National Indian Law Library

April 9, 2021

U.S. Supreme Court Bulletin
http://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/sct/2020-2021update.html
Petition for certiorari is pending in one case:

Petition for certiorari was denied in one case on 4/5/21:

Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation v. Yakima County (Jurisdiction)

Federal Courts Bulletin
https://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/federal/2021.html

The Cherokee Nation v. Department of the Interior (Trust Relationship; Fiduciary Duty)
Becker v. Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation (Tribal Sovereign Immunity; Jurisdiction Over Nonmembers)
Chicken Ranch Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians v. Newsom (IGRA)

State Courts Bulletin
https://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/state/2021.html

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

Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals issues en banc decision in Brackeen v. Haaland — formerly Brackeen v. Bernhardt
Seven Generation Thinking: Indigenous traditions in North America emphasize resilience; engineered timber is helping realize those principles
Cherokee Nation, Oklahoma Air National Guard break ground on housing addition for Cherokee veterans in Tahlequah
Space Force swears in first Indigenous female intelligence officer
Transportation commissioner questions why a tribal-state road project is stalled
Land seizures, 'unethical' research: University of Minnesota confronts troubled history with tribal nations
Mississippi returns hundreds of Native Americans' remains to Chickasaw Nation
Justice Department working with tribes on missing persons
The 'slow-motion genocide' of the Chinook Indian Nation

Federal Courts Bulletin
https://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/federal/2021.html

Miller v. United States (FTCA; Tribal Police)
Cherokee Nation v. McKesson Corporation (Opioid Litigations; Civil Conspiracy)

Tribal Courts Bulletin
https://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/tribal/2021.html

S.Res.141 - A resolution recognizing the critical importance of access to reliable, clean drinking water for Native Americans and Alaska Natives and confirming the responsibility of the Federal Government to ensure such water access.
S.981 - A bill to amend the Federal Assets Sale and Transfer Act of 2016 to ensure that federally recognized Indian Tribes are consulted before the sale or transfer of certain Federal civilian real properties, and for other purposes.
S.989/H.R.2271 - A bill to establish a Native American language resource center in furtherance of the policy set forth in the Native American Languages Act.
H.R.2208 - To restore an opportunity for tribal economic development on terms that are equal and fair, and for other purposes.

Law Review & Bar Journal Bulletin (contact us if you need help finding a copy of an article)
https://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/lawreviews/2021.html

Back and forth: The continuous legal battle over the oil flow in Dakota Access Pipeline.
Fracking in Pueblo and Diné communities.

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

NARF Staff Attorney Vacancy: Boulder, CO
Sinema, Kelly announce $450 million in housing grants for Native communities
Mohave County, Navajo officials push to broaden ‘downwinder’ coverage
Indigenous food sovereignty movements are taking back ancestral land
Bill advances to aid Native American voting
Traveling on stolen land: How to acknowledge and respect its Indigenous identity
Little Shell, Chippewa Cree and others OK $40M settlement for funds mismanaged by U.S.
A reckoning on Native American remains and cultural objects
Native American women Wikipedia edit-a-thon
As the country reckons with race, will tribal nations lead the way?

Federal Courts Bulletin
https://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/federal/2021.html

Hawkins v. Haaland (Trust Relationship; Water Rights)
Singer v. Office of Navajo and Hopi Indian Relocation (OHNIR; Equal Access to Justice Act)
Gwitchyaa Zhee Corporation v. Alexander (Attorney Fees)
Mendenhall v. United States (Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium; FTCA)

State Courts Bulletin
https://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/state/2021.html

Moyant v. Petit (Exhaustion of Tribal Court Remedies; Land Dispute)
In re Cottelit/Payment (Indian Child Welfare Act; Michigan Indian Family Preservation Act)
State in Interest of A.R.F. (Indian Child Welfare Act)

S.Res.125 - A resolution recognizing the heritage, culture, and contributions of American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian women in the United States.
H.R.1620 - Violence Against Women Act Reauthorization Act of 2021
H.R.1975 - To take certain land located in San Diego County, California, into trust for the benefit of the Pala Band of Mission Indians, and for other purposes.
H.R.2074 - To assist Tribal governments in the management of buffalo and buffalo habitat and for the reestablishment of buffalo on Indian lands.
H.R.2088 - To take certain Federal lands in Tennessee into trust for the benefit of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, and for other purposes.

Law Review & Bar Journal Bulletin (contact us if you need help finding a copy of an article)
https://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/lawreviews/2021.html

Goodbye yellow brick road: Enfranchisement among Native American voters and Nick v. Bethel.
Repatriation as restitution: Toward procedural rights for Indigenous claims to moveable cultural property.
Incorporation by any other name? Comparing Congress' federalization of tribal court criminal procedure with the Supreme Court's regulation of state courts.
Native Hawaiians' disproportional incarceration rates leading to disproportional jail deaths.
Lies, damn lies, and federal Indian law: The ethics of citing racist precedent in contemporary federal Indian law.

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

United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples: Tribal implementation toolkit launch event
Growing number of cities weigh tribal ‘land acknowledgements’
Domestic violence bill passes US House with program to expand tribal powers in 5 Alaska villages
Radio diary: Keeping the Wampanoag language alive
Biden administration restores valuable riverbed ownership to North Dakota tribe
Pokagon Band of Potawatomi partners with organizations for mass vaccination of Native Americans and other Native groups in Indiana
Six ICWA/MIFPA cases in three months in Michigan
Schatz releases COVID-19 Relief Guide, Frequently Asked Questions document to help Native communities access federal resources
Tribes blast wolf hunt, say it was about killing
New app will show you what Indigenous land you're on right now