Turtle Talk

Alaska Settles Voting Rights Suit Brought by Alaska Natives

September 15, 2015September 15, 2015Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here, “STATE OF ALASKA SETTLES IN HISTORIC VOTING RIGHTS CASE.”

An excerpt:

After nine months of negotiations, the State of Alaska reached a settlement with the Native Alaskan plaintiff’s who sued the state in federal court over the translation of voting materials and ballot access for Native Alaskan voters. The settlement requires a variety of actions by the state including providing language assistance for three census areas and information in Gwich’in and up to six Yup’ik dialects in the official election pamphlet. Read the full settlement document from the National Indian Law Library website. Find news coverage at the Alaska Dispatch website and the KTUU website.

Other materials here.

News coverage here.

Register Now for First MSU ILPC/TICA Conference — “Aandaakonige: From the Trilogy to TICA” — November 5-6, 2015

September 15, 2015November 4, 2015Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

Registration here. Tentative agenda and details here (updated 10/8) (PDF):

[This post will remain on top until the conference dates. Regular posts are below.]

Continue reading →

Second Circuit Rules in Favor of Seneca Nation in Gaming Dispute

September 15, 2015September 15, 2015Matthew L.M. Fletcher2 Comments

Here is the opinion in Citizens Against Casino Gambling in Erie County v. Chaudhuri:

CACGEC Opinion

The court’s syllabus:

The plaintiffs, organizations and individuals who oppose the operation of a casino on land owned by the Seneca Nation of Indians in Buffalo, New York, filed an action in the United States District Court for the Western District of New York against the National Indian Gaming Commission, its Chairman, the Department of the Interior, and the Secretary of the Interior, arguing that the National Indian Gaming Commission acted arbitrarily and capriciously and abused its discretion in approving an ordinance that permitted the Seneca Nation to operate a class III gaming facility in Buffalo. The district court (Skretny, J.) dismissed the action, and the plaintiffs appealed. We hold that the Seneca Nation’s lands in Buffalo are gaming‐eligible under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (“IGRA”), 25 U.S.C. §§ 2701–2721, as “Indian lands” under the Seneca Nation’s jurisdiction and that IGRA Section 20’s prohibition of gaming on trust lands acquired after IGRA’s enactment, 25 U.S.C. § 2719(a), does not apply. Accordingly, we AFFIRM.

Briefs here.

Lower court materials here.

Police Officer Who Killed Paul Castaway Will Not Be Charged

September 15, 2015Sarah M Donnelly

Denver’s District Attorney has concluded that Officer Michael Traudt was legally justified in using deadly force against the Rosebud Sioux member in July.

DA’s report here.

Mother Jones article and video (MILDLY GRAPHIC) here.

California Indian Law Association 15th Annual Indian Law Conference & Gala

September 15, 2015Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here.

Agenda at a Glance

Thursday, October 15, 2015 (6:00 pm – 8:00 pm)
Gala & Welcome Dinner
Presentation of the Outstanding Achievement in Indian Law Award to the Kumeyaay Repatriation Committee. Dinner will be provided.

Friday, October 16, 2015 (8:30 am – 5:00 pm)
Conference Panels

California Water Rights, Groundwater, and the Drought

Moderator: Adam Bailey, President, CILA
Panelists: Tim Seward, Partner, Hobbs, Straus, Dean & Walker
Denise Turner Walsh, Attorney General, Rincon Band of Luiseno Indians
Cynthia Gomez, Tribal Advisor, Governor Jerry Brown

Tribes and the Marijuana Industry

Moderator: Lauren van Schilfgaarde, Treasurer, CILA
Panelists: Lael Echo-Hawk, Of Counsel, Garvey, Shubert, Barer
William Wood, Visiting Associate Professor, Southwestern Law School
Yurok Tribe Representative

P.L. 280 – A Path to Repeal

Moderator: Adam Crepelle, Vice President, CILA
Panelists: Tom Gede, Commission, Indian Law & order Commission; Of Counsel, Bingham McCutchen LLP
Dorothy Alther, Executive Director, California Indian Legal Services

Fee to Trust: Strategies and Practice in Indian Country

Moderator: Jacquelyn Jampolsky, Board Member, CILA
Panelists: Tim Evans, Senior Counsel, Holland & Knight
Beth Middleton, Associate Professor, UC Davis
William Wood, Visiting Associate Professor, Southwestern Law School
William Haney, Associate, Berkey Williams LLP

Update on California Indian Law Litigation & Legislation

Moderator: Lindsey Fletcher, Secretary, CILA
Panelists: Katherine Florey, Associate Professor, UC Davis School of Law
Additional Panelist TBD

John Ragsdale on the Huron Indian Cemetery

September 15, 2015Matthew L.M. Fletcher

John W. Ragsdale has posted his paper, “Sacred in the City: The Huron Indian Cemetery and the Preservation Laws,” on SSRN. Here is the abstract:

The Huron Indian Cemetery sits on a hill above the confluence of the Missouri and Kansas Rivers. It is several acres of predominant green, with grass, mature trees, and modest, weathered grave stones, surrounded by the sterile concrete of a struggling Midwestern city. Desultory businesses, colorless governmental offices, a casino, and strong evidence of poverty and vandalism lap at the shores of the small sanctuary. Yet despite the drab and essential joylessness of the encircling faded modernity, the cemetery holds a surprising sense of peace and even timelessness. The serenity may seem incongruous, not only because of the tawdry surroundings, but also because of the cemetery’s chaotic history as a center of numerous legal and economic conflicts. This article will focus on the story of endurance and on the reciprocating feelings inspired by and invested in this unique burial place. It will deal with the general, perhaps inevitable, tension between the sacred and the profane – the clash between the emotion, solemnity, and repose of a spiritual site, the transformative calculations of economic and political expediency and the law that may bridge that gap.