Indian Law Bulletins Updated 9/16

We have scoured the web. Here are some of the latest materials related to Indian Law. Find all of the latest updates at narf.org/nill/bulletins/

Federal Courts Bulletin
https://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/federal/2020.html

• Southcentral Foundation v. Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium (Declaratory Relief; Tribal Health Organizations)
• United States v. Begay (Federal Sentencing Disparities)
• Hackford v. State of Utah (Jurisdiction)
• Ak-Chin Community v. Maricopa-Stanfield Irrigation & Drainage District (Water Rights)
• Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe v. Azar (IHS; Trust Relationship)
• Shoshone-Bannock Tribes of the Fort Hall Reservation v. Bernhardt (Federal Trust Breach; Reservation Boundaries)
• The Shawnee Tribe v. Mnuchin (CARES Act)

U.S. Legislation - 116th Congress Bulletin
https://narf.org/nill/bulletins/legislation/116_uslegislation.html

• S.2558 - Nursing Home Care for Native American Veterans Act
• S.4556 - A bill to authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the Indian Health Service, to acquire private land to facilitate access to the Desert Sage Youth Wellness Center in Hemet, California, and for other purposes.
• S.4562 - A bill to amend the Public Health Service Act with respect to the collection and availability of health data with respect to Indian Tribes and Tribal organizations, and for other purposes.
• H.R.8216 - To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out a Native VetSuccess at Tribal Colleges and Universities Pilot Program.

Law Review & Bar Journal Bulletin (contact us if you need help finding a copy of an article)
https://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/lawreviews/2020.html

• Indigenous nuclear injuries and the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA): Reframing compensation toward Indigenous-led environmental reparations.
• Are Indian tribes really "domestic dependent nations?": The fight for sovereign immunity in Wilkes v. PCI Gaming Authority.
• Federal approval of oil pipelines and Indigenous consultation in the United States after Standing Rock and Keystone XL: Lessons from Canada on the limits of industry-Indigenous consultation.
• The scope of tribal immunity in real property disputes.
• The Cherokee Nation, John Marshall, and the stadial theory of development.
• Sense and census building: Capturing tribal realities in the U.S. Census.

News Bulletin
https://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/news/currentnews.html
This week, in brief:

• The Inuit Circumpolar Council Alaska releases Inuit-led report: Food Sovereignty and Self-Governance — Inuit Role in Arctic Marine Resource Management
• Senate Democrats call on FCC chairman to expeditiously address the digital divide in Indian Country
• Native American Youth and Family Center, Community Development Partners, Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians break ground on new affordable housing in Portland, Oregon's Cully neighborhood
• More Choctaws Have Died of COVID Than Those Who Died of the Disease in Hawaii. Or Alaska. Or Wyoming.
• Southeast Alaska Indigenous Transboundary Commission responds to United Nations Special Rapporteur’s Report
• Tribal perspectives key to Rio Grande study
• O'odham water & land defenders arrested halting border wall
• Tribal nations face continued voter suppression
• StrongHearts Native Helpline receives grant to address surge in domestic violence
• Wyoming tribe's chair says tribal members were turned away from ER at pandemic's start
• Arts Scene: Tulsa museums to host major shows featuring Indigenous women artists

Indian Law Bulletins Updated 9/10

Federal Courts Bulletin
https://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/federal/2020.html

• Jamul Action Committee v. Simermeyer (IGRA; Sovereign Immunity)
• Nanouk v. United States (FTCA)
• Pauma Band of Luiseno Mission Indians of the Pauma & Yuima Reservation v. State of California (IGRA)
• Genskow v. Prevost (Tribal Sovereign Immunity)

State Courts Bulletin
https://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/state/2020.html
Matter of Dependency of Z.J.G (ICWA)

Law Review & Bar Journal Bulletin (contact us if you need help finding a copy of an article)
https://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/lawreviews/2020.html

• The civil jurisdictional landscape in eastern Oklahoma post McGirt v. Oklahoma.
• Bringing back the great bear: Challenges and opportunities of Grizzly restoration in the Northern Rockies.

News Bulletin
https://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/news/currentnews.html
This week, in brief:

• NARF is accepting applications for the 2021 summer law clerkships now until September 18th. Learn more at https://www.narf.org/contact-us/join-team/clerks/
• Alaska lawsuit calls for safer voting process during pandemic
• 'It's up to us': Census response risks undercount, underfunding for North Dakota tribes
• South Dakota Native Homeownership Coalition members showcase successful Native veterans homeownership models
• Coalition of Indian tribes, foster youth group, and LGBTQ+ youth orgs file suit to fight Trump administration’s failure to count children in foster care
• EPA unveils Western office to focus on abandoned mine tracking, cleanup
• Squaw Valley Ski Resort near Lake Tahoe to change name from the 'racist and sexist slur'
• Chickasaw student grabs spot in Johns Hopkins European master's program

NILL Receives IMLS Grant to improve access to Tribal Laws

 
NILL and our partners have been awarded a three year National Leadership Grants for Libraries grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS).  We will receive a portion of the $239,087 granted for our Digital Publication of Tribal Laws Pilot Project which endeavors to improve access to tribal laws. Our project, which was one of 38 projects that received an IMLS grant, is featured on the IMLS award announcement: 

The University of Wisconsin Law Library, in partnership with the Stockbridge-Munsee Community Band of Mohican Indians, the UW Law School Great Lakes Indigenous Law Center, the National Indian Law Library, and the Open Law Library, will develop The Digital Publication of Tribal Laws Pilot Project. The project will develop an open law library platform that will empower libraries to improve access to tribal laws published into the public domain and will demonstrate the benefits of the combined platforms for tribes, their members, academia, the legal profession, and the public by creating a fully-functional tribal legal ecosystem.

We’re excited to have received this grant and to work with our partners to continue NILL’s mission of improving access to tribal laws.