Indigenous, Indian, and Aboriginal Law Commons^™

Doing Better For Indigenous Children And Families: Jordan’S Principle Accountability Mechanisms Report, Naiomi Metallic, Hadley Friedland, Shelby Thomas

Reports & Public Policy Documents

In Part 1 of this report, we attempt to summarize the long history that forms the context of the need for independent accountability measures to meaningfully address the discrimination identified by the CHRT in Caring Society and prevent similar practices in the future. Drawing from this context, in Part 2, we set out what we identify as 10 key accountability needs of Indigenous children and families that must be addressed in order to provide effective accountability. Finally, in Part 3, we discuss features of effective accountability mechanisms and propose three interconnected mechanisms that we believe address the accountability …

Toward Indigenous Visions Of Nature-Based Solutions: An Exploration Into Canadian Federal Climate Policy, Graeme Reed, Nicolas D. Brunet, Deborah Mcgregor, Curtis Scurr, Tonio Sadik, Jamie Lavigne, Sheri Longboat

Articles & Book Chapters

Political traction for nature-based solutions is rapidly growing as governments recognize their role in addressing the simultaneous climate and biodiversity crises. While there has been recognition of the role of Indigenous Peoples in nature-based solutions, there has also been limited academic review on their relationship. This paper explores how the Government of Canada’s conceptualization of nature-based solutions either support or prevent Indigenous sustainable self-determination. Drawing on past policy frameworks, we construct a novel four-dimensional sustainable self-determination policy lens focused on: Indigenous knowledge systems; Indigenous jurisdiction over land; the full and effective participation of Indigenous Peoples; and Indigenous Peoples as rights-holders …

Pueblo Of Pojoaque Tribal Court Handbook (2022), Tribal Law Journal Staff

Tribal Law Journal

This handbook helps take some of the mystery out of practicing in tribal courts. Without the necessary information to learn new rules and protocols many attorneys are understandably reluctant to practice in a new jurisdiction. As a result, tribal courts are underused or misused. This handbook is intended to help attorneys and advocates become more aware of the various individual tribal court systems and to learn their rules and protocol.

Jemez Pueblo Tribal Court Handbook (2022), Tribal Law Journal Staff

Tribal Law Journal

This handbook helps take some of the mystery out of practicing in tribal courts. Without the necessary information to learn new rules and protocols many attorneys are understandably reluctant to practice in a new jurisdiction. As a result, tribal courts are underused or misused. This handbook is intended to help attorneys and advocates become more aware of the various individual tribal court systems and to learn their rules and protocol.

Securing A Permanent Homeland: The Federal Government’S Responsibility To Provide Clean Water Access To Tribal Communities, Heather Tanana

Utah Law Faculty Scholarship

Water is life—critical to the health, socioeconomic, and cultural needs of any community. Every household in the United States needs and deserves access to clean, reliable, and a ordable drinking water. Yet, tribal communities face high rates of water insecurity. More than a half million people—nearly 48 percent of tribal homes in Native communities across the United States—do not have access to reliable water sources, clean drinking water, or basic sanitation. In comparison, as a whole, less than 1 percent of households in the United States lack these facilities. This persistent problem became a matter of life or death during …

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.

The Ends And The Means: Indigenous Sovereignty, Climate-Related Legal Actions, And Frameworks Of Justice, Connor Marcum

Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies

Philosophy professor Timothy Morton uses climate change as his foremost example of what he calls a hyperobject: an object that occupies both more physical space and more time than humans can usefully comprehend. For example, one can understand local meteorological occurrences in isolation without necessarily understanding that a given storm was more severe than it should have been because an overall increase in global temperatures makes for a more aggressive, active hydrological cycle. Environmental organizations focused on raising awareness understand this. Public campaigns to wed the nebulous idea of climate change to specific, concrete images are incredibly memorable: think of …

Opinion Regarding The Status Of Mineral Ownership Underlying The Missouri River Within The Boundaries Of The Fort Berthold Reservation (North Dakota), United States Department Of The Interior, Robert T. Anderson

US Government Documents Related to Indigenous Nations

This memorandum, dated February 4, 2022, from the United States (US) Department of the Interior (Office of the Solicitor) to the Secretary and Assistant Secretary of Land and Minerals Management, the Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs, and the Director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs rescinds the Solicitor’s May 26, 2020 opinion regarding mineral rights on the Fort Berthold Reservation which declared the state of North Dakota to be the owner of said rights. This memorandum reaffirms the January 17, 2017 opinion of Solicitor Hilary Tompkins that the rights belong to the Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation. …

An Appeal In Favor Of That Class Of Americans Called Africans, Lydia Maria Child, Paul Royster (Editor)

Zea E-Books in American Studies

The roots of white supremacy lie in the institution of negro slavery. From the 15th through the 19th century, white Europeans trafficked in abducted and enslaved Africans and justified the practice with excuses that seemed somehow to reconcile the injustice with their professed Christianity. The United States was neither the first nor the last nation to abolish slavery, but its proclaimed principles of freedom and equality were made ironic by the nation’s reluctance to extend recognition to all Americans.

“Americans” is what Mrs. Child calls those fellow countrymen of African ancestry in 1833; citizenship and equality were what she advocated …

Procedural Injustice: Indigenous Claims, Limitation Periods, And Laches, Kent Mcneil, Thomas Enns

All Papers

When Indigenous peoples go to court to seek justice for the historical wrongs they have endured, the Crown often tries to prevent their claims from even being heard by pleading statutes of limitations and laches. The application of these barriers raises serious constitution issues that have been taken account of by the Supreme Court only in the context of declarations of constitutional invalidity. Arguments based on the constitutional division of powers and section 35(1) of the Constitution Act, 1982 have not been addressed by the Court. As a result, limitations statutes that vary from province to province have been applied …

Analyzing The Implications Of The Supreme Court's Application Of The Canons Of Construction In Recent Federal Indian Law Cases, Meredith Harris J.D.

American Indian Law Journal

Federal Indian law in the United States has historically relied on application of the Indian Canons of Construction (“Canons”). The courts have relied on these principles since 1832. However, their application has not been consistent. Indeed, the Canons are discretionary which has led to judicial avoidance. Yet, recent Supreme Court opinions demonstrate a resurgence of the Canons and a trend towards a textualist approach, both of which involve greater deference to tribal understandings. Ultimately, the opinions in United States v. Washington, Washington State Dept. of Licensing v. Cougar Den, Herrera v. Wyoming, and McGirt v. Oklahoma, …

John Locke's Theory Of Property, And The Dispossession Of Indigenous Peoples In The Settler-Colony, Calum Murray

American Indian Law Journal

This paper explores how John Locke’s theory of property, elaborated in chapter five of his Second Treatise of Government, provided a compelling conceptual and practical justification for the appropriation of Indigenous peoples’ territories in America by the early English settler-colonists of the 17^th century. It examines how his property theory facilitated the nullification of Native American conceptions of land through the superimposition of European private property regimes in the settler colony. It further highlights briefly how indistinguishable dynamics also characterize the contemporary Israeli/Palestinian settler-colonial context, where the reverberations of Locke’s thought on property are pervasive. To do so, …

The Importance Of Abolition Of The Carceral State For Native Survivors, Christina M. Schnalzer

American Indian Law Journal

No abstract provided.

How Alaska Native Corporations Can Better Support Alaska Native Villages, E. Barrett Ristroph Esq.

American Indian Law Journal

Since their formation in 1971 through the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, Alaska Native Corporations (ANCs) have operated largely under a mission to build economic revenue for distribution to their shareholders, who are generally Alaska Native tribal members. While larger ANCs have formed foundations that provide scholarships to shareholders, ANCs generally do not have missions or entities associated with developing community infrastructure or promoting social programs in Alaska Native Villages, which are the communities of federally recognized Alaskan tribes. Until recently, the infrastructural and institutional needs of Alaska Native Villages have largely been met through State of Alaska funding, with …

Healthcare Self-Governance, Danika Watson

American Indian Law Journal

No abstract provided.

This Land Is Not Our Land, This Land Is Their Land: Returning National Park Lands To Their Rightful Protectors, Sierra Kennedy

American Indian Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Proposed Allocation Of Funding From The American Rescue Plan Act, Infrastructure Investment And Jobs Act, And Build Back Better Act, Anne Castle, Heather Tanana, Jaime Garcia, Matthew Mckinney, Chelsea Colwyn, Ana Olaya, Daryl Vigil, Garrit Vogesser

Utah Law Faculty Scholarship

The initiative on Universal Access to Clean Water for Tribal Communities strongly supports IHS’s efforts to provide clean water access and sanitation services to Tribal communities and applauds the new funding available through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. We appreciate the thoughtful approach that IHS is taking to the allocation of this funding. We want to emphasize the need to deploy this unprecedented capital infusion in a manner tailored to the specific needs of individual Tribes, in consultation with them, and in a manner that sets both the Tribes and the projects up for long term success.

Colonial Fault Lines: First Nations Autonomy And Indigenous Lands In The Time Of Covid-19, Alexandra Flynn, Signa Daum Shanks

All Faculty Publications

The COVID-19 crisis has exposed the political and economic fault lines in the exercise of power across multiple jurisdictions. This article focuses on the power of First Nations to make enforceable decisions in respect to reserve lands, specifically the powers First Nations have to enforce public health restrictions during the pandemic. We argue that Canadian law both enables First Nations to assert decisionmaking in respect to their lands, and undermines Indigenous authority in relation to enforcement and intergovernmental status. This paper is part of the SPE Theme on the Political Economy of COVID-19.

Muskrat Textualism, Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Northwestern University Law Review

The Supreme Court decision McGirt v. Oklahoma, confirming the boundaries of the Creek Reservation in Oklahoma, was a truly rare case in which the Court turned back arguments by federal and state governments in favor of American Indian and tribal interests. For more than a century, Oklahomans had assumed that the reservation had been terminated and acted accordingly. But only Congress can terminate an Indian reservation, and it simply had never done so in the case of the Creek Reservation. Both the majority and dissenting opinions attempted to claim the mantle of textualism, but their respective analyses led to …

A Call For The Library Community To Deploy Best Practices Toward A Database For Biocultural Knowledge Relating To Climate Change, Martha B. Lerski

Publications and Research

Abstract

Purpose – In this paper, a call to the library and information science community to support documentation and conservation of cultural and biocultural heritage has been presented.

Design/methodology/approach – Based in existing Literature, this proposal is generative and descriptive— rather than prescriptive—regarding precisely how libraries should collaborate to employ technical and ethical best practices to provide access to vital data, research and cultural narratives relating to climate.

Findings – COVID-19 and climate destruction signal urgent global challenges. Library best practices are positioned to respond to climate change. Literature indicates how libraries preserve, share and cross-link cultural and scientific knowledge. …

A 385-Year Experiment To Erase A People: Intergenerational Acts Of Genocide Against The Narragansett Indian Tribe By The United States Of America And The State Of Rhode Island, Taylor A. Dumpson, Afro-Indigenous; Black, Narragansett, Nanticoke, And Mohawk Ancestry

Tribal Law Journal

Since Roger Williams’ arrival in Narragansett Territory in 1636, and his subsequent settlement of the Providence Plantations, the Narragansett Indian Tribe--the Indigenous people to this land--have faced a series of intergenerational atrocities, including attempted genocides. For generations, these heinous wrongs have not been corrected by state or federal courts, which have often compounded the harms against the Narragansett people. Although the American legal system has played a role in perpetuating the intergenerational harms experienced by the Narragansett people, these institutions also have the opportunity to be a part of the solution. The Article examines the existing domestic legal framework for …

Dedication To Professor Christine Zuni Cruz, Tribal Law Journal

Tribal Law Journal

No abstract provided.

American Declaration On The Rights Of Indigenous Peoples, Organization Of American States. General Assembly.

AALL Legal Website of the Month

The American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples was adopted at the Third Plenary Session of the Organization of American States (OAS) General Secretariat held on June 15, 2016. The indigenous peoples of the Americas are culturally distinct groups who maintain an ancestral bond to the lands where they live or wish to live. Also, the Indigenous peoples of the Americans have the right to live in harmony with nature and to a healthy, safe, and sustainable environment, essential conditions for the full enjoyment of the right to life, to their spirituality, world view and to collective well-being.

Bad Men Among The Whites Claims In The Mni Wiconi Age, Julie Combs, Cherokee Nation

Tribal Law Journal

In a series of nine treaties with Native Nations in the late 1860s, the United States promised to reimburse Indigenous people for wrongs committed by “bad men among the whites, or among other people subject to the authority of the United States.” In the century and half that followed the signing of these nine treaties, “bad men among the whites” claims have been litigated in the Federal Circuit with some success by Indigenous plaintiffs, and courts have shaped the meaning of the clause and the remedies a successful plaintiff may receive. This comment explores the Bad Men clause in the …

Indigenous Legal Orders In Canada - A Literature Review (Updated To August 2022), Michael Coyle

Law Publications

This is a literature review of publications concerning Indigenous legal orders in Canada, funded by a SSHRC knowledge synthesis grant. This is an update to my 2017 report of the same name.

The suppression of Indigenous legal orders was an integral part of the colonial project to assimilate Indigenous peoples, a project exemplified by Canada’s now notorious experiment with Indian Residential Schools. Long marginalized by the Canadian state, the importance of Aboriginal peoples’ own legal systems has recently been recognized by the Supreme Court of Canada, by academics (including prominent Indigenous scholars) and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, who all …

Brazil’S Violence Against Indigenous Peoples, Andre Taylor

Human Rights Brief

Centuries of violence and displacement define the relationship between indigenous peoples and the successive governments of Brazil. As Brazil embarks on a massive expansion of its agribusiness and mining operations, the systemic denial of land rights and illegal economic activity on protected lands has threatened traditional ways of life practiced by indigenous peoples. The most aggressive policy taken by the Brazilian government has involved legitimizing land claims on unregistered ancestral indigenous lands for development, putting 37,800 square miles of territory at risk for exploitation by loggers, ranchers, and farmers.

Money, Money, Money: Revenue Is Funny In A Mcgirt World, Amy Oltmanns

Oklahoma Law Review

No abstract provided.

Comments Submitted In Response To Request For Information To Inform Interagency Working Group On Mining Regulations, Laws, And Permitting, Robert B. Keiter, Jamie Pleune, Heather Tanana, Brigham Daniels, Tim Duane, Elisabeth Parker

Utah Law Faculty Scholarship

On March 31, 2022, the Department of Interior announced the formation of an interagency working group to develop recommendations for improving Federal hardrock mining regulations, laws, and permitting processes, and invited public comment to help inform the efforts of the working group. The Request for Information sought, among other things, recommendations on “opportunities to reduce time, cost, and risk of permitting without compromising strong environmental and consultation benchmarks.” Members of the Wallace Stegner Center of Land Resources and the Environment, at the S.J. Quinney College of Law, University of Utah submitted comments based on their shared expertise in mining law, …

Protecting Tribal Public Health From Climate Change Impacts, Heather Tanana

Utah Law Faculty Scholarship

The COVID-19 pandemic brought national attention to challenges that tribal communities have been facing for decades, such as limited health services and lack of water access. Although the end to the pandemic seems to be in sight, climate change will continue to threaten the public health and survival of tribal communities. Since time immemorial, Native Americans have recognized the sanctity of water. Water is life. However, climate change impacts are shifting the landscape across the country and many tribes lack the necessary infrastructure to protect their communities. For example, located in the Southwest, approximately 30-40 percent of homes on the …