Friday Job Announcements

To post an open Indian law or leadership job to Turtle Talk, send the following information to indigenous@law.msu.edu:

  1. In the email body, a typed brief description of the position which includes
    1. position title,
    2. location (city, state),
    3. main duties,
    4. closing date,
    5. and any other pertinent details such as links to application;
  2. An attached PDF job announcement.

Sonosky, Chambers, Sachse, Endreson, & Perry LLP

Transactional Associate Attorney, San Diego, CA.  Interested applicants should have strong credentials and a commitment to representing Native American interests, and a clerkship is also highly preferred. More detail about the firm is available at www.sonosky.com. To apply, candidates should send an application that includes a cover letter, resume, law school transcript, and a writing sample to Colin Hampson at champson@sonoskysd.com.  Or visit our website at http://www.sonosky.com/careers.html to apply.  This position is open until filled, but applicants should apply by January 15, 2020.  Applicants must be licensed to practice law in California, or willing to become licensed.

The Keweenaw Bay Indian Community

Assistant Tribal Prosecutor, Baraga, MI. This position is located at the Keweenaw Bay Tribal Center, and is an in-house position. Assist the Tribal Attorney and perform general in-house duties for the Tribal Council as directed. Legal and/or Consulting firms need not apply.  For more information, please visit the website or contact personnel@kbic-nsn.gov. Application process is open until filled.

Assistant Tribal Attorney, Baraga, MI. This position is located at the Keweenaw Bay Tribal Center, and is an in-house position. Assist the Tribal Attorney and perform general in-house duties for the Tribal Council as directed. Legal and/or Consulting firms need not apply.  For more information, please visit the website or contact personnel@kbic-nsn.gov. Application process is open until filled.

The Yurok Tribe

Law Clerk, spring, summer, and fall of 2021. Office of the Tribal Attorney. Past legal clerks have worked on a wide variety of projects including ordinance drafting, litigation support, legal research, and appeared on behalf of the Tribe in Yurok Tribal Court. This could be a virtual position. We are receiving applications on a rolling basis, but would appreciate having all applications by December 4, 2020. For more information and to apply, contact Alexandra N. Mojado at amojado@yuroktribe.nsn.us.

Big Fire Law & Policy Group LLP

Litigation Attorney, Omaha, Nebraska. Seeking candidates with 0-3 years of litigation experience to have the opportunity to work on cases in a variety of areas including constitutional law, environmental law, real estate, employment, tax issues, corporate/business matters, and complex federal, state and tribal court litigation at both trial and appellate levels. Please send resume and cover letter including salary expectations to careers@bigfirelaw.com. Open until filled. See the job description for more information.

National American Indian Court Judges Association

RFP, Tribal Law Consultant, Boulder, Colorado. In order to increase and improve access to legal assistance in Indian Country, NAICJA is developing the Holistic Defense Pilot Project in conjunction with Tribal Civil and Criminal Legal Assistance (TCCLA) grantees, past grantees, and tribes. NAICJA is seeking an experienced attorney to assist in the implementation of the Pilot Project. Closing Date: December 18, 2020. For more information see the description.

Program Evaluator, NAICJA’s training and technical assistance program is the National Tribal Justice Resource Center (NTJRC), located in Boulder, Colorado. In order to increase and improve access to legal assistance in Indian Country, NAICJA is developing the Holistic Defense Pilot Project in conjunction with Tribal Civil and Criminal Legal Assistance (TCCLA) grantees, past grantees, and tribes. NAICJA is seeking an experienced evaluator to assist in the implementation of the Pilot Project. Closing Date: December 18, 2020. For more information please see the description.

Lummi Tribal Court

Deputy Tribal Prosecutor II, Bellingham, WA.  Works as the attorney within the Office of the
Reservation Attorney (ORA) as the domestic violence (DV) prosecutor.  The primary responsibility will  be  to  prosecute  DV  cases  and  coordinate  the  planning  and  implementation  of  the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) jurisdiction in Lummi Tribal Court. Application is open until filled. To obtain a Lummi Indian Business Council (LIBC) application go to: https://www.lummi-nsn.gov/Website.php?PageID=381 or request by e-mail libchr@lummi-nsn.gov.

See prior posts.

Eighth Circuit Holds OSHA Does Not Apply to Red Lake Treaty Fishing Activities

Here is the opinion in Scalia v. Red Lake Nation Fisheries Inc.:

CA8 Opinion

Briefs here.

Yakama Nation Cert Petition in Dispute with Yakima County over Criminal Jurisdiction

Here is the petition in Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation v. Yakima County:

Yakama Nation Cert Petition

Question presented:

The United States reassumed Pub. L. 83-280 criminal jurisdiction over crimes involving Indians within the Yakama Reservation from the State of Washington pursuant to 25 U.S.C. § 1323, on April 19, 2016. Years later, federal officials re-interpreted the scope of that federal reassumption to allow the State of Washington to once again exercise criminal jurisdiction over Indians within the Yakama Reservation any time a non-Indian is involved in the crime.The question presented is:

Can the United States change the scope of its reassumption of Pub. L. 83-280 jurisdiction in Indian Country years after the reassumption became effective under 25 U.S.C. § 1323 without the Yakama Nation’s prior consent required by 25 U.S.C. § 1326?

Lower court materials here.

Update (3/4/21):

Brief in Opposition

Update (3/16/21):

Yakama Reply

Federal Court Dismisses Nonmember’s Challenge to Jurisdiction over Ponca Tribal Court P.P.O.

Here are the materials in Phillips v. Nebraska (D. Neb.):

1 Habeas Petition

13 Motion for Summary Judgment

14 DCT Order

Sixth Circuit Oral Argument in LTBB v. Whitmer

Here:

Briefs are here.

Justice and Corporate Accountability Project: Empirical Data On How Investors Are Harmed When Companies Do not Disclose Information About Violence and Lack of Indigenous Consent

Here, on SSRN.

The Project’s webpage, with more reports, is here.

Materials in Suit against Caesars [Rincon Band]

Here are the materials so far in Pilant v. Caesars Entertainment Services Inc. (S.D. Cal.):

1 Notice of Removal

1-5 Complaint

3-1 Motion to Dismiss

4 Response

5 Reply

6 DCT Order

An excerpt:

This matter is before the Court on a motion by specially appearing Defendants Caesars Enterprise Services, LLC (“CES”) and Caesars Entertainment, Inc. (“CEI”) to dismiss the complaint for failure to join an indispensable party and for lack of personal jurisdiction. The motion has been fully briefed, and the Courtdeems it suitable for submission without oral argument. As discussed below, the motion to dismiss for failure to join an indispensable party is denied and the motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction is granted in part and denied in part.

NAICJA Tribal Child Welfare Training

December 9-10, 2020, 9-4pm MT


Join the National American Indian Court Judges Association and Casey Family Programs for a virtual Judicial Skills Training for Judges who hear child welfare cases.

Register today: https://naicja.wixsite.com/childwelfare2020

Administrative Law Review Podcast on the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe’s Federal Recognition Struggle

Here.

On today’s episode of A Hard Look, a Junior Staffer on ALR, Olivia Miller, joins host, Sarah Knarzer, and Professor Matthew Fletcher to discuss the tribal recognition process and the barriers it poses to tribes across the United States, and in particular the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe. Earlier this year, and in the middle of a surging coronavirus pandemic, the Bureau of Indian Affairs announced its intention to revoke the Mashpee Wampanoag’s land from its federal trust. This action is only a continuation of the Mashpee Wampanoag’s four hundred year struggle for tribal survival, dating back to the origins of the Thanksgiving myth.

Olivia and Professor Fletcher discuss Olivia’s comment, which she wrote as part of ALR’s comment writing process, to identify why the tribal recognition process is such a difficult, expensive, and frustrating administrative process for tribes who want and need to be federally recognized.