The Native American Rights Fund has provided legal assistance to Tribes in Alaska since NARF’s founding in the early 1970s. In 1984, NARF opened an Alaska office so it could better serve Alaska Native Tribes and individuals. In the 40 years since NARF Alaska opened its doors, the office has litigated some of the most influential cases in the development of federal Indian law in Alaska. Below is an overview of the foundational work that NARF has done with and on behalf of Alaska Native Tribal governments and people.
voting rights
Native voters in North Dakota urge Eighth Circuit to reinstate voting rights and fair maps
Here is the briefing on Turtle Mountain and Spirit Lake’s Petition for Re Hearing
2025.06.04 Amici of NAACP Arkansas State Conference and Arkansas Public Policy Panel [23-3655]Download
Eighth Circuit Vacates Voting Rights Act Win for Turtle Mountain and Spirit Lake Tribes
Here is the opinion in Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians v. Howe. Here is a related opinion in Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians v. North Dakota Legislative Assembly.
Prior post on the trial proceedings.
Briefs in the main case:
Lawyers Committee Amicus Brief
No goddam justice in this country anymore.
U.S. Supreme Court denies cert in Montana voting rights case
On January 21, 2025, in Jacobsen, MT Sec. of State v. Montana Democratic Party, et al., the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review the Montana Supreme Court’s decision that two Montana laws that disenfranchise Native American voters are unconstitutional. The Blackfeet Nation, the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Reservation, the Fort Belknap Indian Community, the Northern Cheyenne Tribe, Western Native Voice, and Montana Native Voice have repeatedly won their challenges to two Montana laws that suppressed the Native vote in Montana by restricting access.
The Montana Legislature passed HB 176 to eliminate Election Day registration, which Native American voters disproportionately rely on to cast votes in Montana. Legislators passed HB 530 to restrict third-party ballot assistance, a service that aids Native voters living on reservations who may have to travel hours to the nearest polling location due to systemic inequities. The lower courts ruled, and the Montana Supreme Court affirmed, that the laws violate provisions of the Montana Constitution, including the right to vote, equal protection, free speech, and due process.
This is the second time that Montana Legislators passed restrictions on ballot collection that the courts determined discriminated against Native voters.
More here.
North Dakota Native Voting Rights Upheld by Supreme Court
On January 13, 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court decided the Walen v. Burgum redistricting lawsuit and affirmed the U.S. District Court for the District of North Dakota decision that preserves North Dakota House District 4A, a subdistrict that gives Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation voters a long-awaited opportunity to elect representatives of their choice. The lower court determined that state legislators were endeavoring to comply with Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act and redistricting best practices by creating an election subdistrict along the boundaries of the MHA reservation as part of 2021 redistricting.
While the MHA Nation sided with the state to defend subdistrict 4A, North Dakota abandoned its own win during the appeal to the Supreme Court, failing to advocate for the state legislature’s voting map and citizens’ rights.
SCT Amicus Brief in Voting Rights Case
The Every Day Fight for Voting Rights in North Dakota
House Democrats’ Report on Native Voting
Here.
Tribal Amicus Brief in Wis. SCT Redistricting Case
Turtle Mountain and Spirit Lake Win Redistricting Lawsuit Against North Dakota
On November 17, 2023, the North Dakota federal district court ruled in favor of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians and the Spirit Lake Nation against the North Dakota Secretary of State. The Plaintiffs proved at trial that the North Dakota legislative redistricting plan violates Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act (VRA) by diluting the voting strength of Native American voters living on and near both reservations. The state has been ordered to submit a VRA compliant redistricting plan to the court by December 22, 2023.
The Order is here:
Previous post on this matter here and PR here.
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