Download(PDF): Letter
Excerpt:
We ask that you and other governmental actors take steps to prevent racist and violent events like the Unite the Right Rally from occurring in the future, while allowing for legitimate speech protected by the First Amendment. We also ask that you support the removal of celebratory markers commemorating individuals who committed violence against and impinged on the rights of marginalized populations.
Do you know a student that will be in D.C. to intern or clerk at an organization or firm that works in Indian law and policy? If so, please encourage them to sign up for the NABA-DC Brown Bag Series and Mentorship Program!
Interns sign up here: http://goo.gl/forms/EGUKmk6Zte
If you are an attorney and would like to sign up as a mentor, click here: http://goo.gl/forms/1c0r6VP8Ld
Brownbag Program: Every year, the Native American Bar Association of Washington, D.C. (NABA-DC) organizes events for summer interns working in the field of Indian law and policy. Events include brownbags lunches at government agencies, law firms, and non-profit organizations, as well as happy hours and a summer picnic. The Brownbags are a wonderful opportunity for interns to network with fellow interns and potential employers.
If you have any questions about the Brownbag lunch series please contact nabadcbrownbag@gmail.com.
Mentorship Program: NABA-DC also coordinates a Mentorship Program each summer to give legal interns working in Indian law a personal networking experience. Interns are matched with professionals working in Washington D.C., with efforts made to find mentors who are working in the same fields the interns wish to enter, enriching the interns’ educational experience in D.C. and connecting practitioners with the next generation of Native leaders.
If you have any questions about the NABA-DC mentorship program, please contact nabadcmentorship@gmail.com.
Last one for the day!
Still on category 4, groups.
# 2 Tribal Supreme Court Project
They’ve need a win, and Bay Mills was a biggie! While they were unable to persuade SCOTUS not to take the case in the first (even the SG failed there), and they were unable to persuade the tribe not to bring this case in the first place, but that said, they did help tribal interests avoid problems in a lot of other cases (here, here, here, here, and here). Actually, I have no idea if they helped or not but we’ll give them some credit anyway.
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# 15 Tribal Law and Policy Institute
Always been a big fan of Jerry Gardner and his crew. One of the funniest men around. Did amazing work on the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee on American Indian and Alaska Native Children Exposed to Violence Report this year.
#7 Native American Bar Association
NABA will be releasing a report arising out of a survey that over 500 Indian lawyers completed this year, so maybe this posting is a year early.
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#10 Tribal In-House Counsel Association
New organization that has the potential to revolutionize the practice of law in Indian country. I’m hoping that TICA members will be able to cut through a lot of this in the coming generation.
#3 Authors of law review articles on Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl
Yes, there’s a lot, lot, lot of these out there. Some are brilliant and inspiring, some are, well, kinda scary.
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#14 Authors of law review articles on Michigan v. Bay Mills Indian Community
Not as many, and most are less scary. Here, here, here, here. Some are just weird.
# 6 Carcieri challengers
The people, groups, tribes, and states and state subdivisions that want to use a poorly-reasoned Supreme Court decision to stop Indian gaming at all costs are legion. Samples here, here, here, here, here, here, and elsewhere (just type Carcieri into TT’s search engine). Interior has opined about it here.
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# 11 Tribal sovereign lenders
Yep.
From the ABA:
On February 12, 2009, at the request of American Bar Association President, H. Thomas Wells, Jr., Mary L. Smith will testify at the “State of Diversity in the Legal Profession” hearing at the ABA Mid-Year Meeting in Boston, MA. Ms. Smith will discuss issues of concern to women and Native Americans in the legal profession, particularly, the crisis situation of public safety issues in Indian Country and also the “box checking” issue on law school applications.
Ms. Smith is the National Native American Bar Association’s delegate to the ABA House of Delegates and is the first tribally-enrolled Commissioner and Chair of the Women of Color Committee for the ABA’s Commission on Women in the Profession. (As many of you already know she is also one of our council members and very active in the work of the committees).
Here is her prepared testimony — diversity_hearing_testimony1
Turtle Talk 