Indigenous, Indian, and Aboriginal Law Commons^™

#Taxback? Prohibiting State Real Property Taxes On Land In Indian Country, Pippa Browde

Marquette Law Review

Land is a critical asset of Indian tribes. As tribes wrestle with how to create sustainable economies to support their sovereignty, the use and management of tribal land is integral. Taxation is a key component of economic development. This Article is about taxation of land within Indian country. It considers existing law that allows for state taxation of some land within Indian country. It makes a normative claim as to who the proper taxing sovereign should be based on tax policy principles and principles that support tribal self-governance and tribal sovereignty.

In Part II, this Article provides the background for …

The Utmost Rights And Interests Of The Indians: Tribal Law Interpretations Of The Indian Civil Rights Act, Kekek Jason Stark

Faculty Law Review Articles

It has been more than fifty years since Congress enacted the Indian Civil Right Act (hereinafter “ICRA”) and more than forty years since the United States Supreme Court in Martinez articulated that the tribal courts are the proper forum for the adjudication of ICRA claims. In the decades since, tribal courts have developed a rich body of intertribal common law pertaining to the implementation of the ICRA. This comes after over a century of assimilative policies in which the federal government attempted to eradicate native culture and traditions and subjected Indians to the deprivation of individual rights by federal and …

Resistance: The Mura Struggle Against Canadian Potash Mining In Brazil’S Amazon, Cardozo Law Institute In Holocaust And Human Rights (Clihhr), Federal University Of Rio Grande Do Sul, Graduate Program In Law (Ppgd/Ufrgs), International Human Rights Program (Ihrp), University Of Toronto Jackman Law, Observatory Of Socio-Environmental Law And Human Rights In The Amazon (Odsdh/Ufam)

CLIHHR Reports & Policy Submissions

A comprehensive human rights and environmental report documenting the Mura Indigenous people’s resistance to Brazil Potash’s Autazes Potash Project in the Brazilian Amazon. The report details environmental risks, human rights violations, failures in consultation processes, litigation history, corporate accountability, and the ongoing struggle for land demarcation.

Green Dividends: A Case Study In Green Dividends And The Conditions For Private Ordering Solutions, Anne M. Tucker

Seattle University Law Review

This Essay introduces a novel private ordering solution to facilitate corporate investments in pro-social and environmental initiatives: Green dividends. Green dividends are an optional increase in shareholder dividends that are returned to the company to be reinvested in environmental initiatives or kept by a shareholder.

Green dividends pose an alternative to the current gridlocked debate that corporations can’t, won’t, shouldn’t, and shouldn’t even try to act in pro-social or environmental ways. Turning the common refrains on their head converts each narrative into an element for a successful private ordering solution: authority, accountability, shareholder buy-in, and government- backed enforcement. With Green …

Does Climate Disclosure Work To Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions? Emerging Evidence Suggests Cautious Optimism, Cynthia A. Williams

Seattle University Law Review

Significant regulatory resources have been spent developing global, voluntary climate and sustainability disclosure standards, such as the TCFD, TNRD, and ISSB’s Sustainability and Climate Disclosure standards, or domestically required disclosures, such as in the EU and in the U.S. Thus, it is important to evaluate whether this disclosure, particularly voluntary, qualitative disclosure, will have the power to shift the allocation of capital, will have a significant effect on the management of climate risk within firms, and ultimately will reduce climate change risk and biodiversity loss.

In this Article, several interrelated questions will be discussed. First, what does the empirical evidence …

Volume 48 Masthead, Seattle University Law Review

Seattle University Law Review

Volume 48 Masthead

Identifying Intangible And Biocultural Heritage Elements Toward Environmental Understanding: Engaging Stakeholders Through Art, Martha B. Lerski

Publications and Research

Grounded in a case study in Barbuda in the Caribbean, this research examines sustainability from the perspective of what arts and heritage can contribute to community engagement and local and broader understandings about the environment. This article documents a growing body of literature recognizing the role of arts and culture, including local knowledge and traditional ecological knowledge (TEK), in climate change endeavors. Art and TEK present expansive world views. Contextual information situates research done on the island of Barbuda pre- and post-Hurricane Irma. Visual arts workshops engaged community members in mixed methods research. Results documented cultural elements, particularly intangible and …

How To Teach A Course On Land Use And Anti-Jewish Discrimination, Michael Lewyn

FIU Law Review

In 2022, I was asked to teach a one-week mini-course within a broader course on “Structural Barriers and the Pursuit of Equity,” a course focusing on various forms of structural discrimination The course is typically taught by over a dozen professors from various parts of Touro University, each of whom teaches for a week on a different topic. I chose to teach on issues related to land use law (because my scholarship focuses on that area) and in particular how land use law has been used by and against traditionally observant Jews (because that is the religious tradition I am …

Robots And (Indian) Reservations: A Jurisdictional Nightmare Waiting To Happen, Adam Crepelle

Faculty Publications & Other Works

Advances in artificial intelligence are expanding the possibilities of robots. Indeed, robots are now engaging in numerous activities previously thought to require human cognition, such as driving cars and diagnosing diseases. Scholars have published numerous articles examining the intersection of law and robots across myriad fields. However, legal scholarship has yet to explore the relationship between robots and federal Indian law. This is a significant oversight because there are 574 federally recognized tribes and over fifty-six million acres of Indian country. Thus, legal issues involving tribes and robots are inevitable. This is the first law review article dedicated to exploring …

Tribes As Nations: The Future Of The Trust Relationship, Adam Crepelle

Faculty Publications & Other Works

Tribes are nations. This fundamental truth is often lost in the trust relationship. For most of the United States’ history, the trust relationship was used as a justification to control tribes and obtain their resources. The trust relationship took a new shape during the 1970s—tribal self-determination. Self-determination has resulted in many benefits for tribes; however, tribes still suffer from externally imposed constraints on their sovereignty, such as complex federal bureaucracy and limits on their jurisdiction. This Article argues removing the antiquated constraints on tribal sovereignty is required for the trust relationship to advance, and, once it advances, tribes will be …

Tribal Civil Procedure: An Unexplored Path To Sovereignty And Economic Development, Adam Crepelle

Faculty Publications & Other Works

This Article argues civil procedure reform is a means of strengthening tribal sovereignty and economies. Although tribal civil procedure codes are largely consistent with their state and federal counterparts, tribal rules of procedure can be difficult to locate. The inability to locate tribal rules of procedure has led the Supreme Court to diminish tribal jurisdiction over non-Indians. Similarly, uncertainty about the rules governing tribal court operation deter businesses from investing in Indian country. By making greater efforts to publish tribal procedure rules and the jurisprudence interpreting them, tribes can enhance their sovereignty and their economies.

Tribes should also consider civil …

Judicial Imperialism: The Supreme Court’S Assault On Tribal Sovereignty And The Rule Of Law, Adam Crepelle

Faculty Publications & Other Works

The rule of law requires predictability, and the rules governing Indian country create uncertainty. For example, determining whether a person can be arrested on a reservation depends upon a combination of whether the victim and perpetrators are Indians, the type of crime, and the status of the land where the incident occurred. The same goes for contract enforcement. Even when forum selection and choice of law provisions exist, it can take years to determine whether the dispute should be adjudicated in tribal, state, or federal court. Ambiguity extends to countless other areas, including marijuana legalization and usury caps.

Indian country’s …

"A Plain Denial”: Reclaiming Equal Protection In American Juvenile Law, Addie C. Rolnick, David S. Tanenhaus, Justin Iverson, Danielle L. Silvestri

Scholarly Works

Juvenile courts are based on the premise that children are different from adults and should therefore be treated differently. Children may be treated more informally by courts, punished for different purposes, and brought before the court for different behaviors. Since In re Gault, the Supreme Court has been clear that there are limits to how different juvenile courts can be. Juveniles are entitled to many of the same procedural protections as adult criminal defendants, although the Court has preserved some procedural differences where it has determined that their benefit is outweighed by the need to preserve the informality, flexibility, …

Land Back To Right Of Return: Proposing Paths Forward In Palestine, Melanie Kallah

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis presents a parallel case study of the settler colonial histories of Canada and Palestine. The Land Back Movement was first analyzed to determine what conditions enabled the success of Indigenous land restitution in Canada. Subsequently, a cross-analysis with Palestine was conducted to ascertain whether the same enabling conditions could facilitate Palestinian land restitution, known as the Right of Return.

Homelands Not Graveyards, M. Alexander Pearl

Faculty Articles

Within the last five years, the U.S. Supreme Court has taken up several transformative cases affecting Native nations and federal Indian law jurisprudence. The Supreme Court’s decision in Arizona v. Navajo Nation is no different. This Article examines that decision and situates it within that legal history as well as the realities of present-day water resource availability. While recent decisions have shown the Court’s willingness to confirm fundamental components of federal Indian law, such as the legal tests for determining the persistence of reservation and the authority of Congress to enact the Indian Child Welfare Act, the Court’s examination of …

Corporeal Property And The Limits Of Nagpra, M. Alexander Pearl

Faculty Articles

No abstract provided.

The Erosion Of Trust: Arizona V. Navajo, Climate Change, And The Potential Abrogation Of Tribal Water Rights, Dr. Taino J. Palermo

Roger Williams University Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Parallels In The Repatriation Of Cultural Property: How The Holocaust Expropriated Art Recovery Act Provides A Framework For A More Effective Native American Grave Protection And Repatriation Act, Samantha Rhodes

Roger Williams University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Respect And Submission In Contexts Of Transition: Reviewing Judicial Interpretation From R V Drybones To R V Montour, Joshua Nichols

Osgoode Hall Law Journal

Since the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada's call in 2015 for the adoption and implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UN Declaration), Canada has seen significant legislative developments. Notably, the Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA) in British Columbia, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (UNDRIPA) at the federal level, and subsequent amendments to the Interpretation Act in British Columbia have introduced innovative frameworks for procedural implementation. However, these legislative actions pose unique challenges, particularly in their interpretation by the judiciary.

This paper navigates through …

Teaching At The Intersection Of Federal Indian Law And Environmental Law Courses, Mia Montoya Hammersley, Vanessa Ann Racehorse, Heather Tanana, Nadine Padilla, Gerald Torres

Publications

A discussion of the important role of Federal Indian Law in the practice of environmental and natural resources law and guidance on incorporating this intersection into traditional environmental law courses and curricula.

The North American Gap Ungulates Must Migrate Physically And Legally: Elk As A Case Study, Alex Wendlandt

Wyoming Law Review

Humans have tracked elk hoof prints in North America since ancient times, recognizing the significance of these migratory ungulates in culture, mythology, dietary value, and utility. As migratory ungulates, elk respond to changes in their environment by migrating to and from their summer and winter ranges. Today, elk migrations continue across the jurisdictional boundary of the northern United States and southern Canada, spreading ecological and economic benefits with each track they make. Unfortunately, ungulate migration is an “endangered phenomenon” due to loss of connectivity and loss of habitat. While the United States and Canada have acknowledged the importance of, and …

Never Again: Zionism And The Jewess, Rona Kaufman

FIU Law Review

The State of Israel was established, in part, to ensure that Jews would never again be killed with impunity. More specifically, the State of Israel was established to ensure that never again would Jewish women and girls be systematically raped, assaulted, violated, and mutilated in a pogrom-like attack against the Jewish people. It is well known that the sweep of history connects Jews with the land of Israel from ancient times to today and serves as an important foundation for political Zionism. Less understood is that the atrocities against Jewish women and girls, committed over thousands of years and across …

Contested Sovereignty And Jurisdictional Flux In Oklahoma Indian Country 2025, Darla Jackson

Other Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Unenforceable Indian Trust, Ezra Rosser

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

This Essay explores the Indian trust relationship in light of recent decisions, especially Arizona v. Navajo Nation, that severely limit the judicial enforcement of federal trust responsibilities. Given the built-in tension between the trust responsibility and self-determination, periodic reassessment of the role and power of the Indian trust is perhaps inevitable. The Supreme Court's attack on meaningful enforcement of the trust responsibility is deeply problematic in that it puts tribes in the position of getting neither the benefits of a special Indian trust nor those principles that are supposed to govern trusts in general. But the Court is not …

Social Conflict And Indigenous Consent In Mining: A Primer On Csr, Esg And Social Disclosures To Investors, Shin Imai

All Papers

The transnational corporate structure of mining companies makes it challenging to conduct independent investigations of allegations of social or environmental harm. A parent company can hide behind a multitude of subsidiaries in a multitude of jurisdictions to avoid liability. This article explores one way to bypass these corporate structures through the disclosure requirements of securities legislation. When a parent company fails to disclose social conflict or lack of Indigenous consent at a project, investors may be harmed when the stock price falls. This article describes six empirical studies, supported by extensive macro studies, which show that when social conflict or …

Indigenous Governance And The Charter: What Can Indigenous Constitutionalism Offer?, Karen Drake

All Papers

The question of whether the Charter should apply to Indigenous governance is often presented in terms of a contest between Indigenous self-determination and protections for vulnerable individuals. The two judgments applying the Charter in the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision in Dickson v. Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation exemplify this dichotomy. This approach, however, reflects a false dilemma; it overlooks Indigenous constitutionalism’s ability to resolve the kinds of issues that the Charter aims to resolve, but without sacrificing Indigenous self-determination. To illustrate this point, this article applies one form of Indigenous constitutionalism— Anishinaabe constitutionalism grounded within an Anishinaabe lifeworld—to the fact …

Rejecting The Racialization Of Indianness, Andrea J. Martin

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Unveiling The Environmental Impact Of Large Language Models On Indigenous Communities: A Call For Action And Liability, Nina-Simone Edwards

Library Scholarship

Large Language Models (LLMs) have rapidly gained popularity for their language generation and comprehension capabilities, promising increased efficiency in various sectors. However, while celebrated for their transformative potential, LLMs exacerbate current climate issues. This Article highlights the detrimental environmental footprint of LLMs, with a focus on their role in escalating climate change and their disproportionate effects on Indigenous communities. These communities, closely tied to their land, bear the brunt of environmental degradation, further aggravated by LLM-induced emissions.

This Article first dissects the interplay between environmental justice and technological innovation, advocating for a reevaluation of the trust relationship between tribal nations …

A Critical Juncture: The Convergence Of Natural Resource Management And Tribal Sovereignty, Anna Aleta Butterfield

Graduate Student Portfolios, Professional Papers, and Capstone Projects

This portfolio reflects the work I’ve done in my four years as a dual degree student, pursuing a Master of Science in Environmental Studies and a juris doctorate degree, and focuses on policies and laws surrounding natural resource management. It touches on how those policies relate to and expand or constrict the exercise of sovereignty by indigenous populations.

This piece first considers the effects of plastic on salmon populations and those indigenous groups that rely on salmon for subsistence and cultural purposes. The remaining three pieces focus on various aspects of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes - Montana Water …

The Bugbear Of Indigenous Commercial Fishing Rights On The Eastern Frontiers Of Australia And The United States, Teresa Singh

LL.M. Essays & Theses

Restrictions on the commercial exercise of Indigenous fishing rights are plentiful across the U.S. and Australia. They have particular force and prevalence for Indigenous communities residing in the sites of the first colonies in both nations. This note exposes the common history underlying the diminished rights in these regions and argues the situation amounts to a critical environmental injustice. It follows that environmental justice advocates and scholars should embrace and advance the more encompassing iteration of Indigenous fishing rights urged by this note and support their restoration as a form of corrective justice for these communities.