Indigenous, Indian, and Aboriginal Law Commons^™

Rethinking Customary Law In Tribal Court Jurisprudence, Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Michigan Journal of Race and Law

Customary law still appears in many of the decisions of American state and federal courts. Modern courts rely less on customary law, part and parcel of the English common law adopted and adapted by the Founders of the United States, with statutory and administrative law dominating the field. In contrast, the importance of customary law in American Indian tribal courts cannot be understated. Indian tribes now take every measure conceivable to preserve Indigenous cultures and restore lost cultural knowledge and practices. Tribal court litigation, especially litigation involving tribal members and issues arising out of tribal law, often turns on the …

The Pocahontas Exception: The Exemption Of American Indian Ancestry From Racial Purity Law, Kevin Noble Maillard

Michigan Journal of Race and Law

"The Pocahontas Exception" confronts the legal existence and cultural fascination with the eponymous "Indian Grandmother." Laws existed in many states that prohibited marriage between Whites and non- Whites to prevent the "quagmire of mongrelization." Yet, this racial protectionism, as ingrained in law, blatantly exempted Indian blood from the threat to White racial purity. In Virginia, the Racial Integrity Act of 1924 made exceptions for Whites of mixed descent who proudly claimed Native American ancestry from Pocahontas. This Paper questions the juridical exceptions made for Native American ancestry in antimiscegenation statutes, and analyzes the concomitant exemptions in contemporary social practice. With …

A Race Or A Nation? Cherokee National Identity And The Status Of Freedmen's Descendants, S. Alan Ray

Michigan Journal of Race and Law

This Article examines the Cherokee Freedmen controversy to assess whether law and biology can function as sufficient models for crafting Cherokee identity at this crucial moment in the tribe's history. The author will argue that while law and biology are historically powerful frames for establishing tribal self-identity, they are inadequate to the task of determining who should enjoy national citizenship. The wise use of sovereignty, the author suggests, lies in creating a process of sustained dialogical engagement among all stakeholders in the definition of Cherokee citizenship on the question of Cherokee identity. This dialogue should ideally have been undertaken before …

Keynote Address: Indigenous Peoples And Their Mark On The International Legal System, S. James Anaya

Publications

No abstract provided.

A Tale Of Conflicting Sovereignties: The Case Against Tribal Sovereign Immunity And Federal Preemption Doctrines Preventing States' Enforcement Of Campaign Contribution Regulations On Indian Tribes, Paul Porter

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

This Note will discuss whether Indian tribes can assert tribal sovereign immunity to avoid compliance with state campaign finance regulation and whether such regulations should be preempted by federal law. Tribal sovereign immunity is not an enshrined constitutional imperative; it exists only under federal common law and can be limited by the courts from blocking state suits to enforce campaign finance regulations against tribes. This Note will also argue that state campaign finance regulations should not be preempted by federal law because states have a compelling interest in protecting their political processes from corruption that outweighs tribal interests in flouting …

Two Spirits, Two Eras, Same Sex: For A Traditionalist Perspective On Native American Tribal Same-Sex Marriage Policy, Jeffrey S. Jacobi

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

Recently, several states amended their constitutions to define marriage as only a union between a man and a woman. Many Native American Indian tribal governments thereafter also adopted laws prohibiting homosexual marriages. However, this new policy conflicts with traditional tribal values. This Note shows that historically many tribes accepted and even honored same-sex unions. This Note proposes that tribes consider their traditions as they existed before European contact, and argues that, for some tribes, same-sex civil unions are a historically and culturally appropriate answer to the modern objections to same-sex marriage.

American Indians, Crime, And The Law, Kevin K. Washburn

Michigan Law Review

This Article evaluates the federal Indian country criminal justice regime, not against norms of Indian law and policy, but against those of criminal law and policy. Specifically, this Article evaluates the federal constitutional norms that lie at the heart of American criminal justice and that are designed to ensure the legitimacy of federal criminal trials. Toward that end, Part I presents a critical description of key facets of the federal Indian country criminal justice system. Part II begins the critical evaluation by evaluating a key institutional player in the federal system, the federal prosecutor. It highlights the handicaps faced by …

The Tribal Sovereign As Citizen: Protecting Indian Country Health And Welfare Through Federal Environmental Citizen Suits, James M. Grijalva

Michigan Journal of Race and Law

This Article suggests that federal environmental citizen suits can serve tribal sovereignty interests without presenting the legal risks tribes face when they attempt direct regulation of non-Indians. Section I briefly describes governmental regulatory roles tribes may play in the implementation of federal environmental law and policy. Section II overviews the conceptual and procedural framework for tribal claims as "citizens." Section III argues that in bringing environmental citizen suits, tribal governments exercise their inherent sovereign power and responsibility to protect the health and welfare of tribal citizens and the quality of the Indian country environment. Section IV concludes that, while suits …

Vine Deloria Jr. And Indigenous Americans, David E. Wilkins

Jepson School of Leadership Studies articles, book chapters and other publications

Vine Deloria Jr., a Standing Rock Sioux citizen, widely considered the leading indigenous intellectual of the past century, walked on in November 2005. Deloria spent most of his adult life in an unrelenting, prodigious, and largely successful effort to provide those most grounded of Native individuals and their governments with the intellectual, theoretical, philosophical, and substantive arguments necessary to support their inherent personal and national sovereignty. Importantly, however, his voluminous work also sought to improve the nation-to-nation and intergovernmental relationships of and between First Nations, and between First Nations and non-Native governments at all levels. In fact, he was hailed …

Forging A Political, Educational, And Cultural Agenda For Indian Country: Common Sense Recommendations Gleaned From Deloria's Prose, David E. Wilkins

Jepson School of Leadership Studies articles, book chapters and other publications

Fortunately for the human species, in its wide assortment of pigmentations, cultural experiences, and geographic locations, each generation of a given people produces a small number of truly spirited individuals. These are individuals who not only possess the ability to constructively critique and analyze what is both sound and problematic in their society—or for our purposes, a set of societies—but who also have the rarer gift of being able to propound suggestions, ideas, and prognostications on what might be done to improve the human condition, both individually and collectively.

In the breadth and depth of Vine Deloria Jr.'s copious works …

Who's Who: Exploring The Discrepancy Between The Methods Of Defining African Americans And Native Americans, Keneisha M. Green

American Indian Law Review

No abstract provided.

Indian Givers: What Indigenous Peoples Have Contributed To International Human Rights Law, S. James Anaya

Publications

No abstract provided.

[Introduction To] On The Drafting Of Tribal Constitutions, Felix S. Cohen, David E. Wilkins (Editor)

Bookshelf

Felix Cohen (1907-1953) was a leading architect of the Indian New Deal and steadfast champion of American Indian rights. Appointed to the Department of the Interior in 1933, he helped draft the Indian Reorganization Act (1934) and chaired a committee charged with assisting tribes in organizing their governments. His "Basic Memorandum on Drafting of Tribal Constitutions," submitted in November 1934, provided practical guidelines for that effort.

Largely forgotten until Cohen's papers were released more than half a century later, the memorandum now receives the attention it has long deserved. David E. Wilkins presents the entire work, edited and introduced with …

Today's Indian Wars: Between Cyberspace And The United Nations, S. James Anaya

Publications

No abstract provided.

Testimony On The Regulation Of Indian Gaming, Oversight Hearing On Indian Gaming, Before The United States Senate, Committee On Indian Affairs, 109th Congress, 1st Session, Kevin Washburn

Faculty Scholarship

Federal and tribal regulation is likely to be more successful than state regulation of Indian gaming because tribal governments and the federal government have a greater interest in the long term success of Indian gaming. Uniform federal minimum internal control standards can protect the integrity of the Indian gaming industry nationwide. While federal regulators should exercise a powerful role, they must be respectful of tribal governments.

Testimony On The Regulation Of Indian Gaming, United States Senate, Committee On Indian Affairs, 109th Congress, 1st Session, Kevin Washburn

Faculty Scholarship

Congress must shore up NIGC regulatory authority over Class III gaming, guard against regulatory capture in tribal regulatory commissions, and reconsider the legitimacy of federal oversight of tribal economic decision-making. Congress should give the NIGC greater authority over licensure of those involved in Indian gaming and circumscribe the federal role over tribal economic decisions.

Spotlight On Jon Velie: Man On A Thirteen Year Mission, Lydia Edwards

The Modern American

No abstract provided.

The Chiricahua Apaches And The Assimilation Movement, 1865-1886: Historical Examination, John W. Ragsdale Jr

Faculty Works

Prior to the assimilation movement, the Chiricahua Apache Indians had built no stone temples, no multi-story apartments, no irrigation systems and no ceremonial highways. They traveled light and migrated with the game and the seasons. They lived in wickiups, quickly built and easily left behind. As Geronimo stated, "once [we] moved about like the wind."

This lightness of touch on the land spoke of ability, grace, and imagination. Their traditional way of life emphasized the people's intelligence, knowledge in the arts of fighting and survival, resourcefulness and striking fitness. Contemporary white observers described the Chiricahua with awe and admiration, transcendent …

Tribal Employment Separation: Tribal Law Enigma, Tribal Governance Paradox, And Tribal Court Conundrum, Matthew L.M. Fletcher

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

Each year, more and more people--Indians and non-Indians--are employed by Indian Tribes and Tribally-chartered organizations. However, as Tribal employment grows, so do the problems associated with personnel disputes. Tribal employment is different than traditional corporate or even government employment because Tribal communities are incredibly close-knit and Tribal governments are very accountable to their constituents. Because of this dynamic, employment separations can create excessive difficulty within a Tribe. Many Tribal courts apply the principles of the Supreme Court's decision in Loudermill, granting terminated employees the right to both an administrative and judicial hearing. However, these processes can often be incredibly painful …

Phase I Archaeological Intensive Survey Of Hassanamesitt Woods Property, Grafton, Massachusetts, Jack Gary, Stephen Mrozowski, David B. Landon

Andrew Fiske Memorial Center for Archaeological Research Publications

The Center for Cultural and Environmental History conducted a Phase I archaeological intensive survey of the Hassanamesitt Woods property in Grafton, Massachusetts from October 2004 through January 2005. Documentary evidence has suggested that the property may contain remains of the church for the Praying Indian village of Hassanamisco, established by John Eliot in 1660. Historical deed research has also placed several Nipmuc families on the property in the early 18th century, suggesting the area was resettled by the original inhabitants of Hassanimisco in the aftermath of King Philip's War. Throughout the course of the 18th and 19th centuries the property …

Tribes And Tribulations: Beyond Sovereign Immunity And Toward Reparation And Reconciliation For The Estelusti, Carla D. Pratt

Washington and Lee Journal of Civil Rights and Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Eagle Feathers And Equality: Lessons On Religious Exceptions From The Native American Experience, Kevin J. Worthen

University of Colorado Law Review

The legality and propriety of exempting religiously motivated conduct from otherwise applicable legal norms is the subject of ongoing scholarly, judicial, and legislative debate. The issue is particularly thorny when it arises in a legal system deeply committed to the concept of equality. The Eagle Protection Act, which exempts Native Americans religious practitioners who are members offederally recognized tribes from its general prohibition on the taking and use of bald and golden eagle feathers, provides an interesting context in which to examine that debate. Not only does the Act exempt religiously motivated conduct from the otherwise applicable norms, it prefers …

Keynote Address: 2004 American Indian Studies Consortium Annual Conference, David E. Wilkins

Jepson School of Leadership Studies articles, book chapters and other publications

This special issue of Wicazo Sa Review continues the theme of colonization/decolonization from the previous issue and contains transcriptions of two sessions of the 2004 American Indian Studies Consortium annual conference, entitled "Who Stole Indian Studies?" at Arizona State University. The articles add to our knowledge by contributing important discussions addressing such issues as empowerment, law, research ethics, Freedmen entitlements, reproductive rights, spiritual appropriation, and identity. The Consortium transcripts provide invaluable presentations by key native scholars about the past, present, and future of American Indian studies. Dr. David Wilkins provided the keynote address for the conference.

In Cases Involving Sites Of Religious Significance, Plaintiffs Will Fall In The Gap Of Judicial Deference That Exists Between The Religion Clauses Of The First Amendment, Jeff Pinter

American Indian Law Review

No abstract provided.

Book Review: Lindsay G. Robertson, Conquest By Law: How The Discovery Of America Dispossessed Indigenous Peoples Of Their Lands, Oxford University Press, 2005, Willaim D. Wallace

American Indian Law Review

No abstract provided.

Eagle Feathers And Equality: Lessons On Religious Exceptions From The Native American Experience, Kevin J. Worthen

Faculty Scholarship

The legality and propriety of exempting religiously motivated conduct from otherwise applicable legal norms is the subject of ongoing scholarly, judicial, and legislative debate. The issue is particularly thorny when it arises in a legal system deeply committed to the concept of equality. The Eagle Protection Act, which exempts Native Americans religious practitioners who are members of federally recognized tribes from its general prohibition on the taking and use of bald and golden eagle feathers, provides an interesting context in which to examine that debate. Not only does the Act exempt religiously motivated conduct from the otherwise applicable norms, it …

A Whole New Game: Recognizing The Changing Complexion Of Indian Gaming By Removing The "Governor's Veto" For Gaming On "After-Acquired Lands", Brian P. Mcclatchey

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

The recent explosive growth of the Indian gaming industry and judicial decisions analyzing a portion of the governing statute point to an inherent flaw in the mechanism provided by the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) for the establishment of off-reservation gaming enterprises. This Note argues for a reform of the so-called "after-acquired lands" provision of IGRA, which would remove the governor's concurrence requirement and place the decision to allow Indian gaming off-reservation into the negotiating process between states and tribes, as another term to be negotiated between sovereigns. Such a reform would allow states and tribes alike to extract their …

Tribal Jurisdiction And Domestic Violence: The Need For Non-Indian Accountability On The Reservation, Amy Radon

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

Domestic violence is a severe problem for tribes across the nation, as their female members are victimized at highly disproportionate rates compared to members of dominant society. Many tribes have sophisticated domestic violence codes to combat the problem, but they are powerless to prosecute the majority of those who will abuse Indian women: non-Indian men. In 1978 the Supreme Court stripped tribes of their power to prosecute non-Indians in criminal matters, which not only damaged tribal sovereignty but also meant the difference between a life free from abuse and one with constant fear, intimidation, and pain for Indian women.

The …

"Power Over This Unfortunate Race": Race, Politics And Indian Law In United States V. Rogers, Bethany R. Berger

William & Mary Law Review

"[F]rom the very moment the general government came into existence to this time, it has exercised its power over this unfortunate race in the spirit of humanity and justice, and has endeavoured by every means in its power to enlighten their minds and increase their comforts, and to save them if possible from the consequences of their own vices."

In 1846, in United States v. Rogers, the Supreme Court blithely announced the above vision of the history of Indian-United States relations. The first part of the quote describes Indian people as a race and an inferior one; the second part …

The Plight Of "Nappy-Headed" Indians: The Role Of Tribal Sovereignty In The Systematic Discrimination Against Black Freedmen By The Federal Government And Native American Tribes, Terrion L. Williamson

Michigan Journal of Race and Law

This Note concerns the role the government has played in the exclusion of Black Freedmen from Native American nations through its implementation and interpretation of the doctrine of tribal sovereign immunity ("tribal sovereignty" or "tribal immunity"). Part I discusses the background of the Freedmen within the Five Civilized Tribes and provides an overview of the doctrine of tribal sovereign immunity, including its role in the controversy concerning the status of Black Indians. Part II discusses the interpretations given to the doctrine of tribal sovereign immunity by United States courts and executive agencies and the effects of those interpretations on relations …