Dalia Tsuk Mitchell

Kevin Washburn on Felix Cohen, Anti-Semitism, and American Indian Law

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Kevin Washburn (Arizona) has posted “Felix Cohen, Anti-Semitism, and American Indian Law,” forthcoming in the American Indian Law Review, on SSRN. Here is the abstract:

Felix Cohen and his work is discussed in several new books, including an important intellectual biography of Cohen by Dalia Tsuk Mitchell. Using the Mitchell biography as a starting point, this essay discusses an important episode in Cohen’s life, involving apparent anti-Semitism at the Department of Justice, which is not adequately explored in the otherwise excellent biography by Mitchell. As a result, Cohen remains a mystery in some respects. The essay also discusses some of the paradoxes of Cohen’s key involvement in federal Indian policy and the contemporary importance of some of his legacies in American Indian law.

Review of Tsuk Mitchell’s Book on Felix Cohen

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is Steve Russell’s review in Wicaso Sa of Dalia Tsuk Mitchell’s wonderful book, “Architect of Justice: Felix S. Cohen and the Founding of American Legal Pluralism” — russell-review-of-tsuk-mitchell

An excerpt:

Mitchell’s telling of Cohen’s career is a must read for American Indian intellectuals–that is, Indians who think theory matters. In our time, we fight our own battles, but there is no need to reinvent the thoughts of our late Jewish ally. All of us who find ourselves thrust willy-nilly into the sovereignty wars because of where we come from stand on the shoulders of the Felix S. Cohens as well as the Vine Deloria Jrs. It’s an honorable place to stand, and this book illuminates many of the reasons why.

Agreed.

Dalia Tsuk Mitchell’s Book on Felix Cohen Wins National Award

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

From Legal History Blog:

The Littleton-Griswold Prize for the best book in American law and society will be awarded to Dalia Tsuk Mitchell for Architect of Justice: Felix S. Cohen and the Founding of American Legal Pluralism (Cornell Univ. Press, 2006) at the annual meeting of the American Historical Association in January.

We will be hosting Prof. Tsuk Mitchell at the Center this spring to discuss her book, along with Sam Hirsch of Jenner & Block, Riyaz Kanji of Kanji & Katzen, Christian McMillen of the University of Virginia, and Sam Deloria of the American Indian Graduate Center. That day’s panels will be discussing the legacy of Felix S. Cohen.