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Navajo Statehood: From Domestic Dependent Nation To 51st State, Ezra Rosser

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

The Supreme Court’s recent holding in Oklahoma v. Castro-Huerta that “Indian country is part of the State, not separate from the State” is a reminder of tribal sovereignty’s precarious foundation under U.S. law. The Court’s holding not only broke with longstanding precedent regarding the relationship between tribes and states, but it is also incompatible with the lived experience of those living in the Navajo Nation. The Navajo Nation, not the states and not the federal government, has primary responsibility for governing an area roughly the size of West Virginia. Yet most maps of the United States demarcate only state boundaries, …

Trusting The Tribe: Understanding The Tensions Of The Indian Child Welfare Act, Onalee R. Chappeau

Saint Louis University Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Fmc Corp. V. Shoshone-Bannock Tribes, Seth T. Bonilla

Public Land & Resources Law Review

In 1998, FMC Corporation agreed to submit to the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes’ permitting processes, including the payment of fees, for clean-up work required as part of consent decree negotiations with the Environmental Protection Agency. Then, in 2002, FMC refused to pay the Tribes under a permitting agreement entered into by both parties, even though the company continued to store hazardous waste on land within the Shoshone-Bannock Fort Hall Reservation in Idaho. FMC challenged the Tribes’ authority to enforce the $1.5 million permitting fees first in tribal court and later challenged the Tribes’ authority to exercise civil regulatory and adjudicatory jurisdiction over …

Standing For Standing Rock?: Vindicating Native American Religious And Land Rights By Adapting New Zealand's Te Awa Tupua Act To American Soil, Malcolm Mcdermond

Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present)

On February 23, 2017, the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe (“Tribe”) was forced to disband its nearly year-long protest against the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline, which threatened the integrity of its ancestral lands. The Tribe sought declaratory and injunctive relief in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, but the court ruled against the Tribe and failed to protect its interests. While the United States was forcibly removing Indigenous protesters, other countries were taking steps to protect Indigenous populations. In unprecedented legislative action, New Zealand took radical steps to protect the land and cultural rights of …

Solenex Llc V. Jewell, F. Aaron Rains

Public Land & Resources Law Review

In Solenex LLC v. Jewell, the Secretary of the Interior cancelled a highly contentious oil and gas lease in Montana’s Badger-Two Medicine area, an environmentally sensitive and culturally significant area to the Blackfeet Tribe, nearly thirty years after the lease had been issued. Solenex, a Louisiana based oil and gas company and holder of the lease, brought this action to enjoin the cancellation. The District Court for the District of Columbia agreed with Solenex and found that the Secretary’s decision took an unreasonable amount of time and violated good-faith contractual obligations. On these grounds, the court found the Secretary’s …

Sovereign Immunity For Rent: How The Commodification Of Tribal Sovereign Immunity Reflects The Failures Of The U.S. Patent System, Katrina G. Geddes

Fordham Intellectual Property, Media and Entertainment Law Journal

Last year, a Fortune 500 pharmaceutical company attempted to rent the sovereign immunity of an American Indian tribe in order to shield its patents on a dry-eye drug from invalidation by generic competitors in inter partes review. Pharmaceutical firms are notorious for pursuing unconventional methods to extend the duration of their patents and, in this sense, the maneuver is unsurprising. The exploitation, however, of an historically disenfranchised community with limited economic opportunities is particularly unsettling. This Article will provide, firstly, a factual summary of the legal background of this case; secondly, a review of the February 2018 decision of the …

Privatizing The Reservation?, Kristen A. Carpenter, Angela R. Riley

Publications

The problems of American Indian poverty and reservation living conditions have inspired various explanations. One response advanced by some economists and commentators, which may be gaining traction within the Trump Administration, calls for the “privatization” of Indian lands. Proponents of this view contend that reservation poverty is rooted in the federal Indian trust arrangement, which preserves the tribal land base by limiting the marketability of lands within reservations. In order to maximize wealth on reservations, policymakers are advocating for measures that would promote the individuation and alienability of tribal lands, while diminishing federal and tribal oversight.

Taking a different view, …

Upstate Citizens For Equality, Inc. V. United States, Kirsa Shelkey

Public Land & Resources Law Review

The Indian Reorganization Act of 1935 is the proper avenue for Tribes pursuing restoration of their historic trust lands. The Oneida Indian Nation of New York long sought to reassert tribal jurisdiction over its historic homeland in Central New York. These efforts were largely unsuccessful until 2008 when the United States took 13,000 acres of this historic homeland into trust on behalf of the Tribe under the Indian Reorganization Act. This case affirms the federal government’s plenary powers over Indian Tribes, and that neither state sovereignty principles, nor the Enclave Clause upset that authority.

“Indian” As A Political Classification: Reading The Tribe Back Into The Indian Child Welfare Act, Allison Krause Elder

Northwestern Journal of Law & Social Policy

In the summer of 2018, the Ninth Circuit will consider an appeal from the dismissal of a constitutional challenge to the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA). Brought by a conservative think-tank, this case frames the ICWA as race-based legislation, violating equal protection by depriving Indian children of the same procedures as non-Indian children in child custody cases. In reality, the ICWA seeks to protect the interests of tribes, Indian families, and Indian children by establishing special procedures and obligations in Indian child custody cases. On its face, the ICWA is concerned not with the race of children, but with the …

I See You - A Story From The Haudenosaunee, Simone Anter J.D.

American Indian Law Journal

A young Apache woman sits on a bench outside of her university classroom; next to her is a stack of law books. She has just come from the first day of her first-year property class, where the professor lectured about the origins of property law devoid of any mention of Native people. As she sits she notices an individual walking along the sidewalk, towards her. This person wears a baseball hat with the Washington Redskins’ logo embellished on the front, a grotesque caricature of an “Indian.” The person’s attire includes a T-shirt featuring a skull wearing a feathered headdress, probably …

Navajo Nation V. Department Of The Interior, Jaclyn R. Van Natta

Public Land & Resources Law Review

In Navajo Nation v. Department of the Interior, the Navajo Nation challenged the Department of the Interior’s 2001 and 2008 water allocation guidelines and asserted that under NEPA and the APA the guidelines violated the Navajo Nation’s water rights. The Navajo Nation also asserted a breach of trust claim against the United States. After nearly a decade of attempted settlement negotiations, the Navajo Nation reasserted its complaints. The District Court for the District of Arizona denied the Navajo Nation’s motions, and the Navajo Nation appealed to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which determined the Navajo Nation lacked standing, …

Responsible Resource Development: A Strategic Plan To Consider Social And Cultural Impacts Of Tribal Extractive Industry Development, Carla F. Fredericks, Kate Finn, Erica Gajda, Jesse Heibel

Publications

This paper presents a strategic, solution-based plan as a companion to our recent article, Responsible Resource Development and Prevention of Sex Trafficking: Safeguarding Native Women and Children on the Fort Berthold Reservation, 40 Harv. J.L. Gender 1 (2017). As a second phase of our work to combat the issues of human trafficking and attendant drug abuse on the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation (MHA Nation), we developed a strategic plan to better understand the time, scale, and capacity necessary to address the rising social problems accompanying the boom of oil and gas development there. During our process, we discovered, …

By Any Means: How One Federal Agency Is Turning Tribal Sovereignty On Its Head, Clifton Cottrell

American Indian Law Journal

No abstract provided.

United States V. Osage Wind, Llc, Summer Carmack

Public Land & Resources Law Review

The Osage Nation, as owner of the beneficial interest in its mineral estate, issues federally-approved leases to persons and entities who wish to conduct mineral development on its lands. After an energy-development company, Osage Wind, leased privately-owned surface lands within Tribal reservation boundaries and began to excavate minerals for purposes of constructing a wind farm, the United States brought suit on the Tribe’s behalf. In the ensuing litigation, the Osage Nation insisted that Osage Wind should have obtained a mineral lease from the Tribe before beginning its work. In its decision, the Tenth Circuit applied one of the Indian law …

Lewis V. Clarke, Summer L. Carmack

Public Land & Resources Law Review

One manner in which Indian tribes exercise their inherent sovereignty is by asserting sovereign immunity. In Lewis v. Clarke, the Court decided that the sovereign immunity extended to instrumentalities of tribes did not further extend to tribal employees acting within the scope of their employment. The Court acknowledged the concerns of the lower court, namely, the possibility of setting a precedent allowing future plaintiffs to sidestep a tribe’s sovereign immunity by suing a tribal employee in his individual capacity. However, the Supreme Court ultimately felt that the immunity of tribal employees should not exceed the immunity extended to state …

Traditional Problems: How Tribal Same-Sex Marriage Bans Threaten Tribal Sovereignty, Marcia Zug

Mitchell Hamline Law Review

No abstract provided.

Responsible Resource Development And Prevention Of Sex Trafficking: Safeguarding Native Women And Children On The Fort Berthold Reservation, Kathleen Finn, Erica Gajda, Thomas Perin, Carla Fredericks

Publications

In 2010, large deposits of oil and natural gas were found in the Bakken shale formation, much of which is encompassed by the Fort Berthold Indian reservation, home to the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation (“MHA Nation” or “Three Affiliated Tribes” or “the Tribe”). However, rapid oil and gas development has brought an unprecedented rise of violent crime on and near the Fort Berthold reservation. Specifically, the influx of well-paid male oil and gas workers, living in temporary housing often referred to as “man camps,” has coincided with a disturbing increase in sex trafficking of Native women. The social risks …

In Re Crow Water Compact, Ariel E. Overstreet-Adkins

Public Land & Resources Law Review

In re Crow Water Compact is the second appeal from the Crow Water Compact, agreed upon by the Settling Parties to distribute and manage water rights amongst themselves. The decision upholds the negotiated Compact for the second time, affirming the Montana Water Court’s decision granting summary judgment to the Settling Parties over objections by the Objectors and approving the Compact by a final order. This decision represents the last step in a process, started in 1979, to define and quantify the reserved water rights for current and future uses of the Crow Nation in Montana.

Tulalip Tribes V. Suquamish Indian Tribe, Kevin B. Rechkoff

Public Land & Resources Law Review

In a longstanding battle between two entrenched Indian tribes, the Ninth Circuit reaffirmed fishing access doctrines established in the Boldt Decisions. Consequentially, the Boldt Decisions have been confirmed as the preeminent authority in determining tribal fishing rights in conjunction with treaties and inter-tribal conflicts. By applying the Boldt standards of “usual and accustomed,” the Ninth Circuit demonstrated its commitment to giving tribes a wide breadth in establishing claims to fishing grounds off reservation. In the future, fishing treaty litigation will continue with the Boldt standard’s low burden of proof for tribes asserting fishing access rights.

Pit River Tribe V. Bureau Of Land Management, 793 F.3d 1147 (9th Cir. 2015), Kathryn S. Ore

Public Land & Resources Law Review

In Pit River Tribe v. Bureau of Land Management, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit explained the correct application of the zone of interests test and further solidified the importance of proper NEPA and NHPA analysis in geothermal leasing. The court reaffirmed that the BLM and the Forest Service must conduct additional cultural and environmental analysis when granting lease extensions under the Geothermal Steam Act. Furthermore, it rejected the BLM’s decision to grant forty-year lease continuations to unproven geothermal leases by treating them as a unit rather than individually.

Crow Tribe Of Indians – Montana Compact, Ariel E. Overstreet-Adkins

Public Land & Resources Law Review

This order from the Montana Water Court approved the Crow Water Compact over objections by non-tribal water users in Montana. Although the Objectors have appealed the decision to the Montana Supreme Court, this order represents the next-to-last step in a process, started in 1979, to define and quantify the reserved water rights for current and future uses of the Crow Nation in Montana. The order provides a clear roadmap for other Montana tribes still seeking to achieve approval of a water compact by the Montana Water Court, and for objectors who would attempt to invalidate a compact in future proceedings.

A Tale Of Two Statutes: Zepeda And The Ninth Circuit’S Descent Into Jurisdictional Madness, Luke Emmer Miles

American Indian Law Review

No abstract provided.

An Unfinished Joruney: Arctic Indigenous Rights, Lands, And Jurisdiction?, Tony Penikett

Seattle University Law Review

The indigenous rights movement has been defined as a struggle for land and jurisdiction. Over the last forty years, American and Canadian governments made much progress on the land question in the Arctic and sub-Arctic; however, from an irrational fear of the unknown, politicians in Washington, D.C. and Ottawa have effectively blocked the pathways to aboriginal jurisdiction or self-government. During the late-twentieth century in the Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut, as well as in Nisga’a territory, indigenous governments negotiated local government powers, but continent-wide progress on the question of indigenous jurisdiction has stalled. This Article considers the formation and implementation …

Aamodt Litigation Settlement Agreement (Pueblos Of Nambé, Pojoaque, San Ildefonso & Tesuque), United States, State Of New Mexico, Pueblo Of Tesuque, Pueblo Of San Ildefonso, Pueblo Of Nambé, Pueblo Of Pojoaque

Native American Water Rights Settlement Project

Settlement Agreement: Aamodt Litigation Settlement Agreement (Apr. 19, 2012). 66cv06639, USDC, DCNM. (final signatures Mar. 27,2013) Parties: Pueblos of Nambé, Pojoaque, San Ildefonso & Tesuque, US, NM, Santa Fe County, City of Santa Fe. The key provisions of the Aamodt settlement include: 1) constructing a Regional Water System; 2) providing non-Indians a choice of whether to join the settlement and upon joining, a choice of whether to connect to the Regional Water System for domestic water; 3) relinquishment of existing Pueblo claims against non-Indians who join the Settlement; 4) closing the Pojoaque Basin to new water right development following the …

Cooperative Agreements: Government-To-Government Relations To Foster Reservation Business Development, Joel H. Mack, Gwyn Goodson Timms

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.

Order Of Determination Of Water Rights For The Owyhee River And Its Tributaries, Including The Rights Of The Shoshone-Paiute Tribes Of The Duck Valley Reservation, Shoshone-Paiute Tribes Of The Duck Valley Indian Reservation, Nevada, United States

Native American Water Rights Settlement Project

Settlement Agreement: Agreement to Establish the Relative Water Rights of the Shoshone-Paiute Tribes of the Duck Valley Indian Reservation and the Upstream Water Users, East Fork Owyhee River (2006) contained, at the 368th page, as Appendix B to In the Matter of the Determination of the Relative Rights in and to the Waters, Both Surface and Underground, Within the Drainage Area of the Owyhee River and its Tributaries Located within the East For Owyhee River Area, Elko County, NV, Order of Determination, From the Office of the State Engineer of Nevada, 2012. Parties: the Shoshone-Paiute Tribes of the Duck Valley …

Postjudgment “Water Interest”: Lifting The Headgate To Let Appropriate Compensation Flow For Unlawful Diversions, Jeffrey T. Matson

Jeffrey T Matson

Irrigators overdraw many Western streams to the detriment of tribal and environmental uses; these conflicting interests regularly battle in state and federal court over water allocation. This article profiles United States v. Bell (Bell) —the latest such skirmish among warring parties in the Truckee and Carson River basins of northern Nevada. In Bell, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit faced persistent excessive irrigation diversions by the Truckee Carson Irrigation District (TCID) in violation of applicable federal court decrees, administrative Operating Criteria and Procedures (OCAPs), and the Congressional Settlement Act of 1990. The Court discussed an unprecedented …

Lines Of Tribe, Christine Zuni Cruz

Faculty Scholarship

It is important to begin by explaining why I take the title of my essay from the statement in President Barack Obama's 2009 Inaugural Address: "the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve." During the address, his words affected me and they remained with me long afterward. President Obama may very well have meant what he said in a metaphoric or figurative sense; I have certainly been provided with many interpretations and assurances by most that a literal meaning was not his intent and that he instead spoke in a good way of the beneficial melting of divisions between us." It …

Navajo Nation San Juan Basin In New Mexico Water Rights Settlement Agreement Of 2010, Navajo Nation, New Mexico, United States

Native American Water Rights Settlement Project

Settlement Agreement: Navajo Nation San Juan Basin, NM Water Rights Settlement (Dec. 17, 2010) Parties: Navajo Nation, US, NM. This Settlement relates to the Navajo Nation’s water rights in the San Juan River Basin located in NM. It is a part of the Juan River adjudication. It reconciles the Apr. 19, 2005 agreement with the Settlement Act. Allottees may make individual water right claims based upon historic and existing uses found in the Joint Hydrographic Survey Report. This Settlement finalizes all claims the Nation could make to the San Juan River Basin and settles all causes of action against the …

Crow Water Rights Settlement Act Of 2010, United States 111th Congress

Native American Water Rights Settlement Project

Federal Legislation: Title IV: Crow Tribe Water Rights Settlement - Crow Tribe Water Rights Settlement of 2010 in the Claims Resolution Act of 2010 (PL111-291| 124 Stat 3097). The Act ratifies, authorizes, and confirms the water rights 1999 Compact between the Crow Tribe and MT. The DOI Secretary shall promptly execute the Compact and comply with applicable environmental acts and regulations. The Act provides for: 1) the Tribe to a) rehabilitate and improve the Crow Irrigation Project; and b) Reclamation to construct the municipal, rural, and industrial water system; 2) creates a Project Management Committee made up of the Tribe, …