Turtle Talk

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Kevin K. Washburn today issued a decision approving a request by the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe to acquire 170 acres of land into trust in the town of Mashpee, Mass., for tribal governmental, cultural and conservation purposes, and 151 acres in trust in the City of Taunton, Mass., for the purpose of constructing and operating a gaming facility and resort. The lands in both Mashpee and Taunton will become the tribe’s first lands held in trust.

Repost: National ICWA Attorney Survey

September 18, 2015September 18, 2015Kate Fort

Posting this one more time because it worked smashingly for a tribe yesterday. Fill it out! Forward it on!

In an attempt to better protect ICWA, tribes, and AI/AN families, NICWA and the ILPC have put together a short survey to collected ICWA attorney information nationwide. If you are in-house or outside counsel, if you are a parents’ attorney interested in taking ICWA cases, if you are legal aid agency who represents tribes, if you stumbled on this post and would be willing to represent a tribe from another state in an ICWA proceeding, please fill this out this poll.

The information will be sent to NICWA, and not sold or otherwise distributed beyond what is indicated. Please forward this questionnaire to the ICWA attorneys in your network and encourage them to submit their information as well.

Here is the link.

D.C. Circuit Decides Expenses Appeal in Cobell v. Jewell

September 18, 2015Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is the opinion.

An excerpt:

This is the eleventh appeal to this court in nearly two decades of litigation arising out of the Department of the Interior’s misadministration of Native American trust accounts and an ensuing complex, nationwide litigation and settlement. As the case winds down, the class action representatives have appealed the district court’s denial of compensation for expenses incurred during the litigation and settlement process.
We affirm the district court’s denial of additional compensation for expenses for the lead plaintiff, Elouise Cobell, because the district court expressly wrapped those costs into an incentive award given to her earlier. We conclude, however, that the district court erred in categorically rejecting as procedurally barred the class representatives’ claim for the recovery of third-party payments, and remand for the district court to apply its accumulated expertise and discretion to the question of whether third-party compensation can and should be paid under the Settlement Agreement.

Briefs here.

Lower court materials here.