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Full-Text Articles in Law
Icwa’S Irony, Marcia A. Yablon-Zug
Icwa’S Irony, Marcia A. Yablon-Zug
Faculty Publications
The Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) is a federal statute that protects Indian children by keeping them connected to their families and culture. The Act’s provisions include support for family reunification, kinship care preferences, cultural competency considerations and community involvement. These provisions parallel national child welfare policies. Nevertheless, the Act is relentlessly attacked as a law that singles out Indian children for unique and harmful treatment. This is untrue but, ironically, it will be if challenges to the ICWA are successful. To prevent this from occurring, the defense of the Act needs to change. For too long, this defense has …
Criminal Justice In Indian Country, M. Alexander Pearl
Criminal Justice In Indian Country, M. Alexander Pearl
Faculty Publications
This Article examines the role played by different enacted legislation on California’s Indian tribes criminal justice system. For centuries, tribal governments were the only entities with criminal jurisdiction in Indian Country. In 1883, the Supreme Court in Ex parte Kan-Gi-Shun-Ka (Ex parte Crow Dog) confirmed that a crime committed by an Indian against another Indian did not give rise to federal jurisdiction. In response, Congress passed the Major Crimes Act, granting federal authorities the power to investigate, enforce, and prosecute certain crimes occurring in Indian Country. The federal statutes creating federal jurisdiction did not preclude tribal jurisdiction, but states …
American Indian Tribes And Secession, Erik M. Jensen
American Indian Tribes And Secession, Erik M. Jensen
Faculty Publications
Critics of American Indian law have often complained about federal interference in the internal affairs of American Indian nations. The author ponders how independent the critics really want American Indian nations to be and whether secession theory might help us think about the theory and practice of really independent American Indian nations.
Monroe G. Mckay And American Indian Law: In Honor Of Judge Mckay’S Tenth Anniversary On The Federal Bench, Erik M. Jensen
Monroe G. Mckay And American Indian Law: In Honor Of Judge Mckay’S Tenth Anniversary On The Federal Bench, Erik M. Jensen
Faculty Publications
This essay, written in honor of Judge Monroe G. McKay's tenth anniversary as a member of the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, considers the difficulty of justifying a separatist policy for the American Indian; examines the opinions authored by Judge McKay in American Indian law cases; and discusses the McKay opinions and the issue of separation.
American Indian Law Meets The Internal Revenue Code: Warbus V. Commissioner, Erik M. Jensen
American Indian Law Meets The Internal Revenue Code: Warbus V. Commissioner, Erik M. Jensen
Faculty Publications
This article examines a 1998 Tax Court decision, Warbus v. Commissioner, that has implications for both American Indian law and federal tax law. Section 7873 of the Internal Revenue Code exempts from taxation amounts derived by American Indian tribal members from fishing-rights related activit[ies] of their tribes. Taxpayer Warbus claimed that discharge of indebtedness income from the foreclosure of his fishing boat qualified for the exclusion; the Tax Court said no. The author argues that Warbus was wrongly decided for two reasons: the court failed to take account of basic principles of American Indian law, and the court misapplied the …