Turtle Talk

On July 1, 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court released a decision in Brnovich v. DNC that upheld two Arizona voting policies that make it harder for people—and especially people of color and Native Americans—to vote.

BACKGROUND:
On March 2, the US Supreme Court heard arguments in Brnovich v. Democratic National Committee. The case looks at whether two issues of Arizona voting law—restricting out-of-precinct ballots and ballot collection—violate Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. In 2016, Arizona lawmakers passed laws limiting ballot collection and out-of-precinct voting. Ballot collection is an essential tool that rural Native American communities use to make voting accessible to all eligible voters.

At about 17 minutes into the hearings, Justice Sotomayor addresses the voting burdens in Native communities. The points that Justice Sotomayor raises, echo those found in the National Congress of American Indians’ (NCAI) “friends of the court” amicus brief in the case. NCAI’s brief, which was filed by the Native American Rights Fund in January, explains how American Indian and Alaska Native voters face substantial obstacles and documented discrimination as they try to participate in the American democratic process.

Native Americans are entitled to full access to the political process, but failures rooted in devastating policies and discrimination create needless barriers to the ballot. Services such as post offices and drivers’ license sites require hours of travel, postal delivery and residential addressing is insufficient or completely absent, poorly maintained dirt roads become impassable during November election season, lack of internet and cell phone coverage abound on reservation, and insufficient economic means and transportation make it impossible to access basic government services. There also have been instances of untrustworthy election officials capitalizing on these inequities to disenfranchise voters and undermine Native American political power. Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act provides much needed protections against this type of systemic voter disenfranchisement.

Read more about the barriers that Native American voters face in the report, Obstacles at Every Turn: Barriers to Political Participation Faced by Native American Voters.

Federal Court Dismisses Cattle Trespass Matter involving Pine Ridge Land

July 1, 2021Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here are the materials in Temple v. Langdeau (D.S.D.):

1 Complaint

3 Motion for TRO

13 DCT Order

Oregon COA Orders New Trial in Treaty Hunting Case

July 1, 2021July 1, 2021Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is the opinion in State v. Begay (Ore. Ct. App.):

Opinion

If anyone has the briefs, please send them along.

Jonathan Nez: “Biden’s budget will be a boon to tribes — as long as red tape doesn’t strangle us”

June 29, 2021Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here.

Frank Pommersheim on Reparations

June 29, 2021Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is “Not one without the other: Reparations for African-Americans and Indigenous peoples” in Indian Country Today.

Charles Wilkinson Wins the 2021 Colorado Book Awards Lifetime Achievement Award in History

June 29, 2021Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Announcing the 2021 Colorado Book Awards Lifetime Achievement Award in History!

The 2021 Colorado Book Awards Finalist Celebration and Winners Announcement is right around the corner! This year we are delighted to honor Charles Wilkinson with the Colorado Book Awards Lifetime Achievement Award for his contributions to the Colorado and national literary, history, and legal communities. Writer, advocate, and distinguished university professor emeritus, Wilkinson is the author of numerous articles, chapters, and books, including Messages from Frank’s Landing and Blood Struggle—the Rise of Modern Indian Nations, winners of the 2000 and 2006 Colorado Book Awards respectively for History.

Charles earned his law degree from Stanford University in 1966. He moved to Colorado in 1971 to help found and serve as a Staff Attorney for the Native America Rights Fund and began teaching at University of Colorado in 1984, becoming the Moses Lasky Professor of Law in 1989. In 1997, he was named by the Regents of the University of Colorado a Distinguished Professor. In his over 32 continuous years at Colorado Law, Charles has become one of the most widely celebrated names in not only American Indian law, but also in the history of the American West, public land law, water law, and environmental law—even being labeled by Outside Magazine as “the West’s leading authority on natural resource law.”

Mark your calendars for an online evening of celebrating Colorado’s literary greatness!

June 26, beginning at 5 p.m. with a toast to the finalists, Colorado Book Award Winners will be announced and read briefly from their work. Charles Wilkinson will speak and read briefly in recognition of his lifetime achievement.

Learn more at coloradohumanities.org/programs/colorado-book-awards/

Thank you to our partner, BookBar Denver, and sponsors, Outskirts Press and The Colorado Sun.

Colorado Humanities is the only Colorado organization exclusively dedicated to supporting humanities education for adults and children statewide. Celebrating its 47th year and its 17th year as host for the Colorado Center for the Book, Colorado Humanities is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit working in partnership with the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Library of Congress Center for the Book, the Smithsonian Institution, and the national award-winning educational nonprofit Motheread, Inc. Colorado Humanities works with 100 program partners throughout the state to design and implement programs that best meet each community’s needs. Colorado Humanities’ goals are to improve education, strengthen cultural institutions, and enrich community life by inspiring the people of Colorado to explore ideas and appreciate our diverse heritage.