Federal Magistrate Decides (Non-)Indian Status of Defendant in General Crimes Act Case

Here are the materials in United States v. Loera (D. Ariz.):

DCT Order Denying Motion to Dismiss

Loera Motion to Dismiss — Indian Status

USA Response

An excerpt:

Defendant’s motion and the government’s response raise matters for the Court’s consideration which other courts have left for another day. See Means v. Navajo Nation, 432 F.3d 924, 934–35 (9th Cir.2005). The resolution of the issues requires the Court to journey into the world of “Indian Law” which has been described as a “complex patchwork of federal, state and tribal law, which is better explained by history than by logic.” United States v. Bruce, 394 F.3d 1215, 1218 (9th Cir.2005) (internal quotations omitted). Indian law has also been described as “schizophrenic”: “Federal Indian policy is, to say the least, schizophrenic. And the confusion continues to inform federal Indian law …” United States v. Lara, 541 U.S. 193, 219, 124 S.Ct. 1628, 1644–45 (2004) (Thomas, J., concurring).

Another:

This case presents a unique factual and jurisdictional conundrum apparently of first impression. Notwithstanding the 1990 amendments to the Indian Civil Rights Act, codified at 25 U.S.C. § 1301 et seq., the Fort Mojave Indian Tribe has declined to prosecute a defendant who may be an “Indian” and the Tribe’s decision is apparently based solely on the defendant’s lack of tribal membership, i.e., the Tribal Court has determined it does not have jurisdiction under its laws.

And finally:

Since its first enactment in 1817 (3 Stat. 383), additions added in 1854 (10 Stat. 270), sequent codification in 18 U.S.C. § 1152, and the enactment and amendment of the Indian Civil Rights Act, the language of section 1152 has never been amended, yet the government has entered into nine separate treaties with thirteen separate and distinct tribes obligating the federal government to remove all “bad men” from those tribes’ lands and prosecute them in federal courts when requested by the Tribe, exactly what occurred in this matter. In order to give validity to those treaties, as the Court is obligated to do, and which Congress has not repealed, and even though the treaties are with tribes other than the Fort Mojave Indian Tribe, the use of the term “Indian” in section 1152 must, as Judge Sneed concluded, mean an Indian who is a tribal member. As such, should this Court have concluded Defendant was an “Indian” section 1152 would not grant him immunity from federal prosecution as he is not a tribal member.

Federal Court Denies Motion for TRO to Enjoin Nooksack Disenrollment Election

Here are the materials in St. Germain v. Dept. of Interior (W.D. Wash.):

3-Amended Complaint

4-Motion for TRO and Proposed Order

23 Defendant’s Opposition to Plaintiffs’ Application for a TRO

24 Reply re Motion for TRO

25 Order denying TRO

Additional Tribal Court Materials in Nooksack Tribal Disenrollment Case — Second Emergency Motion for TRO

Here are the new materials in Lomeli v. Kelly (Nooksack Tribal Ct.):

Second Emergency Motion for Temporary Restraining Order

Defendants’ Response in Opposition to Second Emer Motion for TRO

Reply in Support of Second Emergency Motion for TRO

Tribal Court Order Denying Second TRO Motion re Election

Tribal Court Order Denying Second TRO Re General Special Meetings

Prior posts here, here, here, and here.

Assistant Secretary’s Decision in Pala Band Disenrollment Dispute

Here:

AS-IA Pala Decision.6.12.2013

Another Nooksack Membership Update

Additional materials in Lomeli v. Kelly (Nooksack Tribal Court):

Order Denying Motion for Stay

Emergency Motion for Stay Pending Appeal

Defendants Response to Plaintiffs Emergency Motion for Stay Pending Appeal

Update in Nooksack Membership Dispute

News coverage here. Previous post on the recent tribal court litigation. And an update on tribal court filings:

Second Declaration of Gabriel S. Galanda

And a federal complaint alleging FOIA violations by the Bureau of Indian Affairs — St. Germain v. Dept. of Interior (W.D. Wash.):

St Germain v Interior Complaint

 

Tribal Court Denies Injunction in Nooksack Disenrollee Challenge

Here are the materials available in Lomeli v. Kelly (Nooksack Tribal Court):

Order Denying Motion for Preliminary Injunction

Defendants Response Brief in Opposition to Plaintiffs Emergency Motion for T

Reply in Support of Plaintiffs Emergency Motion for TRO

Ninth Circuit Reverses BIA Decision Favoring Cahto Disenrollees

Here is the opinion in Cahto Tribe of the Laytonville Rancheria v. Dutschke.

The court’s syllabus:

The panel reversed the district court’s judgment affirming the federal Bureau of Indian  Affairs’ decision in favor of federal defendants in an action brought by the Cahto Tribe of the Laytonville Rancheria, seeking to set aside the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ decision to direct the Tribe to place the names of certain disenrolled individuals back on its  membership rolls.

The panel held that the Tribe’s governing documents did not provide for an appeal to the Bureau of Indian Affairs of the Tribe’s disenrollment action.

Briefs are here.

Update in Pala Band Disenrollment Dispute

Here are the new materials:

13.05.09_SD AS-IA Brief re Pala dissenrollment appeals.

2013_04_29 Notice of Procedures

Brief.5.9.13.Final.Corrected

IBIA Order Dismissing Appeal 7.18.12

IBIA Petition for Reconsideration 8.12.12

Notice of Appeal Final 7.7.12

Order Denying Reconsideration.8.29.12

PALA Admin Records – INDEX Aguayo & Howard.5.10.13

RD Recommendation 6.7.12

Prior posts on the IBIA proceedings are here and here.

Bethany Berger on Race, Descent, and Tribal Membership

Bethany Berger has published “Race, Descent, and Tribal Membership” (PDF) in the California Law Review Circuit. Here is the description:

Connecticut School of Law Professor Bethany R. Berger looks at the relationship between descent-based tribal citizenship requirements and race or racism. She argues that tribal citizenship laws that require Indian or tribal descent are generally neither the product nor the source of racism in federal Indian law and policy, and instead are moral, legal, and consistent with federal and international norms.