Arlinda Locklear
Arlinda Locklear to be Honored by ABA with Margaret Brent Award
Congratulations to Arlinda!
Here is her bio (from the ABA website):
Arlinda Locklear, of Arlinda Locklear Law Office in Washington, D.C., began her career as an attorney at the Native American Rights Fund. During her 35-year career in federal Indian law, she has represented tribes throughout the country in federal and state courts on treaty claims to water and land, taxation disputes with states and local authorities, reservation boundary issues, and federal recognition of tribes. In 1984, Locklear appeared before the U.S. Supreme Court, where she successfully challenged South Dakota’s authority to prosecute a Native American for on-reservation conduct. In doing so, she was the first Native American woman to appear before the Court. Since that time, five other Native American women have argued before the Supreme Court. Her goal always is to give back to her community and other Native American communities, and Locklear has received numerous awards for fostering the development of women, among them a 2008 honor for her contributions to the American Indian community by the Conference of American Indian Women of Proud Nations.
Other recipients include:
- The Honorable Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye, Chief Justice of California, Supreme Court of California, San Francisco, CA
- Marcia Devins Greenberger, Co-President, National Women’s Law Center, Washington, DC
- Joan M. Hall, Retired Partner, Jenner & Block LLP, Chicago, IL
- Arlinda Locklear, Attorney, Arlinda Locklear Law Office, Washington, DC
- Amy W. Schulman, Executive Vice President & General Counsel of Pfizer, President of Pfizer Nutrition, New York, NY
What’s Going on with the Lumbees?
From the Fayetteville Observer via Pechanga:
Bad bet: Tribe gambles its assets on recognition bid.
It appears that Lumbee leaders have decided it’s acceptable to bet a big piece of the tribe’s net worth on one game of chance.
It’s not surprising, though, that many of the people they represent are outraged. They should be.
On March 12, the Lumbee Tribal Council, meeting at a conference in Raleigh, abruptly dumped longtime Lumbee lawyer Arlinda Locklear, who had worked – for free – for more than two decades to achieve full federal recognition for the tribe. Recognition would bring hundreds of millions of federal dollars to the tribe, to improve housing, education and health care, and to create new and better jobs.
The recognition effort has made good progress in the current Congress, winning approval in the House and clearing the Senate’s Indian Affairs Committee. The measure has President Obama’s support and both this state’s senators believe it has a good chance of Senate approval.
That may be out the window now, because the Tribal Council hired a Nevada gaming consultant to take Arlinda Locklear’s place. That means (although the council won’t say as much) that the tribe’s pledge to forsake casino operations, as a condition of recognition, is also out the window. The tribe wouldn’t hire a specialist in casino development if it wasn’t planning to get into the gambling business. That sudden change of course may be enough to kill any chance of Senate approval this year – or any other year.
And then it gets worse.
The Tribal Council’s contract with Lewin International includes penalties of $35 million if the council can’t get the tribe to agree to gambling once federal recognition is in place. If the penalty is assessed, most of the tribe’s assets – including housing and public buildings – could be at risk.
Turtle Talk 