Indigenous, Indian, and Aboriginal Law Commons^™

It Shouldn't Be This Hard: The Law And Economics Of Business In Indian Country, Adam Crepelle

Faculty Publications & Other Works

Indian reservation economies have been in shambles for generations. Although some tribes operate successful gaming enterprises, no tribe has a vibrant private sector economy. Law and economics help explain why. Economics is the study of choices, and Indian country’s complex legal rules deter businesses from investing on tribal land. After all, no business wants to spend a year waiting for the federal government to approve a land lease on reservation when land is easily accessible off reservation. Likewise, jurisdictional rules are clear off reservation, but within Indian country, simply determining whether to file a breach of contract suit in tribal, …

Selling Aloha: The Fight For Legal Protections Over Native Hawaiian Culture, Angela Louise R. Tiangco

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

In 2018, a Chicago-based restaurant attempted to enforce a registered trademark of “Aloha Poke” by sending cease-and-desist letters to small businesses with names containing some variation of the phrase. Most of those businesses were owned by Native Hawaiians, causing an uproar due to the terms “aloha” and “poke” having strong ties to traditional Hawaiian culture. Known as the Aloha Poke case, it brought attention to the fact that the United States currently has no definite legal framework to protect the cultural heritage of Native Hawaiians, much less their intangible cultural heritage.

This Note addresses the lack of federal recognition granted …

Myth-Busting Restorative Justice: Uncovering The Past And Finding Lessons In Community, Aparna Polavarapu

Scholarly Works

A common narrative about modern restorative justice is that it is a revival of historic and indigenous justice practices that have been practiced around the world. Critics of this narrative call it a myth, arguing that the claim is overbroad and unsupported by existing evidence. Embedded in this conversation are questions about how to respect the contributions of indigenous traditions and avoid whitewashing. Such an overwhelmingly broad claim tends to lead to romanticization and whitewashing of indigenous traditions, serving the needs of largely white, Western advocates in yet another colonial endeavor. But ignoring the indigenous contribution to restorative justice altogether …

Nestlé V. Doe: A Death Knell To Corporate Human Rights Accountability?, Phillip Ayers

Seattle University Law Review

The Supreme Court in Nestlé v. Doe held that foreign plaintiffs who claimed to be victims of overseas tortious conduct by corporate defendants had no jurisdiction to sue in federal courts using the Alien Tort Statute. This Comment looks at the history of the Alien Tort Statute, from its inspiration, long dormancy, and recent reinvigoration beginning in the 1980s. The Comment then explores the background of Nestlé and its issues with child slavery in its cocoa supply chain. From there, the Comment analyzes the Nestlé v. Doe decision, and posits an alternative outcome. Finally, this Comment looks for a new …

Kangaroo: Fields Of Struggle, Tamasin Ramsay

Animal Law Review

The Kangaroo, a symbol of the Australian landscape, is under attack by the Victoria government. Viewed as overabundant vermin, colonial law often authorizes killing many Kangaroos, a position that is directly at odds with the ancient law and custom of First Nations People. While Victoria law purports to protect the Kangaroo, in reality the current structure does more harm to the animal than good. This Article reviews the fields of struggle represented by the living tension of colonial law and chthonic law in Victoria and suggests genuine collaboration with First Nations and First Peoples to navigate this fraught terrain. Victoria …

Tribal Air, Jonathan Skinner-Thompson

Publications

Prevailing approaches to addressing environmental justice in Indian Country are inadequate. The dual pursuits of distributive and procedural justice do not fully account for the unique factors that make Indigenous environmental justice distinct—namely, the sovereign status of tribal nations and the ongoing impacts of colonization.

This Article synthetizes interdisciplinary approaches to theorizing Indigenous environmental justice and proposes a framework to aid environmental law scholars and advocates. Specifically, by centering Indigenous environmental justice in terms of coloniality and self-determination, this framework can better critique and improve environmental governance regimes when it comes to pollution in Indian Country.

This Article tests that …

A Bold Plan For Saving The Colorado River, Mark Squillace

Publications

No abstract provided.

Not So Clear And Plain: Exploring The Circuit Split On The Applicability Of Federal Labor & Employment Laws To Tribes, Logan C. Hibbs

Oklahoma Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Indian Child Welfare Act In The Multiverse (Review Of Adoptive Couple V. Baby Girl By Matthew L.M. Fletcher And Kathryn E. Fort, In Critical Race Judgements: Rewritten U.S. Court Opinions On Race And The Law)), M. Alexander Pearl

Other Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Reflections On Place And People From Within, M. Alexander Pearl

Other Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Corporate Governance And Gender Equality: A Study Of Comply-Or-Explain Disclosure Regulation, Aaron A. Dhir, Sarah Kaplan, Maria Arabella Robles

Seattle University Law Review

In 2020, the Nasdaq Stock Market filed a proposal with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission seeking permission to adopt a board diversity-related disclosure requirement for its listed companies. In 2021, the SEC approved the proposal, thus entrenching Nasdaq’s position as the most significant stock exchange to date to mandate listing rules that reflect the intention of diversifying corporate boardrooms. Nasdaq’s movement into the diversity space is not the first attempt to address homogeneous boards in the U.S. In 2009, the SEC adopted a rule requiring publicly traded firms to report on whether they consider diversity in identifying director nominees. …

Judicial Ethics And The Eradication Of Racism, Dontay Proctor-Mills

Seattle University Law Review

In 2020, the Washington Supreme Court entrusted the legal community with working to eradicate racism from its legal system. Soon after, Washington’s Commission on Judicial Conduct (hereinafter the Commission) received a complaint about a bus ad for North Seattle College featuring King County Superior Court Judge David Keenan. Along with a photo of Judge Keenan’s face, the ad included the following language: “A Superior Court Judge, David Keenan got into law in part to advocate for marginalized communities. David’s changing the world. He started at North.” The Commission admonished Judge Keenan for violating the Code of Judicial Conduct, in part …

Table Of Contents, Seattle University Law Review

Seattle University Law Review

Table of Contents

Why Corporate Boards Should Include Lgbtq+ People, Jeremy Mcclane, Darren Rosenblum

Seattle University Law Review

Corporate boardrooms sit at the heart of most of society’s most consequential decisions but fall far short of the diversity of our society. The current movement toward board diversification aims to remedy the underrepresentation of marginalized groups on corporate boards. More recently, some efforts have included LGBTQ+ people, even though the basis for their inclusion on corporate boards remains largely unstated. This Article examines both the normative and instrumental bases for LGBTQ+ inclusion in board diversity initiatives, articulating unspoken assumptions and linking LGBTQ+ people to the broader inclusion effort. In so doing, it begins to surface the unique issues LGBTQ+ …

Sovereign Immunity Tests Bankruptcy’S Least Contested Axioms, Deborah L. Thorne, Luke L. Sperduto

Emory Bankruptcy Developments Journal

Section 106 of the Bankruptcy Code expressly abrogates the sovereign immunity of governmental units with respect to fifty-nine other provisions of the Code. There are currently two distinct issues splitting circuit courts over the meaning of this provision. First, does section 106 waive the sovereign immunity of the Internal Revenue Service in avoidance actions brought against it by a bankruptcy trustee under section 544(b)? Second, are Native American Indian Tribes “governmental units” within the meaning of section 101(27), such that their sovereign immunity is abrogated to the extent set forth in section 106? Invoking conventional canons of statutory construction, this …

(Re)Building The Master's House: Dismantling America's Colonial Politics Of Extraction And Exclusion, Marissa Jackson Sow

Law Faculty Publications

On February 10, 2021, and in the days thereafter, liberal American commentators showered Congresswoman Stacey Plaskett with superlatives and praise due to her masterful takedown of former President Donald Trump during his impeachment trial for incitement of the January 6, 2021 Capitol Riot. Referring to a picture of Plaskett wearing a knee-length blue dress with draped sleeves, the political strategist (and daughter of House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi) Christine Pelosi took to Twitter to note that “[n]ot all superheroes wear capes. This one does!”

Plaskett is one of many Black Americans who has done the hard work of cleaning up …

Visions For The International Decade Of Indigenous Languages 2022-2032, Kristen A. Carpenter, Andrew Cowell, Alexis Palmer

Publications

The United Nations General Assembly recently proclaimed the International Decade of Indigenous Languages ( "IDIL") from 2022-2032 to "to draw attention to the critical loss of indigenous languages and the urgent need to preserve, revitalize and promote indigenous languages and to take urgent steps at the national and international levels." The Decade is an opportunity to expose and address the severe loss of Indigenous Peoples' languages locally, regionally, and globally. It is a chance for the entire world community to gather together and commit to bringing Indigenous languages back from the brink of dormancy or extinction.

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

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & 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, …

Connecting The Dots To Reveal A New Picture: A Report On Indian Act By-Law Enforcement Issues Faced By First Nations In Nova Scotia And Beyond, Naiomi Metallic, Roy Stewart, Ashley Hamp-Gonsalves

Reports & Public Policy Documents

This report originated as a request by the Mi’kmaq-Nova Scotia-Canada Tripartite Forum to research the challenges facing First Nations in Nova Scotia in assuming jurisdictional control through Indian Act by-laws. In undertaking this research, we identified significant uncertainty, misconceptions and confusion around Indian Act by-laws from all parties with a stake in this issue, including federal and provincial government representatives (Indigenous Services, Department of Justice, Public Safety), the police, the public and First Nations representatives. Consequently, we felt it necessary to comprehensively unpack the various issues relating to Indian Act by-laws, from their nature and legal effect, to their development, …

Front Pages

American Indian Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Impact Of Climate Change On The Cultural Identity Of Indigenous Peoples And The Nation’S First “Climate Refugees”, Jordan K. Medaris

American Indian Law Review

No abstract provided.

Indigenous Boarding Schools In The United States And Canada: Potential Issues And Opportunities For Redress As The United States Government Initiates Formal Investigation, Keiteyana I. Parks

American Indian Law Review

No abstract provided.

State Ex Rel. Matloff V. Wallace: Reversing Course On Subject Matter Jurisdiction, Andrew Case

American Indian Law Review

No abstract provided.

Cooley’S Hidden Ramifications: Has The Supreme Court Extended The Terry Doctrine For Automobile Searches To The Point Of Eliminating Probable Cause?, Thomas G. Hamilton

American Indian Law Review

No abstract provided.

“The Center Cannot Hold”: Nation And Narration In American Indian Law, Chantelle Van Wiltenburg

American Indian Law Review

No abstract provided.

Winner, Best Appellate Brief In The 2022 Native American Law Student Association Moot Court Competition, Daniel Ahrens, Case Nieboer

American Indian Law Review

No abstract provided.

Front Pages

American Indian Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Winding Trail: A Look At Non-Linear Temporality In Literary Works In Response To The Issue Of Sovereignty, Gabrielle Jones

American Indian Law Review

No abstract provided.

Pachamama Over People And Profit: A Case For Indigenous Ecology And Environmental Personhood, Hilda Loury

American Indian Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Administration Of Injustice: The Conflict Between Federal And Tribal Criminal Jurisdiction, Grace Slaff

American Indian Law Review

No abstract provided.