Symposia

Dalia Tsuk Mitchell’s Book on Felix Cohen Wins National Award

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

From Legal History Blog:

The Littleton-Griswold Prize for the best book in American law and society will be awarded to Dalia Tsuk Mitchell for Architect of Justice: Felix S. Cohen and the Founding of American Legal Pluralism (Cornell Univ. Press, 2006) at the annual meeting of the American Historical Association in January.

We will be hosting Prof. Tsuk Mitchell at the Center this spring to discuss her book, along with Sam Hirsch of Jenner & Block, Riyaz Kanji of Kanji & Katzen, Christian McMillen of the University of Virginia, and Sam Deloria of the American Indian Graduate Center. That day’s panels will be discussing the legacy of Felix S. Cohen.

Montana Indian Country Voting Rights Case

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

An anti-tribal group called Citizens Equal Rights Alliance attempted to bring a Section 2 Voting Rights Act claim. This week, the federal district court dismissed this claim. [H/T to Indianz]

The complaint is here.

The State of Montana’s motion to dismiss is here: Motion to Dismiss

CERA’s response is here: Opposition to Motion to Dismiss

Montana’s reply brief is here: Reply in Support of Motion to Dismiss

Order Dismissing Action: Order

The ACLU Voting Rights Project attempted to intervene in the action, but the judge dismissed the case before ruling on the motion — Brief in Support of Motion to Intervene.

We at the ILPC are pleased to note that we will be hosting a mini-symposium on the Voting Rights Act in Indian Country next semester. We’ll have Laughlin McDonald of the Voting Rights Project, Ellen Katz of the University of Michigan Law School, and Daniel McCool and Susan Olson of the University of Utah. Profs. McCool and Olson are co-authors of the new book — Native Vote: American Indians, Voting Rights, and the Right to Vote (Cambridge).

Native Heritage Month at MSU

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

You can download the calendar here: MSU Native Heritage Month Calendar

Highlights include Pat LeBeau’s talk on mascots on the 7th and NALSA’s panel, Tribal Extinction, featuring Marilyn Vann of the Cherokee Freedmen, on the 9th.

“Indian Treaties and the Survival of the Great Lakes”

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

As part of the Michigan State Law Review Symposium, The Great Lakes Compact, we (Profs. Singel & Fletcher) published a short paper, “Indian Treaties and the Survival of the Great Lakes.” The paper and symposium are now online.

Other authors include without limitation Jim Olson, Austen Parrish, Dan Tarlock, and Mark Squillace. Check it out.

Larry Plamondon and the “Keith Case”

Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

We had the pleasure of hearing the story of Larry Plamondon, a member of the Grand River Band of Ottawa Indians, who was the defendant in the famous “Keith Case,” known in the U.S. Reporter as United States v. District Court, 407 U.S. 297 (1972). The “Keith Case” was announced by the Court on June 19, 1972 — two days after the famous Watergate burglary.

Here’s how Larry tells it in his memoir, “Lost From the Ottawa: The Story of the Journey Back.”

“Though I didn’t know it at the time this Supreme Court decision and the Watergate break-in were connected. Years later it was explained to me.

“It went down like this: The Justices decided the Supreme Court wiretap issue on Friday the 16th of June. According to Court rules the decision was to be kept secret until it was released by the Court [–] in this case, the following Monday. However, someone at the High Court (Rehnquist, or his clerk?) notified the White House and informed them the wiretap issue had been lost.

“This meant that any wiretaps installed by the Executive branch, or its agents, or Nixon’s re-election committee would be illegal on Monday, the 19th, when the ruling was made public. The Watergate burglars were sent in to the Democratic National Headquarters to retrieve the electronic listening devices on Saturday, the 18th of June, before the Monday release of the decision made warrantless wiretaps unconstitutional. The rest, as they say, sucks.”

Plamondon at 276.

I haven’t been able to find (in my ten minutes of research) whether or not anyone other than Larry and a couple conspiracy theorists have made this serious claim. If Rehnquist, who sat out the Keith case deliberations because he was personally involved in the prosecution of Larry Plamondon, or one of his clerks, called the White House to give them a heads up about the outcome AND that communication inspired the Watergate break-in, then … whew!

Squaxin Island: 4th Annual Tribal Water Rights Conference – Climate Change: Impacts to Water, Fish, Cultures, Economies, and Rights

Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

4th Annual Tribal Water Rights Conference – Climate Change: Impacts to Water, Fish, Cultures, Economies, and Rights

When:  October 24-25, 2007

Where:  Squaxin Island Tribe’s Little Creek Casino Resort, Shelton

Agenda and Registration:  http://www.wateradvocacy.org

The Center for Water Advocacy, the Squaxin Island Tribe, and the Indian Law Sections of the Washington and Oregon State Bars are sponsoring the Fourth Annual Northwest Tribal Water Rights Conference to take place at the Squaxin Island Tribe’s Little Creek Casino Resort in Shelton. The conference will address a broad range of areas relating to the impact of climate change on the reduction of stream flows and how such reductions impact tribal interests in the Pacific Northwest.

With your participation, we expect to create a regional dialogue to address an urgent need communicated by tribes to become more united in confronting global warming and protecting tribal fisheries, instream flows, treaty rights, and water quality. This year, we will focus not only on recent information suggesting that climate change is proceeding more rapidly than anticipated, but also on strategies for addressing these issues.

As part of the conference, please join us for a reception and complimentary refreshments hosted by the Squaxin Island Tribe on Wednesday, October 24, at the Squaxin Island Museum Library and Research Center in Shelton from 5:00-7:00 pm. We have invited Winona LaDuke, executive director of Honor the Earth, to be our special guest at the reception.

For questions regarding the conference, please contact: Terry Shepherd, conference coordinator, nepatalk@uci.net or 970-420-9148.

Cost:  $275

Approved for 9.5 CLE credits (includes 1.0 ethics)

Frank Pommersheim’s “Present Moment: A Zen Reflection on Indian Law Doctrine”

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Frank Pommersheim will be speaking at our conference, which begins tomorrow night.

Frank Pommersheim

Here is a snippet of his work, from UCLA’s Indigenous Peoples’ Journal of Law, Culture & Resistance.

American Indian Law & Literature — Speaker Bios & Abstracts

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Please visit the Indigenous Law Conference website for links to the speakers’ bios, abstracts, and papers.

Formatting is a bit messy on this page — sorry.

We Made Indianz.Com!!!!

Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

Here’s the short article — with a dashing photo of our keynote, Frank Ettawageshik.

Of course, Indianz profiled our conference from last spring as well. As did the State News.

Miigwetch!

American Indian Law & Lit Speakers Profile — Richard Delgado & Jean Stefancic

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

We are pleased to welcome Richard Delgado and Jean Stefancic to East Lansing this weekend. They will be presenting a talk entitled, “Crossover.”

They are both very prolific writers and have been pioneers in the development of Critical Race Theory. And Richard has published several articles related to Indian law and policy, see, e.g., here and here. Jean and Richard co-authored a recent book of law and literature, “How Lawyers Lose Their Way: A Profession Loses Its Creative Minds” (Duke, 2005).