDATE — March 22 — ** The writer of the article has released an apology.  It can be found on the first two pages of Issue “68-08,” along with a message from the editor and several letters to the editor concerning the article.  Here’s a link to the online copy.

The student newspaper, “Union Weekly” at Cal State Long Beach, published an article last week concerning a  powwow which took place on campus.  It really speaks for itself. 

Here’s a link to the newspaper’s Facebook page.

2011 University of Michigan Powwow Announcement — THIS WEEKEND

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Wisconsin ILSA’s 25th Annual Conference Agenda (March 25-26, 2011)

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

2011 Conference

25th Annual Coming Together of Peoples Conference

ILSA will be hosting its 25th Annual Coming Together of Peoples Conference at the University of Wisconsin Law School March 25-26, 2011.

Thursday night we will have a reception to welcome our guests at Brocach Irish Pub from 7:30 to 9:30 pm.

FRIDAY:

Welcome, Drum Ceremony and Prayer at 9:30 am, room 2260

Risky Investments? Tribal Debt & Finance After Wells Fargo v. Lake of Torches
9:45-11:15 am, room 2260
Aaron Harkins
Gavin Clarkson
Jeff Carey

Workers Rights Meet Tribal Sovereignty
11:15 am-12:30 pm, room 2260
Dawn Baum
D. Michael McBride
Kevin Wadzinski

ILSA and 25 Years of Federal Indian Law and Policy
Keynote by Larry Roberts, general counsel, NIGC
1:45-2:45 pm, room 2260

Dueling Sovereigns: Collecting Taxes in Indian Country
3-4:30 pm, room 2260
Brian Pierson
Jed Roher
Gabe Galanda
Anthony Broadman

Reception with special guest Edmund Manydeeds
5-7 pm, Law School Atrium
Mr. Manydeeds is a UW Law alumnus, civil trial attorney, and member of the UW Board of Regents. He has served on the governor’s Judicial Selection Committee and with the Office of Lawyer Regulation.

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Final Results in 2011 NNALSA Moot Court Competition @ Columbia

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Best Advocate (team)
First Place – Keani Alapa & H. Maxwell Kopper – University of Hawaii
Second Place – Briana Coyle & Andy Murphy – University of Washington
Third Place – Jenny Patten & Jason Hipp – Columbia Law School

Best Oralist (individual)
First Place – Amy Conners – Columbia Law School
Second Place – Ayman Mourad – Lewis & Clark Law School
Third Place (tied) – Sherri Mitchell, University of Arizona & Elika Stimpson, University of Hawaii

Best Brief
First Place – Jacqueline de Armas & Maureen Keffer – Stanford Law School
Second Place – Beth Baldwin & Anne Mariah Tapp – University of Colorado
Third Place – Libby Moulton & Inbar Gal – Columbia Law School