Turtle Talk

New Scholarship on Voting Rights Act Litigation in Indian Country

May 31, 2018Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is Jennifer L. Robinson and Stephen L. Nelson, The Small but Powerful Voice in American Elections: A Discussion of Voting Rights Litigation on Behalf of American Indians , 70 Baylor L. Rev. 91.

Call for Mentors: NABA-DC Intern Mentorship Program

May 31, 2018May 31, 2018Neoshia Roemer

NABA-DC is gearing up for its summer programming for interns. Below is the sign up link for interns to receive NABA-DC summer event information, request a mentor, and more!

Interns sign up here: https://goo.gl/forms/ios7jUiuwLw7kQap2

Mentorship Program: NABA-DC coordinates a Mentorship Program each summer to give legal interns (both undergrads and law students) working in Indian law a personal networking experience. Interns are matched with professionals working in Washington D.C., with efforts made to find mentors who are working in the same fields the interns wish to enter, enriching the interns’ educational experience in D.C. and connecting practitioners with the next generation of Native leaders.

If you have any questions about the NABA-DC mentorship program, please contact nabadcmentorship@gmail.com.

Brownbag Program: Every year, the Native American Bar Association of Washington, D.C. (NABA-DC) organizes events for summer interns working in the field of Indian law and policy. Events include brownbags lunches at government agencies, law firms, and non-profit organizations, as well as happy hours and a summer picnic. The Brownbags are a wonderful opportunity for interns to network with fellow interns and potential employers.

Texas Appellate Court Holds Choctaw Nation Liable for Bus Crash

May 31, 2018Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is the opinion in Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma v. Sewell (Tex. Ct. App.):

bus crash opinion

Native American Pipeline to Law Workshops at Arizona State University (August 1-5, 2018)

May 31, 2018Neoshia Roemer

Are you, or someone who you know, a Native American undergraduate student or college graduate interested in attending law school? Then, perhaps you should consider the Native American Pipeline to Law Pre-Law Workshops. These workshops educate and help students successfully navigate the law school application process. Additionally, these workshops will assist participants in preparing competitive applications.

This year’s workshop’s will be held August 1-5, 2018 at Arizona State University in Phoenix, Arizona. For the application and additional information, please see the visit the website here. Deadline to apply is July 18, 2018.

Heartbreaking Study out of Manitoba: Moms in Foster Care More Likely to Lose Their Infants

May 30, 2018Kate Fort1 Comment

Study here

Adolescent mothers in the care of CPS are much more likely to have their child taken into CPS care. By separating a quarter of young mothers from their infant within the first week of life, and almost half before the child turns 2, the cycle continues. For adolescents in CPS care who give birth, more and better services are required to support these mothers and to keep mothers and children together wherever possible.

Coverage here

A quick review of the study doesn’t reveal a direct link to Indigenous girls, but

She pointed to the province of Manitoba, where 10,000 of the 11,000 children in care are indigenous.

and

The number of children in care in Manitoba is among the highest per-capita compared with other provinces. It has nearly doubled in the last decade to 11,000. Nearly 90 per cent are Indigenous.

In neighbouring Saskatchewan, with roughly the same population, the number is roughly 4,000, Fielding said.

American Indian Law Bibliography (2018 ed.)

May 30, 2018Matthew L.M. Fletcher

By Patrick O’Donnell, here.

National Indian Law Library Bulletin (5/29/18)

May 30, 2018Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here:

The National Indian Law Library added new content to the Indian Law Bulletins on 5/29/18.

U.S. Supreme Court Bulletin

http://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/sct/2017-2018update.html

A decision was published in Upper Skagit Indian Tribe v. Lundgren (Tribal Sovereign Immunity) on 5/21/18.

Petition for certiorari was granted in Royal v. Murphy (Reservation Boundaries) on 5/21/18.

Petition for certiorari was filed in Makah Indian Tribe v. Quileute Indian Tribe, et al. (Treaty Fishing Rights) on 5/21/18.

Law Review & Bar Journal Bulletin

http://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/lawreviews/2018.html

• Establishing the denominator: The challenges of measuring multiracial, Hispanic, and Native American populations.

• Counting America’s first peoples.

• Accountability or merely “good words”? An analysis of tribal consultation under The National Environmental Policy Act and The National Historic Preservation Act.

• Consenting to dispossession: The problematic heritage and complex future of consultation and consent of Indigenous peoples.

• Cultural heritage protection and sacred spaces: Considering alternative approaches from within the human rights framework.

• Federal Indian Reserved Water Rights and the No Harm Rule.

• The puzzle of traditional knowledge.

• Protecting cultural rights in the South Pacific Islands: Using UNESCO and marine protected areas to plan for climate change.

• “Indian” as a political classification: Reading the tribe back into the Indian Child Welfare Act.

• Policy considerations and implications in United States v. Bryant.

• Presidential authority and the Antiquities Act.

• The controversy over permit-exempt wells in Washington.

• “With the Indian tribes”: Race, citizenship, and original constitutional meanings.

• Presidential authority and the Antiquities Act.

• Standing together: How the Federal government can protect the tribal cultural resources of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe.

Federal Courts Bulletin

http://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/federal/2018.html

Mono County v. Walker River Irrigation District (Tribal Water Rights)

United States v. Walker River Irrigation District (Tribal Water Rights)

Fawn Cain, Tanya Archer and Sandi Ovitt v. Salish Kootenai College, Inc. (Tribal Colleges; Tribal Sovereign Immunity)

FSS Development CO., LLC v. Apache Tribe of Oklahoma (Indian Gaming; Diversity Jurisdiction)

State Courts Bulletin

http://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/state/2018.html

In re Williams (Michigan Indian Family Protection Act)

People In Interest of I.B.-R. (Indian Child Welfare Act – Notice)

News Bulletin

http://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/news/currentnews.html

In the Health & Welfare section, we feature an article about a U.S. Congressional bill to combat Native American veteran homelessness.

U.S. Legislation Bulletin

http://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/legislation/115_uslegislation.html

The following bills were added:

• S.Res.529: A resolution promoting minority health awareness and supporting the goals and ideals of National Minority Health Month in April 2018, which include bringing attention to the health disparities faced by minority populations of the United States such as American Indians, Alaskan Natives, Asian Americans, African Americans, Hispanics and Native Hawaiians or other Pacific Islanders.

• S.2943: A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to exempt Indian tribal governments and other tribal entities from the employer health coverage mandate during the time the employer health coverage mandate exists.

• H.R.5847: To amend the Indian Health Care Improvement Act to improve recruitment and retention of employees in Indian Health Service, restore accountability in the Indian Health Service, improve health services, and for other purposes.

• S.2907: A bill to provide for the withdrawal and protection of certain Federal lands in the State of New Mexico.

• H.R.5911: To amend Public Law 115-97 (commonly known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act) to repeal the Arctic National Wildlife oil and gas program, and for other purposes.