Wenona T. Singel

Wenona Singel’s “The First Federalists”

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Wenona Singel has published “The First Federalists” in the Drake Law Review.

Here is the abstract:

One aspect of federalism’s values that scholars and the courts have largely ignored is their relevance to tribal governance. As sovereigns within the United States that govern with a measure of de jure autonomy, Indian tribes are important agents of self-rule within the United States’ federal system. The tribal exercise of sovereignty, while not part of the constitutional design of federalism in the United States, is nevertheless an example of the principles of federalism in operation.

However, Indian tribes do not receive any accommodation on account of their ability to promote the values of federalism. On the contrary, in dicta that often overshadow the judiciary’s formalist doctrinal analyses, courts regularly portray tribal governance as dangerously foreign, destabilizing, and undemocratic. From a federalism standpoint, this criticism is perplexing because diversity, pluralism, innovation, and experimentation are core values that our judiciary and legal profession expressly endorse. The judiciary’s dismissive characterization of tribal governance and its segregation of tribes from discussions of federalism’s values are also striking, given that federalism existed within tribal governing structures long before it was adopted within the U.S. Constitution. Tribes are the nation’s first federalists, and they continue to engage in federalism as members of the U.S. federal system.

By focusing on the intersection of tribal governance, federalism’s values, and the judiciary’s role in determining the proper allocation of federal, state, and tribal authority, this Article reveals that federalism is not a neutral norm that is equally applied to subnational sovereigns who engage in the act of governance. Despite federalism’s theoretical support of diversity, pluralism, innovation, and experimentation, in reality, federalism is applied within a bounded and highly policed realm. For those sovereigns within federalism’s protected space, diversity and innovation are theoretically promoted. For those sovereigns who exhibit federalism yet who are not part of federalism’s constitutional design, governance reflecting authentic cultural diversity is confined and limited to an increasingly narrow sphere. This Article discusses this dynamic and calls for an engagement of federalism’s values in judicial review of tribal jurisdictional disputes. This recommendation, if followed, will serve the nation and tribal communities by empowering rather than thwarting the exercise of effective governance.

Michigan State Law Review Symposium on Wenona Singel’s “Indian Tribes and Human Rights Accountability”

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Michigan State Law Review has published several articles from its symposium on Wenona Singel’s paper “Indian Tribes and Human Rights Accountability.”

Tribal Rights, Human Rights

Kristen A. Carpenter & Angela R. Riley

2013 Mich. St. L. Rev. 293 | Download PDF

Nenabozho’s Smart Berries: Rethinking Tribal Sovereignty and Accountability

Heidi Kiiwetinepinesiik Stark

2013 Mich. St. L. Rev. 339 | Download PDF

Jurisdiction and Human Rights Accountability in Indian Country

Kirsten Matoy Carlson

2013 Mich. St. L. Rev. 355 | Download PDF

First “Review” of Scholarly Promise and Achievement

Frank Pommersheim

2013 Mich. St. L. Rev. 291 | Download PDF

Tribal Sovereignty and Human Rights

Joseph William Singer

2013 Mich. St. L. Rev. 307 | Download PDF

A Most Grievous Display of Behavior: Self-Decimation in Indian Country

David E. Wilkins

2013 Mich. St. L. Rev. 325 | Download PDF

Healing to Wellness Courts: Therapeutic Justice

Joseph Thomas Flies-Away & Carrie E. Garrow

2013 Mich. St. L. Rev. 403 | Download PDF

 

Prof. Singel Sworn In to the St. Lawrence Seaway Advisory Board

Kate Fort

The post from Secretary Ray LaHood’s blog is here.

Deputy Secretary John Porcari, Secretary LaHood, Prof. Singel, Prof. Fletcher, the ever adorable E & O, Seaway Acting Administrator Craig Middlebrook:

Senate Confirms Wenona Singel to Member of the Advisory Board of the Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corp.

Matthew L.M. Fletcher3 Comments

Here and here.

Here is our post on Prof. Singel’s nomination.

PRESIDENT OBAMA TO NOMINATE MSU LAW PROFESSOR WENONA SINGEL TO SERVE ON NATIONAL BOARD

Matthew L.M. Fletcher6 Comments

PRESIDENT OBAMA TO NOMINATE MSU LAW PROFESSOR WENONA SINGEL TO SERVE ON NATIONAL BOARD

East Lansing, MI (September 6, 2011) — President Barack Obama today announced his intention to nominate Michigan State University College of Law Professor Wenona T. Singel to serve as a member of the Advisory Board of the Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation (SLSDC).

The SLSDC, a wholly owned government corporation operating within the U.S. Department of Transportation, collaborates with its Canadian counterpart to operate, maintain, and ensure the safety and security of navigational facilities in the Saint Lawrence Seaway. Its five-member advisory board meets quarterly to advise the corporation’s administrator on policies involving the operation, development, and effects of the Seaway.

“President Obama’s nomination of Professor Singel to this important board is a tremendous honor both for her and for the Law College,” said Joan W. Howarth, dean of MSU College of Law. “We are so pleased that the White House has recognized Professor Singel’s extensive record of public service and dedication to research on major policy issues.”

Singel is an assistant professor of law and the associate director of the Indigenous Law & Policy Center at MSU Law, where she teaches courses in the fields of federal Indian law and natural resources law. She also is an associate appellate justice for the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians and the former chief appellate judge for the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians.

Prior to joining the faculty at MSU Law, Singel was an assistant professor at the University of North Dakota School of Law and a fellow with the Northern Plains Indian Law Center. She earlier worked in private practice with firms including Kanji & Katzen and Dickinson Wright. She has served as a member of the Economic Development Commission of the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians and as general counsel for the Grand Traverse Resort, a tribally-owned resort in northern Michigan.

Professor Singel is an enrolled member of the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians. She received an A.B. from Harvard College and a J.D. from Harvard Law School.

The Indigenous Law & Policy Center is the heart of the Indigenous Law Program at MSU College of Law. The Center has two goals: to train law students to work in Indian Country, and to provide services to institutional clients such as Indian tribes, tribal courts, and other tribal organizations on a wide variety of legal and policy questions. The Center’s “Turtle Talk” blog is a popular and influential source for up-to-the-minute updates and analysis on Indian law and politics. One of the most followed law blogs in the country, Turtle Talk is followed by tribal citizens; indigenous law scholars; and tribal, state, and federal leaders.

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