Link to news coverage here.
The Michigan Supreme Court ceremonially praised the efforts of family court participants, including Tribal leaders, for restoring children to their families on June 24, 2016, in Lansing. Five judges from Michigan’s Tribal State Federal Judicial Forum were present. According to the article, more than half of foster care children were returned to their families in 2015.
FYI~ The Office of the Solicitor is still accepting applications for Fall 2016 and Spring 2017 interns. Students may apply at https://solicitor.doi.gov/intern_extern.html (for now, ignore the deadlines). Interns may work in:
This filing is part of the ICWA class action case in South Dakota over the interpretation of 25 USC 1922 (emergency jurisdiction):
The third reason why this Court’s ruling on § 1922 has been inoperative is because the State’s Attorney for Pennington County, Defendant Mark Vargo, and the person Mr. Vargo has assigned to handle abuse and neglect cases in Pennington County, Deputy State’s Attorney Roxanne Erickson, see Erickson Dep. at 5-7, is failing to properly employ the federal standard. Indeed, Mr. Vargo’s interpretation of § 1922 threatens to forever prevent Plaintiffs from obtaining the benefit of this Court’s ruling on § 1922.6 The instant motion for partial summary judgment seeks to remove this final obstacle to the implementation of § 1922 in Defendants’ 48-hour hearings.
Plaintiffs deposed Ms. Erickson on May 25, 2016. Ms. Erickson testified that she interprets the word “harm” in § 1922’s standard “physical damage or harm” as including emotional harm. Id. at 131 made that ‘harm’ would also include emotional harm to the child. . . . [T]hat is how I would read it, that you have to show some form of harm which could include emotional harm.”). Thus, Defendant Vargo continues to use the state standard rather than the federal standard, given that Ms. Erickson interprets the federal standard to authorize DSS to consider emotional harm in determining whether to seek continued custody of an Indian child at the 48-hour hearing.
Motion for Partial Summary Judgment
August 24-26, 2016
Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Eastern Band of the Cherokee Nation Cherokee, North CarolinaThe BIA Office of Justice Services and the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Nation present a free training for tribal judges, prosecutors, public defenders and tribal leaders in trial advocacy skills and the Violence Against Women Act Reauthorization Special Domestic Violence Jurisdiction over Non-Indians.
Presenters Include:
Jill Rose, United States Attorney, Western District of North Carolina
Hon. Steve Aycock, National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges
John Pritchard, Assistant United States Attorney and Tribal Liaison, Western District of North Carolina
Leslie Hagan, National Indian Country Training Coordinator for the JusticeThe Training is free of charge, but travel and lodging are at the participant’s expense. Rooms have been reserved at the Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort at a conference rate of $129 a night. Call 1-866-503-3904 to reserve rooms and use the conference code S08VAWA.
Please email and return the attached registration form to Tessa Turnbow at tessat@whitenergroup.biz
The Anglo-American settlers’ violent break from Britain, from 1775 to 1783, paralleled a decade of their search and destroy annihilation of Delaware, Cherokee, Muskogee, Seneca, Mohawk, Shawnee, Miami and other nations’ villages and fields, slaughtering the residents without distinction of age or gender and overrunning the boundaries of the 13 colonies into unceded Native American territories.
Here is the opinion in Akiachak Native Community v. Dept. of Interior.
Briefs here.
And Indians.
Here.
Link to USAJobs announcement here. Closes July 11, 2016.
Here.
Given the multiple references in the record to possible Cherokee heritage, the DHHS had adequate information to make an “initial determination” that C.J. “may be a member” of the Cherokee tribe, implicating a duty to “exercise due diligence to contact” the Cherokee tribe “in writing so that the tribe may verify membership or eligibility for membership.” MCL 712B.9(3) (emphasis added). This was not done. Furthermore, assuming that the DHHS was “unable to make [such] an initial determination” relative to the Cherokee tribe, there is no indication in the record, nor does the DHHS argue on appeal, that the tribe or tribes located in Kalamazoo County were given written notification, which is a minimal requirement under the final sentence in MCL 712B.9(3).FN9 Indeed, the DHHS does not even present an appellant argument under MCL 712B.9(3), despite respondent’s partial reliance on the provision. Accordingly, MCL 712B.9(3), along with 25 USC 1912(a) and MCL 712B.9(1), serves as a basis to order conditional reversal in regard to C.J. On remand, notice must be sent to the Cherokee tribe and, if one exists, to any tribe or tribes in Kalamazoo County.
As for FN9, where the Michigan Court of Appeals admits it does not know if there is a tribe in Kalamazoo County–if only there was a way to find out that information.
Thanks to everyone who sent this one in.
Turtle Talk 
You must be logged in to post a comment.