Indigenous, Indian, and Aboriginal Law Commons^™

Youth And Indigenous Voices In Climate Justice: Leveraging Best Practices From U.S. And Canadian Litigation, Randall S. Abate

Public Land & Resources Law Review

No abstract provided.

Water Justice Under The Big Sky: Locating A Human Right To Water In Montana Law, Abigail R. Brown

Public Land & Resources Law Review

No abstract provided.

A Judicial Duty: Interpreting And Enforcing Montanans' Inalienable Right To A Clean And Healthful Environment, Nate Bellinger, Roger Sullivan

Public Land & Resources Law Review

No abstract provided.

Letter To The Reader

Public Land & Resources Law Review

No abstract provided.

Table Of Contents

Public Land & Resources Law Review

No abstract provided.

Editors And Staff Members

Public Land & Resources Law Review

No abstract provided.

Wells V. Spotted Eagle, 22-Ap-02 (Blkft. Tr. Ct. App., May 17, 2022), Blackfeet Appellate Court

Court Decisions

In the Blackfeet Tribal Court of Appeals, the Court considered an appeal challenging the lower court’s appointment of a decedent's personal representative of the estate. The Court would not deviate from the lower court’s decision without sufficient demonstration of any abuse of discretion or misapplication of law in the lower court’s order.

Preview—Oklahoma V. Castro-Huerta: A Test Of State And Tribal Sovereignty, Genevieve Antonioli Schmit

Public Land & Resources Law Review

Oklahoma v. Castro-Huerta challenges the reach of the United States Supreme Court’s landmark ruling in McGirt v. Oklahoma and tests the settled criminal jurisdiction scheme within Indian Country. On April 27, 2022, beginning at 10:00 a.m. EST., the U.S. Supreme Court will hear argument on the sole question of whether a state court has concurrent jurisdiction with a federal court to prosecute non-Indians who commit crimes against Indians in Indian country. The State of Oklahoma (“Petitioner”) argues that it has concurrent jurisdiction to prosecute such crimes. Castro-Huerta (“Respondent”) argues that the Court should adopt the current understanding that the …

Mad Plume V. Mad Plume, 22-Ap-05 (Blkft. Tr. Ct. App., April 5, 2022), Blackfeet Appellate Court

Court Decisions

In the Blackfeet Tribal Court of Appeals, the Court reiterated that is will not consider an appeal that is untimely. The Blackfeet Law and Order Code, Ch. 11, Sec. 13 E requires appeals to be filed within ten days.

Loring V. Tribe, 21-Ap-06 (Blkft. Tr. Ct. App., April 5, 2022), Blackfeet Appellate Court

Court Decisions

In the Blackfeet Tribal Court of Appeals, the Court denied a motion to reconsider a conviction, judged in absentia, because the Final Order from the lower court has not been received by the Appellate Court for review, thus it is untimely. The Court cannot reconsider without a completed file.

The Power Of Reciprocity: How The Confederated Salish & Kootenai Water Compact Illuminates A Path Toward Natural Resources Reconciliation, Michelle Bryan

Faculty Law Review Articles

This article chronicles the negotiation and passage of the Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes Water Compact, ratified in 2020, which has created one of the most innovative water management regimes envisioned among sovereigns. The Compact’s journey toward ratification is extraordinary, as the parties over the span of three decades worked to overcome historically entrenched racism and political opposition to craft a model that would provide enough water for all peoples and the fishery. Compounding the challenge, the Flathead Reservation itself contains vast swaths of checkerboard land held by non-Indians and a major federal irrigation project that has permanently altered the …

Preview — Denezpi V. United States (2022). Double Jeopardy In Indian Country, Paul A. Hutton Iii

Public Land & Resources Law Review

On February 22, the Supreme Court of the United States will decide the single issue of whether a Court of Indian Offenses constitutes a federal entity and, therefore, separate prosecutions in federal district court and a Court of Indian Offenses for the same act violates the Double Jeopardy Clause as prosecutions for the same offense.

Tribe V. Augare, Ac2022wac01 (Blkft. Tr. Ct. App., Feb. 17, 2022), Blackfeet Appellate Court

Court Decisions

In the Blackfeet Tribal Court of Appeals, the Court determined that cash bond of $8,000 is excessive and oppressive and in violation of the Blackfeet Constitution and the Indian Civil Rights Act. The Defendant did not have a significant criminal record, he was not a danger to the community, he was not a flight risk, and is unemployed. The Bond was reduced to a $3,000 surety bond, with other stipulations.

From Zero-Sum To Economic Partners: Reframing State Tax Policies In Indian Country In The Post-Covid Economy, Pippa Browde

Faculty Law Review Articles

The disparate impact COVID-19 has had on Indian Country
reveals problems centuries in the making from the legacy of
colonialism. One of those problems is state encroachment in
Indian Country, including attempts to assert taxing authority
within Indian Country. The issue of the reaches of state taxing
authority in Indian Country has resulted in law that is both
uncertain and highly complex, chilling both outside investment
and economic development for tribes.
As the United States emerges from COVID-19, to focus only on the
toll exacted on tribes and their peoples ignores the tremendous
opportunities for states to right these historical …

A Comparative Analysis Of Repatriation Of Native American Artifacts And Human Remains Laws In Montana, Usa And Alberta Canada, Helen Cryer

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

ABSTRACT: Native American and Indigenous communities across the United States and Canada have lost an extensive amount of human remains and sacred artifacts to non-Native people exhuming Native American and Indigenous burial sites that may have been dug up for personal gain, stolen, placed in museums, or left in the hands of non-Native collectors. The repatriation of human remains and sacred artifacts to Native nations can be a lengthy, political, and challenging process yet it is worth the effort for Native people. Native American advocacy and evolving public sentiment toward Native people have led to legislative advancements in the United …

Taking Stock: Open Questions And Unfinished Business Under The Vawa Amendments To The Indian Civil Rights Act, Jordan Gross

Faculty Law Review Articles

The primary statutory tool for federal regulation of Tribal court criminal procedure is the Indian Civil Rights Act of 1968 (ICRA). ICRA replicated most of the procedural protections in the Bill of Rights applicable to the States, as then interpreted by the Supreme Court. ICRA also sets out procedures Tribes must extend to criminal defendants in their courts, caps their sentencing authority, and defines their criminal jurisdiction.

Some parts of Indian country are the most dangerous places in the United States today, particularly for indigenous women and girls. They are exposed to a higher level of personal violence than any …

Ute Indian Tribe Of The Uintah & Ouray Reservation V. U.S. Dep't Of Interior, Valan Anthos

Public Land & Resources Law Review

The Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah & Ouray Reservation brought 16 claims against federal agencies and the State of Utah for alleged mismanagement of water resources held in trust and for alleged discrimination in water allocation. The United States District Court for the District of Columbia dismissed several of the claims as time-barred and others as lacking a proper statutory basis to create an enforceable trust duty. The remaining claims were transferred to the United States District Court of the District of Utah because the events occurred in Utah and most of the parties reside there.

Bahr V. Regan, Aspen B. Ward

Public Land & Resources Law Review

In June 2015, the Lake Fire burned through California’s San Bernardino National Forest. Three hundred miles east of the fire, six air quality monitors exceeded NAAQS in Phoenix, Arizona. Arizona’s Department of Environmental Quality petitioned the EPA to exclude those exceedances to avoid stricter regulatory burdens and the need for contingency measures. Applying the Exceptional Events Rule, the EPA permitted the petition to exclude the data therefore allowing Phoenix to successfully demonstrate attainment of the ozone NAAQS by the July 2018 deadline. Petitioners sought review of the EPA’s final decision and were denied their petition for review by the Ninth …

Preview—Lac Courte Orielles Band Of Lake Superior Chippewa V. Evers: Just How Special Is Indian Law?, Zachary M. Krumm

Public Land & Resources Law Review

The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals will hear oral arguments on Monday, November 8, 2021, at 9:30 a.m. at Everett McKinley Dirksen Courthouse in Chicago, Illinois. This case asks whether states may assess property taxes on Indian-owned reservation fee lands that were allotted under treaty, not the General Allotment Act. The lower court held that reservation allotments which had at any time been owned by non-tribal-members could be subject to state property tax. Allotments always held by members remained exempt. While this issue is somewhat narrow, it raises broad questions about applying the well-established Indian canons of construction.

Jordan V. Flammond, 21-Ap-01 (Blkft. Tr. Ct. App., Aug. 9, 2021), Blackfeet Appellate Court

Court Decisions

In the Blackfeet Tribal Court of Appeals, the Court dismissed an appeal regarding the ownership of a home in Babb, MT. The Appellate Court noted that it will not overturn a judgement based upon factual findings unless a review of the entire record shows that such judgement was not supported by substantial evidence.

Tribe V. Devereaux, 21-Ap-02 (Blkft. Tr. Ct. App., Aug. 8, 2021), Blackfeet Appellate Court

Court Decisions

In the Blackfeet Tribal Court of Appeals, the Court reversed a lower court judgement against a grandchild who was found guilty of stealing their grandmother's phone. The lower court record did not indicate that any witnesses appeared before the Court to provide testimony to the allegation. Defendant was denied due process of law because there was no sworn testimony or evidence that demonstrated beyond a reasonable doubt that Defendant knowingly, affirmatively committed theft. The Lower court ruling was not supported by the record. Reversed and dismissed.

Vecinos Para El Bienestar De La Comunidad Costera V. Ferc, Malcolm M. Gilbert

Public Land & Resources Law Review

The D.C. Circuit Court remanded three Brownsville, TX LNG approval orders to FERC for failing to adequately explain conclusions around environmental justice and climate concerns. The Court ordered FERC to reevaluate whether the projects are in the public interest. The LNG terminals and pipeline will disproportionately impact low-income, minority communities, and substantial greenhouse gas emissions from production and export will contribute to anthropogenic climate change. This case note explores the role that environmental justice and climate change play in federal agency decision-making processes, analyzes the legal framework for the Court's decision, and discusses how the outcome of this litigation could …

Bell V. Goggles, 19-Ap-02 (Blkfet. Tr. Ct. App., July 19, 2021), Blackfeet Appellate Court

Court Decisions

In the Blackfeet Tribal Court of Appeals, the Court dismissed a case for lack of jurisdiction over the parties. The case concerned child support obligations arising from the State of Wyoming, Wind River Indian Reservation. Neither the petitioner nor respondent are Blackfeet, nor the children concerned. While the Blackfeet Nation Honors full faith and credit, the respondent does not reside on the Blackfeet Reservation, therefore relief in this matter does not apply to the decision of the Blackfeet Tribal Court.

Free, Prior, And Informed Consent: A Struggling International Principle, Emily M. Mcculloch

Public Land & Resources Law Review

No abstract provided.

Localizing Energy Independence: How Purpa And Community Power Legislation Can Drive Development Of Resilient And Reliable Local Clean Energy Projects, Lowell J. Chandler

Public Land & Resources Law Review

No abstract provided.

Science Under Assault - Reflections On "The War On The Epa: America's Endangered Environmental Protections", Sara A. Colangelo

Public Land & Resources Law Review

No abstract provided.

Bridges To A New Era: A Report On The Past, Present, And Potential Future Of Tribal Co-Managment On Federal Public Lands, Monte Mills, Martin Nie

Public Land & Resources Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Public Trust Doctrine Fifty Years After Sax And Some Thoughts On Its Future, Michael C. Blumm, Zachary A. Schwartz

Public Land & Resources Law Review

No abstract provided.

Preview—Yellen V. Confederated Tribes Of The Chehalis Reservation: Whether Alaska Native Corporations Are Eligible For Cares Act Relief Payments, Allison Barnwell

Public Land & Resources Law Review

The Supreme Court of the United States will hear oral arguments in this matter on Monday, April 19, 2021, telephonically, at 10 a.m. Solicitor General Elizabeth B. Prelogar will likely argue for the United States Department of Treasury. Paul D. Clement will likely appear for the Petitioner Alaska Native Village Corporation Association. Riyaz A. Kanji will likely argue for the Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis, and Jeffrey S. Rasmussen will likely appear for the Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation.

Preview— Montana And Wyoming V. Washington: The Commerce Clause And The Clean Water Act Collide Over Coal Exports, Rachel L. Wagner

Public Land & Resources Law Review

The Supreme Court of the United States has not scheduled oral arguments for this matter. In October 2020, the Court asked for the federal government’s views on the case but has not yet decided whether it will exercise its jurisdiction over the challenge.