Grand Ronde Enacts Marriage Equality Statute

Here.

Upcoming Workshop: Tribal Marijuana in California

Announcement and agenda here.

The workshop is offered by Odawi Law PLLC and Harris Moure PLLC and will be at the Embassy Suites in Sacramento, CA, on Monday, October 5, 2015.  It is free to Tribal officials.

Reminder: AALS Indian Nations & Indigenous Peoples Call for Papers on Same-Sex Marriage & LGBT Families

The deadline is coming up 9/1. Please submit if you have a qualifying research project and also feel free to share widely:

The Indian Nations and Indigenous Peoples Section of the American Association of Law Schools (AALS) invites paper proposals on the following topic. How do Indian Tribes, First Nations, and other Indigenous Peoples regulate same-sex marriage, same-sex relationships, and adoption and foster parenting by same-sex couples and LGBT individuals? What role does evidence of Tribal culture and tradition, if any, play in these decisions? Additionally, what are the processes by which Tribes change their laws with respect to same-sex relationships? More broadly, we are interested in the ways in which Tribes, First Nations and other Indigenous Peoples regulate sexuality and family structure.

Please send proposals of 500 to 1000 words summarizing a paper or work-in-progress you would present on an AALS panel on these issues. The selected panelists will be invited to present their work in a joint program of the Indian Nations and Indigenous Peoples and the Law and Anthropology Section, which will be co-sponsored by the Family Law Section. The Program will be held at the AALS Annual Meeting, January 6-10, 2016. Selected papers will be published in the William Mitchell Law Review. Please submit your proposal on or before September 1, 2015 to Michalyn Steele, Chair-Elect, at steelem@law.byu.edu. Questions can also be directed to Ann Tweedy, Chair.

TLPI Code Resource: Drafting or Revising Tribal Juvenile Justice Codes

The Tribal Law and Policy Institute (TLPI) is pleased to announce a new Tribal Legal Code Resource publication – A Guide for Drafting or Revising Tribal Juvenile Delinquency and Status Offense Laws – which is the most recent addition to TLPI’s Tribal Legal Code Resource series. This resource was developed with support from both the U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) Tribal Youth Program Training and Technical Assistance Center. Please note that the June 2015 version – available through TLPI’s Tribal Court Clearinghouse www.TLPI.org – includes an interactive version with extensive internal and external links and downloadable PDF format.

IBIA Vacates and Remands Nooksack Enrollment Ordinance Decision by BIA Superintendent

Here is the order and opinion:

7-9-15 271 Order Vacating Decision and Remanding

News coverage here.

Survey of Tribal Child Welfare Codes by NNI and NICWA

Poster version of the research here.

National Native American Bar Association Issues Formal Ethics Opinion on Duties of Advocates in Tribal Disenrollment Proceedings

Here is ethics opinion number 1: “Duties of Tribal Court Advocates to Ensure Due Process  Afforded to All Individuals Targeted for Disenrollment”:

National Native American Bar Association Formal Ethics Opinion No. 1

This follows up an earlier resolution from NNABA.

 

Tribes and Same-Sex Marriage in Columbia Human Rights Law Review

My article on tribal laws relating to same-sex marriage has just been published in Columbia Human Rights Law Review. It delves into the twelve tribal laws that allow same-sex marriage and also looks at tribal DOMAs, tribal domestic partnership laws, and other tribal laws that bear on same-sex marriage. Finally, it addresses the somewhat limited effects Windsor and the future Supreme Court decision in Obergefell are likely to have on tribal DOMAs.

Thanks to everyone who provided information on tribal laws. I couldn’t have done it without you!

New Scholarship on Tribal Disenrollments

Arizona Law Review announces its publication of Galanda and Dreveskracht’s piece entitled Curing the Tribal Disenrollment Epidemic: In Search of a Remedy, which has been described as “a must read for all of Indian country” by Indian law scholar Robert A. Williams, Jr. Please see the press release for additional information.

Recent Native America Calling Shows on Tribal Member Disenrollments, Blood Quantum, and Banishment

Here:

http://nativeamericacalling.com/tuesday-may-5-2015-banishment-good-or-bad-for-tribal-communities/

http://nativeamericacalling.com/wednesday-may-6-2015-tribal-enrollment-and-blood-quantum/