Northern Arapaho Tribes Sues Interior to Compel 638 Tribal Court Contract

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is the complaint in Northern Arapaho Tribe v. United States Department of the Interior (D. Mont.):

Complaint

An excerpt:

This is an action for declaratory and injunctive relief and money damages brought against the United States Department of the Interior (“Department”); its Secretary; and Regional Director for the Bureau of Indian Affairs (“BIA”) for violations of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (“ISDEAA”) and regulations promulgated thereunder. The Northern Arapaho Tribe (“NAT” or “Tribe”) submitted to the BIA a contract proposal for judicial services and requested technical assistance, consultation and a waiver of any regulations that the BIA thought could prevent or impede approval. The BIA failed or refused to provide technical assistance, consultation, or the requested waiver and declined the proposal. These failures and the declination violate the ISDEAA and applicable regulations. The Tribe is entitled to declaratory and injunctive relief and damages, plus interest, pursuant to the ISDEAA.

Sherman Alexie on NPR’s Morning Edition

Kate Fort1 Comment

Here.

My life changed dramatically, and started to change dramatically, when I read The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats. I was 4 or 5 on the reservation, and it was the first book I ever read with a brown-skinned character — this, you know, inner-city black kid wandering the snow-blanketed city all by himself. And the book spoke to me in a way few books have ever spoken to me throughout my life. But in that instance, I had this recognition of another human being in the world, fictional as he was, but that there was another person in the world who was like me. … This person was a total stranger to me — a black kid living in the city. You know, I didn’t know any black kids living in the city, but I reached across the fictional and the real barriers and boundaries to connect my heart to him.

 

Keweenaw Bay Indian Community Sues over Michigan Sales & Use and Tobacco Taxes

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is the complaint in Keweenaw Bay Indian Community v. Khouri (W.D. Mich.):

Complaint

Nooksack Disenrollment/Disbarment Update

Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

Here are new pleadings filed in Galanda v. Bernard (Nooksack Ct. App.):

Galanda v. Bernard Pro Se Petitioners’ Appellate Motion for Show Cause Re Contempt

Galanda v. Bernard Declaration of Ryan Dreveskracht In Support of Pro Se Petitioners’ Appellate Motion for Show Cause Re Contempt

Nooksack Tribal Court Letter to Galanda Broadman Lawyers Refusing Pro Se Appearance

Here is a new filing in Belmont v. Kelly (Nooksack Ct. App.):

Belmont (Roberts) v. Kelly Second Declaration of Michelle Roberts In Support of Appellate Writ of Mandamus

Clickhole: “7 Things All Law School Students Know To Be True”

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here.

My favorite:

Defense is shirts. Prosecution is skins: You only have to be laughed out of one mock trial to remember this.

Federal Court Rules in Favor of Cheyenne & Araphoe Tribes in Bank Account/Leadership Dispute

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here are the materials in Cheyenne & Araphoe Tribes v. Harjo (W.D. Okla.):

26 Harjo Rule 19 Motion

26-8 IBIA Decision

27 Tribes Response to 26

29 Reply in Support of 26

35 Tribes Motion for Partial Summary J

36 Harjo Response to 35

36-4 C&A SCT Order re IBIA Decision

39 Reply in Support of 35

41 DCT Order Denying Rule 19 Motion

42 DCT Order Granting 35

Ninth Circuit Affirms Conviction for Theft from a Tribe

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is the opinion in United States v. Tadios.

The court’s syllabus:

The panel affirmed the district court’s inclusion in its loss calculation at sentencing the estimated salary paid to the defendant, the CEO of a federally-funded health care clinic located on the Chippewa Cree’s Rocky Boy Reservation, for time she spent visiting her husband when she claimed to be traveling on business. The defendant was convicted for converting federal funds for personal use, using federal funds for personal benefit, and misapplying clinic funds. The panel rejected the defendant’s argument that because she was an exempt employee, the Chippewa Cree suffered no loss in paying her full salary for when she was visiting her husband instead of performing clinic duties. The panel held that including in the loss calculation under U.S.S.G. § 2B1.1 the estimated value of the time the defendant should have reported as annual leave was not clear error. The panel addressed the defendant’s remaining arguments concerning her conviction and sentencing in a memorandum disposition

The Ninth Circuit’s unpublished memorandum decision on jurisdiction is here.

An excerpt:

Tadios first argues that the federal courts lack jurisdiction because Tadios is an Indian and the acts took place on tribal land. We review criminal jurisdiction de novo. United States v. Begay, 42 F.3d 486, 497 (9th Cir. 1994). Tadios’s argument fails in light of more than a century of jurisprudence concluding that generally applicable provisions of the Federal Criminal Code govern prosecutions of crimes committed by Indians in Indian territory. See, e.g., United States v. Kagama, 118 U.S. 375, 384-85 (1886) (finding that federal courts have jurisdiction over crimes committed by Indians on Indian territory).

 

Venue Change for Jurisdiction Suit Against Blue Lake Rancheria Tribal Court

Sarah M Donnelly

Here are the materials in Acres v. Blue Lake Rancheria Tribal Court, 16-cv-02622 (N.D. Cali.):

Doc. 9 Notice of Motion and Motion to Dismiss

Doc. 11 Plaintiff’s Memo and Points of Authorities Opposing Defendants’ MTD

Doc. 21 Order Transferring Case to the United States District Court for the Northern District of California

Complaint previously posted here.

Updates in Navajo Nation v. Urban Outfitters

Sarah M Donnelly1 Comment

Here are the materials in Navajo Nation v. Urban Outfitters, 12-cv-00195 (D. N.M.):

Doc. 668 Memorandum Opinion and Order Denying in Part Defendants’ Partial Motion for Summary Judgment Based on Laches and Granting in Part Plaintiffs’ Cross-Motion for Summary Judgment on Defendants’ Affirmative Defense of Laches

Doc. 680 Memorandum Opinion and Order Granting Defendants’ Motions for Partial Summary Judgment on Plaintiffs’ Trademark Dilution Claims and Denying Plaintiffs’ Cross-Motion for Partial Summary Judgment on Those Claims

Doc. 683 Order Denying Defendants’ Motion to Limit Damages to Initial Wagner Report

Army Corps of Engineers Rejects Gateway Pacific Terminal

Sarah M Donnelly

Download Memorandum for Record here.

The Corps has denied the permit to build a coal export facility near Cherry Point after deciding the impact to Lummi Nation fishing would violate their treaty rights.