Wisconsin Law School’s Hastie Program — Applications Due 2/1/22

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Highly recommended!

The University of Wisconsin Law School invites applications for its William H. Hastie Fellowship Program. For over 40 years, the Hastie Fellowship has provided aspiring scholars an outstanding opportunity to prepare for a career in law teaching.  Hastie Fellows have succeeded at securing tenure-track positions at law schools throughout the country, including Columbia, UCLA, Indiana, Colorado, ASU, Texas A&M, Ohio State, UNC, Washington & Lee, UC Irvine, and USC. The Fellowship reflects a commitment to diversity and inclusion in the legal profession and especially encourages applications from candidates of color and other underrepresented communities in the legal academy. Hastie Fellows devote the majority of their time to their own research agenda, researching and writing scholarly articles with support from a faculty advisor and the Hastie Fellowship Committee. Fellows also have the option of teaching a course or seminar during the program. The Hastie Fellowship Program encourages scholarship in the full range of law studies. Wisconsin has a particularly strong tradition supporting interdisciplinary work.

For further information, please visit https://law.wisc.edu/grad/hastie/index.html. Applications are due February 1, 2021.

Prior Native Hastie fellows now teaching in law schools (clockwise from upper left, Stacy Leeds, Richard Monette, and Mike Oeser).

Earthjustice Law Student Opportunity

gabrielagendreau

Spring 2022 Legal Externship / Volunteer Opportunity – Drinking Water. Remote. Under the supervision of an attorney. Duties include: (1) Working in the development and prosecution of litigation and other advocacy; (2) Assisting in case investigation, including factual and legal research; and (3) Preparation of memoranda, briefs, and other legal documents for administrative and judicial proceedings. Interested candidates should submit the following materials: One-page cover letter (see position description for specifications), Resume, Unofficial law school transcript, Writing sample (preferably a legal memorandum less than ten pages that primarily reflects your work), and a List of references including at least one law professor or legal employer. Incomplete applications will not be considered. Applications will be accepted until January 5th, 2022.

Haaland v. Brackeen [ICWA] Cert Stage Briefing Completed

Kate Fort

All the briefs are here. The Court will first consider the case at this Friday’s conference (1/7).

State Court Dismisses Charges Against Hazen Shopbell, Anthony Paul On Treaty Grounds

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here are the materials in State v. Shopbell (Wash. Super. Ct.):

7. CrR 8.3(b) Motion to Dismiss for Governmental Misconduct

11. Memo In Support of Motion to Dismiss for Bad Faith

13. CrR 8.3(c) Motion to Dismiss

29. Memorandum in Opposition to Motions to Suppress Evidence and or Dismiss

30. Reply in Support of Motions to Dismiss

38. Supplemental Reply in Support of Motions to Dismiss

42. Motion for Bill of Particulars

46. Response to Motion for Bill of Particulars

52. Joint Reply In Support of Motion for Bill of Particulars

63. Supplemental Motion to Dismiss Pursuant to CrR 8.3(c)

66. Defendants’ Joint Motion to Dismiss and Renewed Motion to Dismiss per CrR 8.3

68. Defendants’ Supplemental Motion to Dismiss

69. Response to Pretrial Dismissal Motions

70. Reply on Pretrial Dismissal Motions

There was no written ruling, but from the bench the Judge explained:

“My decision is consistent with the heart of the Treaty & Rafeedie Consent Decree, preserving Treaty rights that were gained many years ago.  This court shouldn’t be involved in those issues.”

Native America Calling Show on Post-McGirt Oklahoma Tuesday January 4

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here.

Former Navajo Nation President Peterson Zah Receives Grand Canyon Trust Lifetime Achievement Award

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

From the presser — Flagstaff, AZ – On Tuesday, January 11, 2022, at 3:00 pm MST, former Navajo Nation Chairman and first President of the Navajo Nation, Peterson Zah, will receive the 2021 Grand Canyon Trust Lifetime Achievement Award, which recognizes exceptional individuals who have accomplished significant conservation for the Grand Canyon and the Colorado Plateau.
Zah will be honored for his life’s work, including significant contributions to conservation of the environment and advancing tribal sovereignty.
During his long career, Zah led national tribal efforts in Congress to strengthen many federal environmental laws. In his time as president and chairman, Zah renegotiated mineral, coal, oil, and gas leases with major energy companies to better benefit the Navajo people, and created permanent trust funds, now valued at several billion dollars, dedicated to culture, language, education, health, governance, infrastructure, and land restoration.
The award will be presented during a small private ceremony. Members of the public can attend the ceremony virtually at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83197071336 or by phone at 1 (602) 753-0140 using webinar ID: 831 9707 1336.
“Peterson Zah’s extraordinary leadership made clear that within the ambiguity of modernism and tradition, righteousness and tremendous influence could come from homegrown legitimacy and purpose,” said Grand Canyon Trust Board Chair Jim Enote.
“Peterson has truly been a giant in this region, and well beyond. We are so honored to recognize Peterson, his achievements, and his profoundly positive impacts on this world,” said Grand Canyon Trust Executive Director Ethan Aumack.
Past recipients of the Grand Canyon Trust Lifetime Achievement Award include former Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt (2003), former Arizona Congressman and Secretary of the Interior Stewart Udall (2004), and the writer Terry Tempest Williams (2010). The award, established in 2003, has been given only six other times; Zah will be the seventh recipient.

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Founded in 1985, the Grand Canyon Trust is a non-profit conservation organization dedicated to safeguarding the wonders of the Grand Canyon and the Colorado Plateau, while supporting the rights of its Native peoples.

Recent American Indian Legal Scholarship

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

It’s None of Your Business: State Regulation of Tribal Businesses Undermines Sovereignty and Justice

New York University Journal of Law and Business, Vol. 18, No. 1, 2021; Sam Carter and Robin Rotman

Native American Representation: What the Future Holds

Idaho Law Review, Vol. 56, 2020; Emily Rong Zhang

Universal Access to Clean Water for Tribes: Recommendations for Operational, Administrative, Policy, and Regulatory Reform

University of Utah College of Law Research Paper No. 475; Bidtah Becker, Anne Castle, Heather Tanana, Ana Olaya, Jaime Garcia and Chelsea Colwyn


‘We Want Our Land Back’: Returning Land to First Peoples in the Land Return Era Using the Native Land Claims Commission to Reverse Centuries of Land Dispossession

Vol. 24 The Scholar: St. Mary’s Law Review on Race and Social Justice I (Forthcoming); William Y. Chin

Federal Statutes and Environmental Justice in the Navajo Nation: The Case of Fracking in the Greater Chaco Region

American Journal of Public Health; Mario AtencioMA, Hazel James-Tohe, Samuel Sage, David J. TsosieEdD, Ally BeasleyJD, MPH, Soni GrantPhD, MA, and Teresa SeamsterEdS, MS

Christopher Rossi

Walker Lake and the Public Trust in Nevada’s Waters

Virginia Environmental Law Journal, Vol. 40, No. 1, 2022; Michael C. Blumm and Michael Benjamin Smith

Synching Science and Policy to Address Climate Change in Tribal Communities

Natural Resources & Environment (2021 Forthcoming), University of Utah College of Law Research Paper No. 467; Heather Tanana and John Ruple

Universal Access to Clean Water for Tribes in the Colorado River Basin

University of Utah College of Law Research Paper No. 466; Heather Tanana, Jaime Garcia, Ana Olaya, Chelsea Colwyn, Hanna Larsen, Ryan Williams and Jonathan King

Liz Reese and Abby Abinanti on Tribal Criminal Laws

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

From Stanford, here is “Imagining Justice: American Indian Tribal Laws of Criminal Responsibility.”

Oklahoma Appellate Court Decides Kiowa/Comanche/Apache Reservation Disestablished

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here are the materials in Martinez v. State (Okla. Ct. Crim. App.):

OCCA Opinion

Petitioner’s Brief

State’s Brief

Comanche Amicus Brief

Print

Ninth Circuit Decides Grondal v. United States [20-35694]

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here.

An excerpt:

The panel affirmed the district court’s grant of the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ motion for summary judgment and ejectment order in an action brought by a group of recreational vehicle owners seeking to retain their rights to remain on a lakeside RV park located on American Indian land held in trust by the Bureau.

Briefs here.