Nooksack Indian Tribe – Page 7

Nooksack Tribe Moves to Vacate State Court Order Enforcing Contempt Order against Tribal Police Chief

November 7, 2016Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here are the new materials in In re Galanda v. Nooksack Tribal Court (Wash. Super. Ct. — Whatcom County):

declaration-of-charity-bernard-as-records-custodian-of-tribal-council

nooksack-indian-tribes-motion-to-vacate-order-domesticating-foreign-judgment

Turtle Talk Poll Results — Nooksack Disenrollments

November 1, 2016Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Few Turtle Talk readers support disenrolling the so-called Nooksack 306. The vast majority of TT readers think Nooksack should hold elections before disenrollments. There is a wide variety of opinions on which forum should resolve the disputes.

Question: Should the Nooksack 306 Be Disenrolled?

	COUNT	PERCENT


Yes	12	4.44%
No	202	74.81%
Don’t Know	56	20.74%

Question: Should the Nooksack Tribe Hold Elections Before Proceeding with Disenrollments?

	COUNT	PERCENT


Yes	212	85.48%
No	25	10.08%
Don’t Know	11	4.44%

Question: Which forum is the best place to resolve litigation arising from this dispute?

	COUNT	PERCENT


Nooksack tribal council (incl. Nooksack Supreme Court)	14	5.45%
Nooksack tribal judiciary	89	34.63%
Bureau of Indian Affairs	51	19.84%
Federal or state courts	80	31.13%
International forums	7	2.72%
Other	16	6.23%

Turtle Talk Poll — Nooksack Disenrollments

October 31, 2016Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

If you’ve been following Turtle Talk for the past few years, you must have noticed the incredible volume of pleadings that have been filed in tribal, federal, and state courts in the litigation involving the so-called Nooksack 306. We at TT have largely stayed away from commenting on that internal tribal political dispute, preferring instead to serve merely as a space for the parties on both sides to make their pleadings and materials available online. They speak for themselves.

The events at Nooksack are really quite dramatic, and ongoing. The Nooksack tribe has cancelled elections (last election in 2014) and apparently operates today through some form of a holdover council, “disbarred” attorneys for the proposed disenrollees from practice in tribal courts, refused to allow parties from filing pleadings in tribal court, fired (or constructively fired) a tribal judge, been subject to contempt orders from its appellate court, sued the appellate court administrators for breach of contract, tried to create a tribal supreme court to vacate the appellate court orders, and drew a letter from the BIA saying the federal government will not recognize official actions of the holdover council. There’s more but . . . Whew!

Time for a Turtle Talk poll!!!! [results tomorrow . . . .]

Nooksack Update

October 31, 2016Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Kelly v. Kelly (Nooksack Tr. Ct.):

Kelly v. Kelly Rejected Second Amended Complaint

Belmont v. Kelly (Nooksack Ct. App.):

Rejected Declarations Re Nooksack Member Voting Rights

Nooksack Indian Tribe v. NICS (Nooksack Tr. Ct.):

Response to Order to Show Cause

Declaration of of Daniel Kamkoff in Response to Order to Show Cause

Administrative Disenrollment Matter (Nooksack Tr. Council):

Omnibus Written Response of Nooksack Tribal Members Proposed for Disenrollment

News Profile of BIA Letter to Nooksack

October 19, 2016Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is “Nooksack Tribe’s actions not recognized by feds in ‘exceedingly rare’ case.”

BIA Will Not Recognize Actions of Holdover Nooksack Tribal Council

October 18, 2016Matthew L.M. Fletcher2 Comments

Here is the letter from ASIA Larry Roberts to Robert Kelly:

Letter

An excerpt:

We will not recognize any actions until duly elected officials are seated in accordance with the Tribe’s Constitution and Bylaws. This includes recent actions by you and two Council members to enjoin the authority of the Northwest Intertribal Court System (NICS). Since the NICS was authorized by a quorum of the Council to adjudicate matters prior to March 24, 2016, we will continue to recognize judicial decisions issued by the NICS.

News Profile of Nooksack Tribal Court Issues

October 14, 2016Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

Here is “Nooksack Indian Tribe creates Supreme Court, gets restraining order against appeals court.”

Friday Job Announcements

September 30, 2016Sarah M Donnelly

Job vacancies are posted on Friday. Some announcements might still appear throughout the week. If you would like your Indian law job posted on Turtle Talk, please email indigenous@law.msu.edu.

Morongo Band of Mission Indians

Tribal Associate Judge, contracted for 5-10 hours per month.

Tohono O’odham Nation

Asst. Attorney General: The Office of Attorney General is now hiring an Assistant Attorney General IV, Health, with at least eight years of relevant experience, including experience in health law. The Office of Attorney General represents the interests of the Tohono O’odham Nation in tribal, state, and federal venues.

The Nation offers generous benefits including paid holidays, sick and annual leave, low cost medical, dental, and vision insurance. Applicants must pass a background check. Send resume, legal writing sample, and three references to Acting Attorney General Laura Berglan via email at laura.berglan@tonation-nsn.gov.

Nooksack Indian Tribe

Senior Attorney, closes 10/12/2016.