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Another Broken Promise: The Mmiwg2s Crisis And The Violation Of The Federal Indian Trust Obligation, Marley Forest 2025 University of Washington School of Law

Another Broken Promise: The Mmiwg2s Crisis And The Violation Of The Federal Indian Trust Obligation, Marley Forest

Washington Law Review

Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit people go missing and are murdered at rates nearly ten times the national average in the United States. This disproportionate epidemic of violence has been labeled the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit (MMIWG2S) crisis. Several factors exacerbate this crisis. First, European colonizers used violence against Native people, especially women and Two-Spirit people, as a tactic of control and domination since first contact in the 1600s. Second, nearly two hundred years of legislative actions and case law have effectively stripped Native Nations of all criminal jurisdictional power over crimes committed on their land …


Tribal Sovereign Immunity: Absolute Authority Or Accountability, Kekek Jason Stark 2025 University of Montana, Missoula

Tribal Sovereign Immunity: Absolute Authority Or Accountability, Kekek Jason Stark

Faculty Law Review Articles

In the wake of the recent United States Supreme Court decision of Trump v. United States, the Court determined that the President as Chief Executive is immune from conduct associated with official acts. The question that emanates from this opinion is how will this decision affect Indian Country and tribal court determinations of tribal sovereign immunity? This article will attempt to address this question. I begin with the Anishinaabe story of Bebaamosed miinawaa Gawigoshko’iweshiinh (The Trickster and the Little Scary Bird) in an attempt to understand the complicated nature of tribal sovereign immunity. As we reflect upon this story, …


Tribal Sovereign Immunity: Absolute Authority Or Accountability, Kekek Jason Stark 2025 University of Montana

Tribal Sovereign Immunity: Absolute Authority Or Accountability, Kekek Jason Stark

Public Land & Resources Law Review

In the wake of the recent United States Supreme Court decision of Trump v. United States, the Court determined that the President as Chief Executive is immune from conduct associated with official acts.3 The question that emanates from this opinion is how will this decision affect Indian Country and tribal court determinations of tribal sovereign immunity? This article will attempt to address this question. I begin with the Anishinaabe story of Bebaamosed miinawaa Gawigoshko’iweshiinh (The Trickster and the Little Scary Bird)5 in an attempt to understand the complicated nature of tribal sovereign immunity.


Discovering The Doctrine Of Discovery, Douglas Lind 2025 University of Montana

Discovering The Doctrine Of Discovery, Douglas Lind

Public Land & Resources Law Review

The doctrine of discovery is a concept in crisis. A principle of public international law associated with the so-called Age of Discovery, the doctrine of discovery is commonly said to have authorized European nations to claim the lands of indigenous peoples and establish settlements on the basis of “discovery” alone. Today, with good reason, the doctrine is widely condemned. The United Nations has denounced it as “the very foundation of genocide.” Describing its manifest injustices against indigenous cultures, dominion, and sovereignty as “devastating, far-reaching and intergenerational,” the UN Economic and Social Council has called for the doctrine to be categorically …


Uses And Abuses Of Johnson V. M’Intosh In Native American Land Rights Cases: Investigative Insights From The Indian Law Justice Files, John P. LaVelle 2025 University of Montana

Uses And Abuses Of Johnson V. M’Intosh In Native American Land Rights Cases: Investigative Insights From The Indian Law Justice Files, John P. Lavelle

Public Land & Resources Law Review

The 200th anniversary of the foundational Indian law decision Johnson v. M’Intosh has come and gone, with many scholars contributing criticism and commentary. The dominant focus has been the case’s notorious embrace of the so-called “doctrine of discovery,” an odious theory for rationalizing European nations’ claims of superior rights to lands occupied by Indigenous Native American peoples. Commanding less attention, however, is the Johnson decision’s core protective legal feature, i.e., its reinforcing the United States government’s duty to guard against the alienation of Indian lands through private, unauthorized acquisitions.


Indian Casinos Under The Big Sky: Why Tribes In Other States Have Been More Successful With Gaming And The Path Forward For Montana’S Tribes, Trevor Funseth 2025 University of Montana

Indian Casinos Under The Big Sky: Why Tribes In Other States Have Been More Successful With Gaming And The Path Forward For Montana’S Tribes, Trevor Funseth

Public Land & Resources Law Review

The most successful method of economic development for many Indian tribes in the United States has been gaming. Tribes across the country have risen out of poverty through their casino operations and have been able to use the profits to diversify their investments and improve tribal infrastructure, education, and social programs.


Damned If You Do, Dammed If You Don’T: Solutions For The Snake River And The Nez Perce Tribe, Meridian S. Wappett 2025 University of Montana

Damned If You Do, Dammed If You Don’T: Solutions For The Snake River And The Nez Perce Tribe, Meridian S. Wappett

Public Land & Resources Law Review

No abstract provided.


Indian Water Rights Settlements And The Animas-La Plata Project: A Self-Fulfilling Prophecy Of Dependency, Sidney Paulina Williams 2025 University of Montana

Indian Water Rights Settlements And The Animas-La Plata Project: A Self-Fulfilling Prophecy Of Dependency, Sidney Paulina Williams

Public Land & Resources Law Review

No abstract provided.


Making Sense Of The State's Duty To Negotiate In Good Faith Under Igra: The "Permits Such Gaming" Requirement And Legitimate State Interests In Gaming Compact Negotiations, Kathryn R.L. Rand, Steven Andrew Light 2025 University of Nevada, Las Vegas -- William S. Boyd School of Law

Making Sense Of The State's Duty To Negotiate In Good Faith Under Igra: The "Permits Such Gaming" Requirement And Legitimate State Interests In Gaming Compact Negotiations, Kathryn R.L. Rand, Steven Andrew Light

UNLV Gaming Law Journal

Under the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA), a tribe may conduct Class III or casino-style gaming only in a state that “permits such gaming” and in accordance with an approved compact between the tribe and the state. But the appropriate interpretation of IGRA’s “permits such gaming” requirement and how it relates to the state’s duty to negotiate gaming compacts in good faith remain murky more than 35 years after IGRA was enacted, hindering both compact negotiations between individual states and tribes and the entire tribal gaming industry. In this Article, we clarify and develop legal standards to apply to …


Loper Bright And The Future Of Indian Gaming: Navigating Igra's Ambiguities, William Smithers 2025 University of Nevada, Las Vegas -- William S. Boyd School of Law

Loper Bright And The Future Of Indian Gaming: Navigating Igra's Ambiguities, William Smithers

UNLV Gaming Law Journal

No abstract provided.


Re-Imagine Paradise: The Impacts Of The Illegal Annexation Of Hawai'i & Tourism On Native Hawaiians, Paige Edwards 2025 Southern Methodist University

Re-Imagine Paradise: The Impacts Of The Illegal Annexation Of Hawai'i & Tourism On Native Hawaiians, Paige Edwards

SMU Journal of Undergraduate Research

This literature review presents a vital exploration of colonialism, the illegal annexation of Hawai’i, and the subsequent emergence of the tourism industry as a neocolonial enterprise. Neocolonialism is the process of colonial dominance through modern exploitation, which is masked through economic opportunities and has left territories and their native people dependent on it. By tracing the major historical events in Hawai’i highlights how education was a vital aspect of Native Hawaiian culture, empowering its people - a stark contrast to the current education system where the education system perpetuates the commodification of Native Hawaiian culture. Education has played a pivotal …


The Gap: Addressing The Missing Piece In HawaiʻI’S Anti-Discrimination Laws On Credit And Lending, Wendy Mun 2025 Seattle University School of Law

The Gap: Addressing The Missing Piece In HawaiʻI’S Anti-Discrimination Laws On Credit And Lending, Wendy Mun

Seattle University Law Review

This author addresses the significant gap in Hawaiʻi’s anti-discrimination laws, specifically the lack of explicit protections for LGBTQ+ individuals against credit and lending discrimination. Although federal laws like the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) and recent interpretations by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) extend some protections, they remain vulnerable to shifting federal priorities and interpretations. The author explores how other states, particularly California and Washington, have enacted robust statutory protections that clearly prohibit credit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. They argue that Hawaiʻi, despite its large LGBTQ+ population, must amend its credit protection laws to reflect …


Keynote Address: Community Over Constitution, Riddhi Mukhopadhyay 2025 Seattle University School of Law

Keynote Address: Community Over Constitution, Riddhi Mukhopadhyay

Seattle University Law Review

In this keynote address, Riddhi Mukhopadhyay challenges the veneration of the U.S. Constitution by highlighting its origins in exclusion and its continued failure to protect marginalized communities. Drawing from her experience in civil legal aid and gender justice, she argues that the Constitution was drafted to consolidate power among white, wealthy men and continues to reflect that legacy through racial, gender, and class-based inequities. While acknowledging the significance of constitutional amendments and landmark cases, Mukhopadhyay emphasizes that meaningful change has always come from community-led action, not top-down reform. Additionally, Mukhopadhyay calls on lawyers and legal advocates to center community, practice …


The Lost Child: A Critique On Transracial Adoption Rhetoric, Hallie Conyers-Tucker 2025 Seattle University School of Law

The Lost Child: A Critique On Transracial Adoption Rhetoric, Hallie Conyers-Tucker

Seattle University Law Review

Transracial adoption in the United States reflects a deeply rooted history of colonialism, cultural assimilation, and racial hierarchy, masked by rhetoric focused on the “best interest of the child.” The author critiques that rhetoric and traces how adoption practices and policies, both domestic and international, have evolved to reinforce systemic inequities. Through historical analysis of the forced adoption of Native American, Black, and Asian children, it reveals how the best interest standard has been wielded not to protect children but to uphold political and racial ideologies. The author argues that the prevailing adoption framework relies on child-saving and color-blind narratives …


A Global Reconstruction: Black Internationalism And The Human Rights Regime, Britta Redwood 2025 Seattle University School of Law

A Global Reconstruction: Black Internationalism And The Human Rights Regime, Britta Redwood

Seattle University Law Review

Black American advocates for civil, political, and economic rights have long taken an internationalist approach and fostered connections with international organizations and transnational movements. This engagement has also been a generative force and played role in shaping international law. Beginning in the early years of the twentieth century, Black intellectuals and leaders, spearheaded by the NAACP and the UNIA, focused on human rights as a means for addressing and repairing the harms wrought by slavery, Jim Crow, and racism. From the Paris Peace Conference of 1919 through the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Genocide Convention, and the drafting of …


Can The Law Protect My Craft? How Gaps In Copyright Of Knitting Patterns Symbolize A Greater Struggle For Protecting Traditionally Feminine Forms Of Intellectual Property, Kysa Walzer 2025 Seattle University School of Law

Can The Law Protect My Craft? How Gaps In Copyright Of Knitting Patterns Symbolize A Greater Struggle For Protecting Traditionally Feminine Forms Of Intellectual Property, Kysa Walzer

Seattle University Law Review

The purpose of this article is to demonstrate the application of intel-lectual property rights within the context of copyright protection of knit-ting patterns. The article will discuss the underutilization of copyright pro-tection for knitters and crafters and its larger impact upon craft and indus-try traditionally comprised of women. Part I introduces knitting patterns and a short history of copyright protections. Part II discusses the specific areas within knitting patterns and the knitting community which give rise to legal grey areas for copyright protection. Part III discusses the larger implications of copyright and intellectual property in spaces where women traditionally make …


A New Exclusionary Rule To Protect Bodily Integrity And Discourage Pretext Stops, Josephine Ross 2025 Seattle University School of Law

A New Exclusionary Rule To Protect Bodily Integrity And Discourage Pretext Stops, Josephine Ross

Seattle University Law Review

The author proposes a novel state-level exclusionary rule to reduce racial profiling and protect bodily autonomy during police encounters. The current Fourth Amendment jurisprudence fails to deter pretextual stops and frisks because the exclusionary rule often turns on officer fault and "good faith," allowing racially motivated practices to go unchecked. As federal rollbacks on diversity and data collection hinder efforts to track racial bias, the author argues for a statutory evidentiary rule that automatically excludes drug evidence found during (1) traffic stops, (2) pat-downs for weapons, and (3) consent searches, regardless of an officer’s intent or the legality of the …


Navahine V. HawaiʻI Dept. Of Transportation: The Keiki Will Lead Us, Catherine Smith 2025 Seattle University School of Law

Navahine V. HawaiʻI Dept. Of Transportation: The Keiki Will Lead Us, Catherine Smith

Seattle University Law Review

The author analyzes the landmark case Navahine v. Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation, which culminated in the world’s first constitutional climate settlement. Catherine Smith, serving as an expert for the youth plaintiffs, situates the case within Hawaiʻi’s legal tradition of prioritizing children’s rights and intergenerational equity. She explores the evolution of children’s constitutional protections, contrasting Hawaiʻi’s progressive jurisprudence with the dominant adult-centric legal framework on the mainland. She critiques four recurring analytical missteps in U.S. courts that marginalize children’s interests and highlights Hawaiʻi’s public trust doctrine and cultural values, such as the Aloha Spirit, as models for addressing climate-related harms. …


Something Concrete: How Labor Advocates Can Best Respond To The Ambiguity Of Glacier Northwest, Ateş Serifsoy 2025 Seattle University School of Law

Something Concrete: How Labor Advocates Can Best Respond To The Ambiguity Of Glacier Northwest, Ateş Serifsoy

Seattle University Law Review

The Supreme Court’s much-anticipated decision in Glacier North-west, Inc. v. International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local No. 174 (Glacier) marked a critical moment for workers’ rights under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) and the longstanding practice of Garmon preemption. Yet, initial fears of a significant rollback of workers’ rights, driven by sensational headlines, were met with an unexpectedly narrow Court opinion. This Comment examines Glacier’s implications for Gar-mon preemption and the right to strike. It offers the historical background of the doctrine of labor law preemption before Glacier; presents a detailed analysis of Glacier itself, including its …


Table Of Contents, 2025 Seattle University School of Law

Table Of Contents

Seattle University Law Review

Table of Contents


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