Looks like a wonderful program, and congrats to Christine!
Tribal Law Journal
Paul Spruhan on Blood Quantum at Navajo
Paul Spruhan has published “The Origins, Current Status, and Future Prospects of Blood Quantum as the Definition of Membership in The Navajo Nation” in the Tribal Law Journal. Here is the abstract:
In this article, the author discusses the origin of the Navajo Nation’s blood requirement. Mr. Spruhan examines the intended purpose of the quarter-blood quantum definition and the role of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. He reviews the current status, regulation, and recent attempts to change the quarter-blood quantum requirement. He discusses the future of the quarter-blood quantum requirement with respect to the Navajo Nation Council’s 2002 resolution known as the “Fundamental Laws of the Diné,” a resolution mandating the application of traditional law, customary law, natural law, and common law to the Navajo Nation Government and its entities. In this regard, Mr. Spruhan inquires as to the impact the “Fundamental Laws of the Diné” will have on the quarter-blood quantum requirement and future membership requirements.
Ezra Rosser on Tribal Customary Law
Ezra Rosser has posted “Customary Law: The Way Things Were, Codified” on SSRN. The Tribal Law Journal published the paper. Here is the abstract:
Frequently referred to as “customary law,” the unique traditions and customs of different Native American tribes are cited by their tribal courts as authoritative and binding law. The recent use of customary law as a mechanism for deciding individual cases is not uniform among tribal court systems as it differs depending upon which tribe’s judges are working to place custom into contemporary judicial analysis. Understanding the present role of customary law in tribal law requires first understanding the nature of customary law and then understanding how it is being used. The effect of customary law is dependent upon the place it has in relation to other sources of law from tribal statutes to state common-law. Furthermore, the differing treatment afforded customary law by separate tribal court systems in many ways is a reflection of the degrees of proof required by different courts to establish what is or is not a tribal custom.
Christine Zuni Cruz on Indigenous Law Scholarship and the Tribal Law Journal
Christine Zuni Cruz, EIC of the Tribal Law Journal, has published “Shadow War Scholarship, Indigenous Legal Tradition, and Modern Law in Indian Country” in the Washburn Law Journal.
Here is an excerpt from the introduction:
This essay comments on the multi-layered experience of establishing an electronic law journal for the serious, scholarly treatment of the Indigenous (Chthonic) Legal Tradition and the law “of” Indigenous Peoples, as opposed to the nation-state law “concerning,” “about,” or “for” Indian tribes. It addresses the challenges to both the enterprise of seeking to write and publish about an oral legal tradition and its emerging modern, and written, offshoot in an electronic format, and of doing so in an academic and technological setting that contradicts and opposes the enterprise. It lays out the thought, the vision, the obstacles, and the concerns of the endeavor.
Turtle Talk 