New Scholarship on Same-Sex Marriage in Indian Country

Mark Strasser has posted “Tribal Marriages, Same-Sex Unions, and the Interstate Recognition Conundrum” on Berkeley Electronic Press (article here).

The abstract:

When justifying the recognition of Native American polygamous unions, courts tended to appeal the rationale that unions valid where celebrated would be valid everywhere. Yet, courts would not recognize polygamous unions that were celebrated on non-tribal lands, even if those marriages had been valid where celebrated. The focus of this essay is on why Native American polygamous unions tended to be recognized, and the implications that these recognition practices might have for the validity of same-sex marriages across state lines.

Talk on John Voelker/Robert Traver’s “Laughing Whitefish” on Sept. 27

As part of the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the publication of Robert Traver’s Anatomy of a Murder, I will be giving a presentation on Traver’s novel, “Laughing Whitefish,” which is based on the three Michigan Supreme Court cases involving Marji Kobogum’s daughter Charlotte, aka Laughing Whitefish.

The presentation is at the Library of Michigan, on Sept. 27, 2008:

11:10 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Session A:  Laughing Whitefish
Forum Auditorium
John D. Voelker’s courtroom drama Laughing Whitefish tells the story of a young Chippewa woman’s struggle to collect a debt owed to her father by the Jackson Ore Company.  It is based on a case that went before the Michigan Supreme Court three times in the 1880s before it was resolved. This session will discuss the book, the actual Kawbawgam case and their impact on Michigan Native Americans.

Here are the legal materials in the case:

kobogum-v-jackson-iron-1889

compo-v-jackson-iron-1883

compo-v-jackson-iron-1882