April 28, 2021

Indian Law Bulletins Updated 4/28

U.S. Supreme Court Bulletin
http://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/sct/2020-2021update.html
A petition for certiorari was filed in one case on 4/19/21:

  • Crossett v. Emmet County (Jurisdiction; Reservation Boundary)
A petition for certiorari was denied in one case on 4/19/21:
  • Brown v. Polk County (Fourth Amendment)

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

  • The Shawnee Tribe v. Yellen (CARES Act)

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

  • South Point Energy Center LLC v. Arizona Department of Revenue (Indian Taxation)
  • In the Matter of M.L.B. (Indian Child Welfare Act)

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

  • Casady v. Tulalip Tribes (Indian Civil Rights Act)

U.S. Legislation - 117th Congress Bulletin
https://narf.org/nill/bulletins/legislation/117_uslegislation.html

  • S.1365 - A bill to direct the Federal Communications Commission to establish a new Tribal priority window for the 2.5 gigahertz band, and for other purposes.
  • S.1396 - A bill to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to establish State and Indian Tribe grants for community colleges and grants for Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Tribal Colleges and Universities, and Minority-Serving Institutions, and for other purposes.
  • S.1397 - 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.2644 - To provide direct funding to local, Tribal, and territorial governments to establish Green New Deal programs and initiatives, and for other purposes.
  • H.R.2739 - To amend the Victims of Crime Act of 1984 to secure urgent resources vital to Indian victims of crime, and for other purposes.
  • H.R.2740 - To protect Native children and promote public safety in Indian country.
  • H.R.2758 - To provide for the recognition of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, and for other purposes.
  • H.R.2809 - To authorize the President to provide disaster assistance to States and Indian Tribes under a major disaster recovery program, 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

  • ICWA's irony.
  • Without doors: Native nations and the Convention.
  • Kū Kia'l Mauna: Protecting Indigenous religious rights.
  • Let Indians decide: How restricting border passage by blood quantum infringes on tribal sovereignty.

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

  • Zoom Training: Passamaquoddy Indian Township hosts VAWA training
  • Webinar: Virginia Department of Health: Engaging American Indian/Alaska Native/Indigenous Communities to Build Vaccine Confidence
  • Supreme Court of Canada affirms trans-boundary Indigenous rights
  • Marshall Project and NPR on how Alaska OCS stole millions from Alaska Native foster kids
  • Why the Shinnecock Tribe is clashing with the Hamptons' elite
  • Where Indigenous studies are applied: Preparing a relevant workforce for tribal nations
  • 'Rutherford Falls' boss on building diverse Native American team for Peacock comedy
  • Alaska legislators consider state recognition of tribes
  • A 1722 murder spurred Native Americans' please for justice in early America
  • So you want to acknowledge the land?

April 21, 2021

Indian Law Bulletins Updated 4/21

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

  • Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians v. Department of the Interior (Fee-to-Trust; IGRA)
  • Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe v. County of Mille Lacs (Reservation Boundaries; Public Law 280)
  • Ksanka Kupaqa Xa'lcin v. United States Fish and Wildlife Service (Cultural Resources)

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

  • Duke S. v. State of Alaska (Indian Child Welfare Act)

U.S. Legislation - 117th Congress Bulletin
https://narf.org/nill/bulletins/legislation/117_uslegislation.html

  • S.1149 - A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to permanently extend the depreciation rules for property used predominantly within an Indian reservation.
  • H.Res.320 - 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.
  • H.Res.322 - Expressing the Sense of Congress that the Eagle Staff shall be recognized as the first flag of the sovereign Native American Tribal nations and the first flag of the Americas, and to encourage programs promoting the cultural significance of the Eagle Staff.

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

  • Decolonizing Indigenous migration.
  • Protecting the children of Indian Country: A call to expand tribal court jurisdiction and devote more funding to Indian child safety.
  • The (Indigenous) case for shareholder primacy and its role in climate justice.
  • The other American law.

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

  • Justices mull textualism and Alaskan exceptionalism in classifying Alaska Native corporations
  • South Dakota Democratic Party intersectional solidarity with Tribal Nations results in passage of Missing and Murdered Indigenous People legislation
  • Discovery Podcast: Reservation Diminishment with Ethan Jones, Lead Attorney, Yakama Nation Office of Legal Council
  • Unrecognized tribes struggle without federal aid during pandemic
  • Oklahoma health professionals share perspectives on being Indigenous
  • Muscogee (Creek) Nation Department of Health breaks ground on new behavioral health facility
  • California bill advances to protect Native students' rights to wear cultural items
  • Indiana University, tribal nations complete Angel Mounds repatriation
  • After past missteps, History Colorado includes Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes in a Sand Creek Massacre exhibit
  • An archaeology society hosted a talk against returning Indigenous remains. Some want a new society

April 15, 2021

Indian Law Bulletins Updated 4/15

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

  • Swinomish Indian Tribal Community v. Becerra (Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act; IHS)
  • Jackson v. Shoshone-Bannock Tribal Justice Center (Sovereign Immunity)
  • Hartsell v. Schaaf (Tribal Police; Jurisdiction)
  • Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians v. Evers (Indian Taxation; Treaty Rights)

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

  • Harris v. Arkansas Department of Human Services (Indian Child Welfare Act)
  • Matter of Welfare of Children of J.C.L. (Indian Child Welfare Act)

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

  • Mashantucket Pequot Gaming Enterprise v. Torres (Waiver of Sovereign Immunity; Employee Termination)

U.S. Legislation - 117th Congress Bulletin
https://narf.org/nill/bulletins/legislation/117_uslegislation.html

  • H.R.2402 - To transfer administrative jurisdiction of certain Federal lands from the Army Corps of Engineers to the Bureau of Indian Affairs, to take such lands into trust for the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska, 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

  • An 'unfulfilled, hollow promise': Lyng, Navajo Nation, and the substantial burden on Native American religious practice.
  • Working together: Building and sustaining a multijurisdictional response to missing or murdered Indigenous children and adolescents.
  • Victim services for Native families with missing loved ones.
  • Criminal jurisdiction in Indian Country.
  • Violent crime in Indian Country and the federal response.
  • American Indian and Alaska Native knowledge and public health for the primary prevention of missing or murdered Indigenous persons.
  • Trauma-informed, culturally relevant psychological responses in cases of missing or murdered Indigenous peoples.

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

  • Brackeen decision tree
  • University of South Dakota: ICWA Educational Zoom Confererence
  • Webinar: Toward a more perfect union: Ecnomic and Educational Opportunity for Native Americans
  • Webinar: 2021 Indigenous Nations & Climate Change Summit
  • University of Idaho College of Law: Tribal Homelands Scholarship
  • Tribal nations adapt to being at ‘ground zero’ of the climate crisis
  • Native American students share their experience combatting Indigenous erasure
  • Blood quantum and the white gatekeeping of Native American identity
  • Despite promises to listen to tribes and fight climate change, Biden administration allows oil to continue flowing through Dakota Access Pipeline
  • The Warm Springs reservation water crisis is reminiscent of Flint, Michigan

April 9, 2021

Indian Law Bulletins Updated 4/9

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

  • Perkins v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue (Taxation; Treaty Obligations)
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

  • Grayson v. State of Oklahoma (Criminal Jurisdiction; Reservation Boundary)
  • Spears v. State of Oklahoma (Criminal Jurisdiction; Reservation Boundary)
  • Sizemore v. State of Oklahoma (Criminal Jurisdiction; Reservation Boundary)

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

April 1, 2021

Indian Law Bulletins Updated 4/1

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

  • In re: Challenge to the Eligibility of Victoria Vasquez (Tribal Elections)

U.S. Legislation - 117th Congress Bulletin
https://narf.org/nill/bulletins/legislation/117_uslegislation.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?