The Indian Law Section is offering a $1,000 scholarship Legal Education Scholarship. The scholarship is for third year law students who intend to practice Indian law in the state of Wisconsin. The application deadline is May 31, 2019.
Sovereignty Symposium XXXII Writing Competition + Scholarships
Here:
Ed Edmondson Scholarship Applications
Susan J. Ferrell Scholarship Contest
Chief Justice John B. Doolin Writing Competition
Sovereignty Symposium XXXII details here.
Ethel Branch, Former Navajo Nation Attorney General, to Return to Kanji & Katzen and Lead Flagstaff Office.
Kanji & Katzen is pleased to announce that Ethel Branch will be returning to the Firm as a Member, effective May 1, 2019. Ethel, who made invaluable contributions to the Firm and its clients as an Associate from 2012 to 2015, will open and lead an office for the Firm in Flagstaff, Arizona.
For the past four years, Ethel served with great distinction as the 11th Attorney General of the Navajo Nation. In that capacity, she oversaw the work of an 88-member staff and of numerous outside law firms as she fought for the Nation’s legal interests on a wide variety of fronts. For example, Ethel led the Nation’s litigation and public relations response to the Gold King Mine spill, which contaminated the San Juan River with over 3 million gallons of acid mine waste. Ethel also played a key role in the Nation’s first limited public offering, where she developed documents for the transaction, presented to Standard & Poor’s on the Nation’s financing laws and legal framework, and presented to investors on the stability of the Nation’s legal system. In December 2017, Ethel joined other tribal co-counsel in filing a federal complaint challenging President Trump’s unlawful revocation of the 1.35-million-acre designation of the Bears Ears National Monument by President Obama. As part of that work, Ethel worked closely with the litigation teams for all plaintiff groups and the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition to advocate for the protection of the Monument in court, before Congress, and in the media.
Among other important work as Attorney General, Ethel led a substantial Criminal Code and Criminal Rules of Procedure revision effort, which included successful passage of stronger white-collar criminal laws; spearheaded a Nation-wide effort to coordinate public safety, prosecutorial, defense, judicial, substance abuse, family, and emergency response services; and established a Public Integrity Task Force that pursued law reform to combat public corruption. She also negotiated a settlement for the Nation with Urban Outfitters regarding trademark infringement and Indian Arts and Crafts Act violations, participated in settlement negotiations with the Hopi Tribe regarding the Little Colorado River basin, and oversaw work that led to the Utah Water Rights Settlement Act. Ethel supervised a successful voting rights claim in Utah resulting in court-ordered redistricting, oversaw numerous special prosecutions and ethics inquiries, and brought vacancies at the Nation’s Department of Justice and the Prosecutor’s Office to historic lows. She instituted a lawsuit against Wells Fargo regarding Consumer Finance Protection Act violations targeted at vulnerable populations within the Navajo Nation, and brought suit against opioid manufacturers, distributors, and pharmacies for the adverse impacts to Navajo tribal members (now part of the Multi-District Litigation). Ethel also worked closely with the state attorneys general for Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah and coordinated prosecutorial matters with the U.S. Attorneys for the three states.
Ethel holds three degrees from Harvard University: an A.B., cum laude, in History; a Master’s degree in Public Policy; and a Juris Doctor.
Kanji & Katzen, presently with offices in Seattle and Ann Arbor, is a law firm devoted exclusively to the advancement of Tribal sovereignty and environmental protection, and has litigated leading cases for Tribes at all levels of the federal court system, as well as in Tribal and state courts, on issues including treaty rights, land claims and reservation boundaries, economic development, jurisdiction, taxation, and the safeguarding of environmental and natural resources. The Firm is delighted to welcome Ethel back and is excited about the tremendous acumen, experience, and energy she will be bring to the advancement of our clients’ interests.
Questions may be directed to David Giampetroni, Managing Partner, at dgiampetroni@kanjikatzen.com or (734) 769 5400.
Federal Court Rejects Last Remaining Claims in Dahlstrom v US [wrongful discharge from Sauk-Siuattle]
Here are the materials in Dahlstrom v. United States (W.D. Wash.):
82 Individual Defs Motion for Summary Judgment
Prior posts here.
Federal Court Makes Indian Country Determination in Criminal Case
Here are the relevant materials in United States v. Coriz (D.N.M.):
MSU ILPC/TICA Conference Save the Date — Oct. 10-11, 2019
Here:
Bethany C. Sullivan & Jennifer L. Turner on Carcieri
Bethany C. Sullivan and Jennifer L. Turner have published “Enough Is Enough: Ten Years of Carcieri v. Salazar” in the Public Land & Resources Law Review. Here is the abstract:
Ten years ago, the United States Supreme Court issued its watershed decision in Carcieri v. Salazar, landing a gut punch to Indian country. Through that decision, the Supreme Court upended decades of Department of the Interior regulations, policy, and practice related to the eligibility of all federally recognized tribes for the restoration of tribal homelands through the Indian Reorganization Act (IRA) of 1934. The Court held that tribes must demonstrate that they were “under federal jurisdiction” in 1934 to qualify for land into trust under the first definition of “Indian” in the IRA. Carcieri has impacted all tribes by upending the land-into-trust process and requiring tribes (and Interior) to spend scant resources to establish statutory authority for trust land acquisitions, a burdensome task that had previously been straight forward. In addition, Carcieri has complicated, if not prevented altogether, trust acquisition for tribes who face difficulty in making the requisite jurisdictional showing.
This Article provides the first comprehensive analysis of the last ten years of Indian law and policy that have unfurled from the Supreme Court’s decision. It describes how Carcieri has been weaponized by states, local governments, citizens’ groups, individuals, corporations, and even other tribes, to challenge the exercise of tribal sovereignty through the acquisition of tribal lands, and, at times, the very existence of Indian tribes. This Article details the litigation that has since ballooned, illustrating the dangerous scope creep of Carcieri, while categorizing and evaluating the underlying claims. It also looks to the future, and concludes that, while unlikely, a universal, clean congressional fix is the only real solution. The last ten years of litigation, hearings, and never-ending debate demonstrate that Carcieri is not a constructive or appropriate framework for resolving larger policy questions about the land-into-trust process. Finally, the Article ends by providing practice tips for tribes navigating the current Carcieri landscape.
California SCT & COA Materials in Huber Tax Case
Here are the materials in Huber v. People ex rel. Becerra (Cal.):
Huber-Navarro-Petition-for-Review-04-Apr-Apr-2019-STAMPED
And in People ex rel. Becerra v. Huber (Cal. Ct. App.) [we posted materials here]:
Navarro-Appellant’s-Opening-Supplemental-Brief-15-Nov-2018-FILE-STAMPED
Navarro-Appellant’s-Petition-for-Rehearing-09-Oct-2018-FILE-STAMPED
Navarro-Appellant’s-Supplemental-Reply-Brief-06-Dec-2018-FILE-STAMPED
Transfer to Tribal Court [ICWA] Decision out of New York
The child’s attorney opposed the transfer, and the appellate court supported the decision of the Family Court to transfer to the tribe.
Native American Indian Court Judges Association (NAICJA) 50th Anniversary Conference
This year marks NAICJA’s 50th anniversary. Please join NAICJA at its conference October 16-18, 2019 to celebrate its anniversary! More information here.
Turtle Talk 
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