tribal economic development

Wiring the Rez

Monica Williamson

The Rosette, LLP American Indian Economic Development Program at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University will host its sixth annual Tribal Government E-Commerce CLE Conference January 30-31, 2020. The Indian Legal Program is pleased to announce two keynote speakers: Tara Sweeney, Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs in the U.S. Department of Interior, and Kimberly Teehee, Cherokee Nation delegate-designate to the U.S. House of Representatives.

Wiring the Rez: Innovative Strategies for Business Development Via E-Commerce

January 30-31, 2020

Wild Horse Pass Hotel & Casino, Acacia Ballroom

5040 Wild Horse Pass Blvd, Chandler, AZ 85226

See full list of speakers and agenda, and register at law.asu.edu/wiringtherez.

Early rate ends Jan. 24.

Nonprofit Quarterly Presents Webinar: Remaking the Economy in Indian Country

Monica Williamson

How does a community, in fact and not just in rhetoric, decolonize wealth?  This is a central question that panelists seek to address in the latest edition of NPQ’s continuing Remaking the Economy webinar series on Thursday, November 21, 2019 at 2:00 pm EST.

Remaking the Economy Press Release.

Registration link.

 

Minnesota American Indian Bar Association 2015 Indian Law Conference

Andrew Adams III

Friday, May 15, 2015
8:30 AM – 5:00 PM (Central Time) 
Grand Casino Hinckley
Hinckley, MN 55037

Here for additional information.

Special Guest Speakers:

Judge Leo I. Brisbois
United States District Court; District of Minnesota; Duluth
Sheila D. Corbine
Fredericks Peebles & Morgan LLP; Mandan, North Dakota
Suzan Shown Harjo
President, Morning Star Institute; Washington, D.C.
Judge Anne K. McKeig
Fourth Judicial District; Minneapolis
Katherian D. Roe
Office of the Federal Defender; District of Minnesota; Minneapolis
Jeanette Wolfley
University of New Mexico School of Law; Albuquerque, New Mexico

And a special luncheon presentation by
Karen R. Diver
Chairwoman, Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa
Cloquet, Minnesota

Topics:

  • Case Law Update
  • The Use of Indian Names, Symbols and Mascots in Sports: The Washington Football Team Controversy and the Role of Trademark Rights
  • M&A Transactions for Indian Tribes
  • Criminal Law, Public Safety and Due Process in Minnesota’s Native Communities
  • Tribes and Public Policy: From Development to Implementation
  • Tribes and Water in Minnesota
  • The Indian Child Welfare Act: Reconfigured 2015
  • Complex Civil Jurisdiction Issues in Tribal Court: The Teague Factors and Beyond
  • Exploited Youth and the Safe Harbor Law
  • Spotting and Dealing with Ethical Conflicts in Indian Country

Cornell NALSA to Host Tribal Economic Development Summit This Saturday (To be Live Streamed)

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here:

Cornell Tribal Economic Development Summit Poster

Here is the agenda (PDF):

Summit Agenda-1_Page_1 Summit Agenda-1_Page_2

Here is the live stream link for the morning panel sessions:
http://law.webcast.video.cornell.edu/Mediasite/Play/4c30d7814aec4710a6f84e9dc33dfc851d

And here is the link for the Keynote address:
http://law.webcast.video.cornell.edu/Mediasite/Play/e5f613f211524a7abaaa8401574bca081d

New York Court of Appeals Finds Seneca-Owned Company Not Cloaked with Tribal Immunity

Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

Here is the opinion in Sue/Perior Concrete and Paving v. Lewiston Golf Course Corp.

An excerpt:

Defendant Lewiston Golf Course Corporation (Lewiston Golf) is an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of the Seneca Nation of Indians, a federally recognized Indian tribe. We are asked to decide whether that corporation is protected from suit by the Seneca Nation’s sovereign immunity. Applying the factors set out in Matter of Ransom v St. Regis Mohawk Educ. & Community Fund (86 NY2d 553 [1995]), we hold that it is not.

Briefs and other materials here:

A102214-196-Oral-Argument-Transcript

ASuePeriorConcretevLewiston-amic-SenecaNation-amicbrf

ASuePeriorvLewiston-app-Lewiston-brf

ASuePeriorvLewiston-app-Lewiston-Rec

ASuePeriorvLewiston-app-Lewiston-replybrf

ASuePeriorvLewiston-res-SuePerior-brf

ASuePeriorvLewiston-res-SuePerior-BrfRspAmic

Lower court materials here. My commentary on the appellate division’s reasoning applies here as well.

New Study: “Indian Tribal Government Access to Tax-Exempt Bond Financing”

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Edith Brashares and Siobhan O’Keefe have posted “Indian Tribal Government Access to Tax-Exempt Bond Financing” on SSRN.

Here is the abstract:

While prior research focuses on Federal assistance to Native American tribal governments through spending programs, we examine tax incentive use by tribes. Tribal governments can issue tax-exempt bonds where the interest rates are lower because the Federal government does not tax bondholder on the interest they receive. To provide context, we briefly summarize the tax rules for tax-exempt bonds and describe tribal tax-exempt borrowing between 1987 and 2010. These data have not been published previously. Unlike most studies of tax-exempt bonds that examine how much is borrowed, we start by modeling the decision of a tribal government to borrow using tax-exempt bonds. We find tribes with resources, either gaming income or royalties, but that have members in need are more likely to borrow using tax-exempt bonds. Of those tribes that do borrow, the amount increases with the interest rate spread relative to Treasuries, gaming income and per capita income.