Here is the press release:
We posted some materials from this case, Toyukak v. Treadwell (D. Alaska), here.
District of Alaska
Organized Village of Saxman Sues Interior over Subsistence Rights
Here is the complaint in Organized Village of Saxman v. Towarak (D. Alaska):
An excerpt:
This action seeks declaratory and injunctive relief under section 807 of the Alaska National Interests Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA), 16 U.S.C. § 3117, to prevent the Secretaries of Interior and Agriculture from implementing a 2007 final rule that administratively grouped the rural community of Saxman with the nonrural cvcommunity of Ketchikan. Only residents of communities identified by the Federal Subsistence Board (FSB) as rural are eligible for ANILCA’s subsistence priority. 50 C.F.R. 100.5 § (2013). By grouping Saxman with Ketchikan, the 2007 final rule removes Saxman’s rural status and effectively eliminates Saxman’s priority for subsistence uses set forth in ANILCA section 804, 16 U.S.C. § 3114, thus denying Saxman’s members continued access to the subsistence resources they depend on as a mainstay of their livelihood in violation of section 811 of ANILCA, 16 U.S.C. § 3121, and the Administrative Procedures Act (APA), 5 U.S.C. § 553, 706(2)(a),(d).
Selected Materials from Alaska Native Voting Rights Trial
Here are materials from Toyukak v. Treadwell (D. Alaska):
47 Alaska Motion for Partial Summary J
86 Alaska Reply in Support of 47
128 Alaska Objection to McCool
Southcentral Foundation Effort to Force IHS to Fund Suicide Prevention and Other Programs Fails
Here are the materials in Southcentral Foundation v. Roubideaux (D. Alaska):
An excerpt:
Before the Court at Docket 3 is a motion filed by Plaintiff Southcentral Foundation (SCF). Although entitled a motion for a preliminary injunction, SCF is seeking mandamus relief in the form of an order that requires the immediate payment to it from a federal official of additional funding for Fiscal Year (FY) 2012 for the Methamphetamine and Suicide Prevention Initiative (MSPI) and the Domestic Violence Prevention Initiative (DVPI). The Defendant is Yvette Roubideaux, the Director of the Indian Health Service (“IHS” or “Defendant”). After this litigation was filed, IHS agreed to pay SCF approximately $1.08 million of the disputed funds. Still disputed is approximately $449,000 in funding. On September 27, 2013, the Court heard oral argument on the motion. Having considered the documents filed with the Court, the law, and the arguments of counsel, the Court will deny the motion for the reasons set forth herein.
Alaska Natives Sue Alaska over Election Translations
News coverage here.
Complaint when we get it.
Federal Polar Bear Critical Habitat Rule Vacated
Here are materials in Alaska Oil and Gas Assn. v. Salazar (D. Alaska):
Alaska Natives Motion for Summary J
Federal Consolidated Opposition Brief
DCT Order Vacating Polar Bear Rule
From the opinion:
Plaintiffs contend that the Service proceeded with an unprecedented critical habitat designation despite the Service’s finding that such designation “will not result in any present or anticipated future conservation benefit to the polar bear species ” and is not “ ‘essential’ to the conservation of the species.” Plaintiffs further opine that: (1) such designation will “have significant adverse ramifications for the people who live and work on the North Slope, for Alaska’s oil and gas industry, and for the State of Alaska”; (2) the designation will “leave the species worse off because it is impairing the cooperative relationship that the … [Service] has sought to build with the Alaska Natives”; (3) the Service’s failure to exclude “native-owned lands and rural communities” will “disproportionately harm Alaska Natives and other North Slope Borough residents”; (4) the Service failed “to engage in meaningful consultation with [the State of Alaska and with] Alaska Natives early in the rulemaking process”; (5) the Service’s inclusion of “a one-mile no disturbance zone as part of the barrier island habitat unit of the designation … exceeds its authority under the ESA”; (6) “[t]he Service failed to adequately consider and include in the calculation of the total economic impacts of the designation the substantial indirect incremental economic impacts”; (7) “[t]he Service failed to provide Alaska with an adequate written justification as required by the ESA … for promulgating a … designation that conflicts with the comments submitted to the” Service; (8) the Service failed to address the area exclusion requests by Alaska “and failed to adequately consider whether the benefits of excluding those areas were outweighed by the benefits of including them”; (9) “[t]he Service improperly included areas that it concedes were not occupied by polar bears at the time of the designation”; and (10) “[t]he Service improperly included areas as critical habitat without determining that those areas contained the physical or biological features essential to the conservation of the polar bear.” Plaintiffs seek the invalidation of the Final Rule and request that the Court vacate and remand the Rule.
Ninth Circuit Affirms Fed. Court Jurisdiction over ANCSA Claims
Here are the materials in Cook Inlet Region, Inc. v. Rude:
Cook Inlet Region Answer Brief
Lower court materials:
Federal Court Enjoins Actions of Fake Tribal Court Harassing Native Village Corporation
Here are the materials in Koniag, Inc. v. Kanam (D. Alaska):
More Materials on Koniag v. Kanum
Here is a complaint filed by Kurt Kanam against the parties in United States v. Washington in the “Karluk Tribal Court” from last fall:
Update in Koniag v. Kanam — Some Evidence that “Karluk Tribal Court” Isn’t a Real Tribal Court At All
You may recall our posting on the recent complaint in Koniag, Inc. v. Kanam (and the Karluk Tribal Court). There is some evidence that the “Karluk Tribal Court” is not attached to a federally recognized tribe, and may be a total fraud.
Here are some additional materials in the ongoing federal suit:
Karluk Tribal Court Materials [Note the location of the tribal court — it’s in Washington state, a thousand miles from the Native village on Kodiak Island]
Here is an order issued by the “Karluk Tribal Court” purporting to declare a Washington state court ICWA proceeding invalid: Continue reading
Turtle Talk 
You must be logged in to post a comment.