Turtle Talk

Turtle Mountain and Spirit Lake Win Redistricting Lawsuit Against North Dakota

November 29, 2023Matthew Campbell

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:

tm-order Download

Previous post on this matter here and PR here.

Ninth Circuit Briefs in L.B. v. United States [sexual assault by tribal police]

November 29, 2023June 6, 2024Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here:

Opening Brief.pdf Download

Federal Answer Brief.pdf Download

Tribal Amicus Brief.pdf Download

ACLU Amicus Brief.pdf Download

Reply.pdf Download

~~Other briefs TK.~~

Here are the federal district court materials:

134 US Motion.pdf Download

138 L.B. Response.pdf Download

141 Reply.pdf Download

149 DCT Order.pdf Download

Montana SCT decision here.

Breanna Bollig on Indian Education Rights

November 28, 2023Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Breanna K. Bollig has published “Improving Public Schools: What Advocates Can Learn From Indian Education Rights” in the Journal of Law and Education.

An except:

Unbeknownst to most education advocates, though, is that Indian education rights provide critical lessons on how to improve schools and the right to education. Just as tribal nations—as separate sovereigns that are capable of enacting their own laws—are considered “laboratories of legal innovation,” there is massive potential for studying Indian education rights. With its successes and failures, education advocates can look to Indian education rights to better develop a strategy to improve public schools. In fact, education advocates could have much needed guidance in asking vital questions surrounding inadequate and inequitable public schools. For example, how should the states and the federal government share the responsibility of education in the United States? How should a federal right to education be created? How can we better hold inadequate and inequitable schools accountable? What other strategies can we use to improve inadequate and inequitable schools?

New Mexico COA Dismisses Effort to Force School District Consultation with Navajo Nation over Reopening of Schools During Pandemic

November 27, 2023November 27, 2023Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is the order in National Education Association of New Mexico v. Central Consolidated School District (N.M. Ct. App.):

October 25, 2023- National Education Association of New Mexico v. Central Consolidated School District, No. A-1-CA-39830.pdf Download

North Carolina Federal Court Dismisses Employment Action against Harrah’s EBCI Casino [Rule 19]

November 27, 2023Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here are the materials in Peterson v. Harrah’s NC Casino Company LLC (W.D. N.C.):

1 Complaint.pdf Download

16 Motion to Dismiss.pdf Download

18 Opposition.pdf Download

19 Reply.pdf Download

24 Surreply.pdf Download

25 DCT Order.pdf Download

SCOTUS Grants and Consolidates Indian Health Service Cert Petitions on Contract Support Costs for Third Party Income

November 21, 2023Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here was yesterday’s order list.

The petitions are here.

Thank you Indigenous Law Conference speakers, attendees, and sponsors!

November 20, 2023Monica Williamson

Thank you to everyone who participated in the 2023 Indigenous Law Conference!

TICA CHAMPIONS ⚖️
-Cherokee Nation
-Chickasaw Nation
-Fields Han Cunniff PLLC
-Invenio Tribal Law
-Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein
-Sonosky, Chambers, Sachse, Miller & Monkman, LLP

TICA SUPPORTERS 💪🏼
-Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP
-Casino Del Sol, Pascua Yaqui Tribe
-Choctaw Nation
-Earthjustice
-Hogen Adams
-Holland & Knight
-Industrial Economics, Incorporated
-Jill Grant & Associates, LLC
-Ocotillo Law & Policy Partners
-Rothstein Donatelli, LLP
-The Circle Law Group, P.C.
-Williamson Creative Agency

PANEL SPONSORS 🌟
-Greetham Law, P.L.L.C.
-Historical Research -Associates, Inc.
-Kutak Rock
-Native American Rights Fund

RECEPTION SPONSORS🌹
-Hobbs, Straus, Dean & Walker, LLP
-Red Maple Consulting

OTHER SPONSORS 🌅
-Maynes, Bradford, Shipps, Sheftel LLP
-Indigenous Law and Policy Center at MSU Law
-Tribal In-House Counsel Association

D.C. Federal Court Declines to Enjoin Interior Work to Organize California Valley Miwok Tribe

November 20, 2023Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here are the materials in the case captioned California Valley Miwok Tribe v. Haaland (D.D.C.):

1 Complaint

37 Motion for Preliminary Injunction

38 Response

39 Reply

40 DCT Order

Kekek Stark on Indian Policing

November 20, 2023Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Kekek Jason Stark has [published “Indian Policing: Agents of Assimilation” in the Case Western Law Review. PDF

An excerpt:

In the wake of the protests calling for police reform, driven by the events surrounding the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Michael Brown, and so many others, including Cecil Lacy (Tulalip Tribes) and Rene Davis (Muckleshoot Indian Tribe), as well as the sexual assault at the hands of the police involving L.B. (Northern Cheyenne Tribe), I began to question the role and history that the police have played in Indian Country as agents of assimilation. While conducting research for this Article, it became apparent that following the enactment of the Indian Civil Rights Act, a lot of work and research was conducted on the status of tribal justice systems. Considering the recent events detailed above, this Article seeks to further that earlier analysis and ask the question: Where are we at with our efforts to re-indigenize Indian Country policing fifty years later? This Article attempts to begin to answer that question.