Here, from High Country News.
Patrice Kunesh: “Indian Country can help solve rural America’s decline”
Here, from High Country News.
SCOTUS Denies Cert in McNeal v. Navajo [formerly Dalley v. Navajo]
Here is today’s order list.
Cert stage and other materials in McNeal are here.
Ninth Circuit Decides Hestand v. Gila River Indian Community [Attorney Employment Claims]
Here is the unpublished opinion.
Briefs here.
Wisconsin NPR: “St. Croix Chippewa Accused Of Embezzling $1.5M From Casino’s Gaming Revenue”
Friday Job Announcements
Job vacancies are posted on Fridays. Any posts received prior to 12pm EST on Friday will appear in that Friday’s announcements. If you would like to submit a post for an open Indian law or leadership job, please send the following to indigenous@law.msu.edu:
- A typed brief description of the position which includes position title, location, main duties, and closing date;
- An attached PDF job announcement.
Michigan Indian Legal Services
Attorney, Traverse City, MI. The position will have an emphasis on will drafting, simple estate planning, and handling probate issues in communities in northern Michigan and in the upper peninsula. Please see the job description for more information.
The Suquamish Tribe
Realty Officer, Office of Community Development, Suquamish, WA. The Realty Officer position is responsible for performing trust realty functions for the tribal government. The Realty Officer will also assist Tribal Council in the acquisition of fee properties and maintaining all tribal land records, not only trust records. Application closes April 26, 2019. Please see the job description.
South Central Climate Adaptation Science Center
New Mexico Tribal Liaison, Albuquerque, NM. The liaison will be responsible for working closely with partners from a variety of Tribes and inter-tribal organizations in New Mexico to develop and deliver trainings on climate adaptation and related topics, provide support to communities seeking or engaged in adaptation activities, and work to identify and reduce barriers to implementing Tribal adaptation activities. Please see the job description for more information.
Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa & Chippewa Indians
Request for Proposal (RFP) for Public Defender for Criminal Cases in the Tribal Court, soliciting contractual-service proposals for a Public Defender to represent criminal defendants in in the Tribal Court for three (3) years. The Attorney must be familiar with Tribal laws and State of Michigan laws governing criminal laws. Deadline for Submission is 5:00 P.M. Wednesday, May 1, 2019.
Request for Proposal (RFP) for Public Defender for Special Domestic Violence Criminal Jurisdiction (SDVCJ) Cases in the Tribal Court. SDVCJ recognizes and reaffirms the inherent sovereign authority of the Tribe to exercise criminal jurisdiction over non-Indians who violate personal protection orders or commit domestic violence crimes against Indian victims within the Tribe’s Indian County. Deadline for Submission is 5:00 P.M. Wednesday, May 1, 2019.
Little River Holdings, LLC
Assistant Director, Manistee, MI. Working under the direction of the Board of Directors, this position is responsible for learning all aspects of the Economic Development Corporation and its subsidiaries. The Assistant Director will develop and promote economic initiatives and provide services to support entrepreneurship. The Assistant Director will also contribute to strengthening the tribal economy, and advancing the broader economic and community development goals of the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians as it aligns to the economic development strategy of the EDC. Application is open until filled. Please see the job description for more information.
Sonosky, Chambers, Sachse, Endreson, & Perry LLP
Summer Associate, Washington, D.C. We are currently recruiting incoming 2L students for 2020 summer associate positions. Interested applicants should contact Will Stephens, Partner at wstephens@sonosky.com (please also copy kwray@sonosky.com). Please send this information no later than Thursday, August 31, 2019. More detail about the firm is available at www.sonosky.com. Please see the job description for more information.
Picayune Rancheria of the Chukchansi Indians
Attorney, Oakhurst, CA. The tribal attorney serves as an in-house legal advisor, representative, and counselor. Ensures the adherence to applicable laws to protect and enhance tribal sovereignty, to avoid or prevent expensive legal disputes and litigation, and to protect the legal interests of the Picayune Rancheria of Chukchansi Indians (PRCI) tribal government. Maintains confidentiality of all privileged information. This position is open until filled. Please see the job description for more information.
Puyallup Tribe of Indians
Associate Judge, Tacoma, WA. Serves as hearing judge for the Puyallup Tribal Court in accordance with the tribal Judicial Administrative Code. The term of the Associate Judge shall be three (3) years from the date of appointment by the Tribal Council. A judge may be reappointed at the expiration of a term in the discretion of the Tribal Council. Application closes May 17, 2019. Please see the job description for more information.
Judicial Branch of the The Navajo Nation
Staff Attorney, Chinle Judicial District, Chinle AZ. This position provides complex legal advice and guidance, conducts legal research, and drafts legal documents in support of judges and other court staff. For more information, please see the position description or to apply, visit http://www.navajocourts.org/vacancies. This position is open until filled.
Associate Attorney, Supreme Court of the Navajo Nation, Window Rock, AZ. This position provides a variety of legal advice, research and related legal services in support of the overall operation of the Navajo Nation Judicial Branch; assists with judicial administrative functions, such as researching and recommending policy changes and improvements for overall Judicial Branch. For more information, please see the position description or to apply, visit http://www.navajocourts.org. This position is open until filled.
Court Solicitor, Supreme Court of the Navajo Nation, Window Rock, AZ. This position provides a variety of legal advice, counseling, research and related legal services in support of the overall operation of the Navajo Nation Judicial Branch; assists with judicial administrative functions, such as recommending policy changes and improvements for overall Judicial Branch; shall supervise and oversee all licensed attorneys, law clerk, hearing officers, supreme court clerk, and law clerk interns of the Judicial Branch. For more information, please see the position description or to apply, visit http://www.navajocourts.org. This position is open until filled.
District Court Judge, Judicial District Court, Navajo Nation Wide. The District Court Judge is responsible in presiding over civil, criminal and family court cases; provides policy direction and guidance in the operation of the Judicial District. For more information, please see the position description or to apply, visit http://www.navajocourts.org. This position is open until filled.
Associate Justice, Supreme Court of the Navajo Nation, Window Rock, AZ. This position shall perform work of unusual difficulty, hear arguments, read briefs and conduct research necessary to pass judgment and issue rulings on cases brought before the Navajo Nation Supreme Court. For more information, please see the position description or to apply, visit http://www.navajocourts.org. This position is open until filled.
See posts from April 12, 2019.
Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS) Notice of Proposed Rule Making. Again.
Here.
We cannot currently track on a national level in any way how ICWA works, where children who are involved in ICWA cases are placed, what their outcomes are, or how many cases are transferred to tribal court, as examples. There is barely statewide data available, and most of it is on a county-by-county level. As just one example, Michigan is in a federal lawsuit over its data collection system.
I am deeply tired of hearing that tracking this information is simply too burdensome for the states that are putting children in care, and then getting hit in lawsuit after lawsuit with claims that are not supported by any data, but also cannot be refuted by data we refuse to collect.
If your tribe wants to submit comments, there will be model comments available before the deadline of June 18.
Washington State Bar Association Indian Law Section CLE May 10
WSBA Indian Law Section’s CLE will be May 10 in Seattle. A pdf of the agenda is here: ILS CLE Agenda – 2019 To register, click here.
Cert Stage Briefing Completed on Carter v. Sweeney (frmly A.D. v. Washburn)[ICWA]
This is otherwise known as the Goldwater litigation, the second federal case filed back in 2015 in Arizona.
Documents are here
South Dakota Supreme Court Denies Transfer to Tribal Court [ICWA]
The Tribe requested transfer and the child’s attorney objected. The trial court did not allow testimony regarding bonding and attachment from the child’s doctor. The Supreme Court held
With or without the 2016 regulations, though, circuit courts need the benefit of a sufficiently developed record to assist in the good cause determination. See A.O., 2017 S.D. 30, ¶ 13, 896 N.W.2d at 656; In re M.C., 504 N.W.2d 598, 601 (S.D. 1993). In both A.O. and M.C., we held that the circuit court should have conducted an evidentiary hearing before determining the motion to transfer jurisdiction. In the absence of a developed record, we are unable to conduct meaningful appellate review concerning the merits of the parties’ claims.
[¶17.] As it relates to this case, we conclude that the circuit court abused its discretion when it granted the Tribe’s motion to transfer without hearing the testimony of the child’s physician who was present in the courtroom. Relying upon the impromptu offer of proof by Child’s counsel, the court determined that Dr.
Whitney’s testimony was categorically irrelevant. We disagree.
The Court reversed and remanded for an evidentiary hearing.
Arizona Court of Appeals Requires Qualified Expert Witness in Guardianships [ICWA]
Although ICWA does not explicitly recognize “permanent guardianships,” a comparison of Arizona’s statute for permanent guardianship and ICWA’s definition for a “foster care placement” shows that ICWA applies in permanent guardianships.
***
Section 1912(e)’s plain language states that no foster care placement, which includes permanent guardianships, may be ordered without expert-witness testimony on whether a parent’s or an Indian-relative custodian’s continued custody of a child will likely result in serious emotional or physical damage to the child. Therefore, a court must hear expert-witness testimony before ordering a permanent guardianship. The record shows that R.Y. was subject to ICWA and a guardianship proceeding took place. Thus, ICWA required the juvenile court to hear expert-witness testimony on whether Mother’s or the Indian-relative custodian’s continued custody of R.Y. would likely result in serious emotional or physical damage to R.Y.
This is a very important point–I get so many questions about the issue of guardianships used to avoid ICWA requirements and about the follow-up about whether a state-initiated proceeding can turn into a fully voluntary one:
Natasha S. also argues that Mother had converted the involuntary dependency into a voluntary matter when Mother petitioned to appoint Natasha S. as guardian, thereby eliminating the need for expert-witness testimony. But all of the proceedings, including the guardianship, arose out of a state dependency action that the Department had initiated. Thus, despite Mother’s motion, this was still an involuntary dependency action and required expert-witness testimony. Moreover, expert-witness testimony is required in voluntary child custody proceedings governed by ICWA. 25 U.S.C. §§ 1903(1)(i), 1912(e); 25 C.F.R. § 23.103(a)(1)
Turtle Talk 
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