Turtle Talk

POSTPONED: CLE on Native American Tribal Claims and Federal Jurisdiction on Oct. 9

October 9, 2023Kate Fort

Due to prior and ongoing Congressional nonsense, this event has been postponed till March. If you have registered, you need not register again. You will automatically receive a new link. We are sorry for the inconvenience.

October 9, 2023 | 12:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Castle Board Room
Live Stream also available

Minnesota Credits Pending Approval: 2 hours

Course Description
Native American Tribes and Nations are self-governing sovereigns that exist simultaneously within the United States, yet separate and apart from many Federal and State laws and institutions. This panel explores the unique claims of American Indians and Alaska Natives and the Tribes, Nations, Pueblos, and Rancherias to which many belong. Specifically, it will analyze the Indian Tucker Act and its implications on Native American tribal claims within the United States. Participants will gain a thorough understanding of the jurisdictional scope and the substantive legal principles underlying tribal claims against the federal government within the United States Court of Federal Claims.

Attendees will delve into the complexities of tribal claims and fiduciary duties, while examining the historical context and legal frameworks that underpin these disputes.

Kathryn Fort, Clinic Director, will provide introduction and welcome. This panel of participants will include Judge David A. Tapp of the United States Court of Federal Claims; Joel West Williams, Deputy Solicitor for Indian Affairs in the Department of Interior; Frank Singer, senior litigation counsel with the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, representing the Defendant’s perspective; and Thomas Peckham of Nordhaus Law Firm, LLC representing the Tribal Plaintiffs’ perspective.

California Federal Court Dismisses Suit by Treatment Center against Salt River

October 9, 2023Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here are the materials in Dedicato Treatment Center Inc. v. Salt River Pima Maricopa Indian Community (C.D. Cal.):

22 DCT Order Dismissing under Rule 19.pdf Download

24 First Amended Complaint.pdf Download

36-1 Motion to Dismiss.pdf Download

38 Opposition.pdf Download

39 Reply.pdf Download

40-1 Motion for Sanctions.pdf Download

42 DCT Order.pdf Download

New Student Scholarship on Ecocide as Prosecutable Genocide

October 9, 2023Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Abbey Koenning-Rutherford has published “Dishonoring the Earth: Ecocide as Prosecutable Genocide Against Indigenous People” in the Georgetown Law Journal. PDF

Here is the abstract:

Global Indigenous people exist as one with the environment, with no western binary between people and nature. Destruction of Indigenous people is reciprocal with environmental destruction. Indigenous people, though only six percent of the global population, protect eighty percent of the world’s biodiversity and occupy exceedingly environmentally vulnerable regions. Because of these reasons, the International Criminal Court (the “ICC”) could be utilized to achieve justice by prosecuting ecocide as genocide, should impacted Indigenous peoples choose to utilize it

UC Davis NALSA Culture Week Events

October 9, 2023Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Arizona COA Holds State Court Does Not Have Jurisdiction over Tribal Member Defendant in Claim Arising on State Highway on Reservation

October 6, 2023Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is the opinion in Medina v. Estate of Cody:

1 CA-CV 22-0709 – Medina v. Chee – Opinion.pdf Download

An excerpt:

The issue before us is whether a plaintiff who is not an enrolled tribal member may bring a civil tort case in state court against an enrolled tribal member for conduct occurring within tribal reservation boundaries but on a stretch of land for which the State has been granted a highway right-of-way easement. We hold that a non-tribal plaintiff bringing such a case cannot hale a nonconsenting enrolled tribal member defendant into state court for actions arising out of conduct on the defendant’s reservation, even when that conduct occurs on a state highway. Accordingly, we affirm.