Yale NALSA

Yale NALSA Climate Change Event

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Climate Change and Native Nations: The Search for Legal Remedies 

Saturday, February 28, 2:45-3:45pm

Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies

Kroon Hall, 195 Prospect Street, Room G01

The effects of climate change are continuing to increase and are disproportionately affecting tribal communities. Some Native nations have taken action to mitigate the effects of and adapt to climate change to protect their natural resources, homelands, infrastructure, and food sources. This workshop will address the following questions: What is the current state of climate policy within Native communities? What are Indian Country’s best resiliency practices? What opportunities and challenges exist in using various international and domestic legal tools to seek redress?

 

  • Elizabeth Kronk Warner (Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians), Associate Professor of Law and Director, Tribal HeLaw & Government Center, University of Kansas School of Law

 

Registration: http://www.eventbrite.com/e/new-directions-in-environmental-law-2015-harnessing-momentum-tickets-14553793789

 

This panel is part of Yale Law School’s 2015 New Directions in Environmental Law Conference. To learn more about the conference, please visit: http://www.law.yale.edu/news/2015envirolawconference.htm. 

Yale NALSA Event on Tribal Peacemaking

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Native Peacemaking: A Traditional Approach to Conflict Resolution

Friday, February 20, 2015 at 5:15-6:45pm
Yale Law School

Peacemaking is a traditional Native approach to resolving conflict that focuses on healing and restoration rather than punishment. Although peacemaking varies across tribes, it generally brings together the disputants, along with family members, friends, and other members of the community to speak about how the event, crime, or crisis affected each person. Panelists will discuss the goals of peacemaking and how tribal courts are using this strategy to tackle Indian justice issues.

Panelists:

  • Rita Gilman, Peacemaker, Mohegan Tribe
  • Shawn Watts, Associate Director, Edson Queiroz Foundation Mediation Program, and Lecturer in Law, Columbia Law School
  • Melissa Tantaquidgeon Zobel, Tribal Historian and Medicine Woman, Mohegan Tribe

Registration: https://www.cvent.com/events/21st-annual-rebellious-lawyering-conference/registration-8556edb1831842159e12e9a427930a69.aspx

This panel is part of Yale Law School’s 2015 Rebellious Lawyering Conference. To learn more about the conference, please visit: http://www.yale.edu/reblaw.

Yale NALSA Event on Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Deconstructing the “Baby Veronica” Case: Implications for the Future of the Indian Child Welfare Act

Friday, February 21, 5:15-6:45 p.m.

Yale Law School, New Haven, CT

Panelists:

  • Jacqueline Pata, Executive Director, National Congress of American Indians
  • Joel West Williams, Staff Attorney, Native American Rights Fund

In June 2013, the Supreme Court decided Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl, a widely publicized case involving the adoption of a Cherokee child by non-Natives over the objections of her Cherokee father. At the heart of the controversy was the Indian Child Welfare Act, a federal law designed to protect the best interests of Native children and promote the stability and security of Indian tribes and families. This panel will explore the history behind this landmark law, the current landscape of Indian child welfare, and the implications of the “Baby Veronica” decision for the future placement of Native children. Additionally, panelists will discuss how their organizations collaborated with both tribal and non-tribal stakeholders to develop legal, media, and other advocacy strategies for the case as part of the Tribal Supreme Court Project.

 

Registration: http://www.rsvpbook.com/event.php?439305

 

This panel is part of Yale Law School’s 2014 Rebellious Lawyering Conference. To learn more about the conference, please visit: http://www.yale.edu/reblaw.