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New Approaches To Energy Development In Indian Country: The Trust Relationship And Tribal Self-Determination At (Yet Another) Crossroads, Monte Mills

Faculty Journal Articles & Other Writings

Energy development in Indian country exists at the crossroads of tribal self-determination and the federal government's trust responsibility. This article reviews the foundations of this crossroads, describes recent developments, and analyzes pending proposals that may enhance both tribal sovereignty and energy development in Indian country.

Developments On Aboriginal Title, Kent Mcneil

All Papers

I would like to thank the organizers of this conference, especially Arif Bulkan and Velma Newton, for inviting me to speak and welcoming me to Belize.

Tom Berger has made my task much easier by presenting the philosophical and legal underpinnings for Indigenous land rights, and providing an introduction to the development of the doctrine of Aboriginal title in Canada.

I am going to try to fill in some of the detail by drawing a composite picture of Indigenous rights in the four common law jurisdictions that I am familiar with, namely Canada, the United States, Australia, and New Zealand. …

Partial Final Judgment And Decree Of The Water Rights Of The Pueblos Of Nambé, Pojoaque, San Ildefonso, And Tesuque, Usdc, Dcnm

Native American Water Rights Settlement Project

Court Decree: Partial Final Judgment and Decree of the Water Rights of the Pueblos of Nambé, Pojoaque, San Ildefonso, and Tesuque

Parties: Pueblos of Nambé, Pojoaque, San Ildefonso, Tesuque.

Contents: Approval of Settlement Agreement p. 2; Acquired Water Rights p. 3; Nambé Water Rights p. 3; Pojoaque Water Rights p. 5; Tesuque Water Rights p. 7; San Ildefonso Water Rights p.9; Limitations p. 11; Enforcement, Administration, Held in Trust p. 12.

Attachments: Attachment 1, p. 13: Nambé irrigation uses, domestic, community, commercial and industrial uses, livestock uses; Attachment 2, p. 25: Pojoaque irrigation uses, domestic, community, commercial and industrial …

Of Contract, Culture, And The Code: Judge Easterbrook And The Cheyenne Indians, John M. Conley

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Brief For Barbara L. Creel And The Tribal Defender Network, Us V. Bryant, Barbara L. Creel, John Lavelle

Faculty Scholarship

Although Congress intended to protect women in Indian Country from domestic abuse, they condoned the use of prior “uncounseled” tribal court convictions to charge and convict an Indian as a federal habitual domestic violence offender.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who wrote Bryant, denigrates Indian people’s civil rights, citing the need to protect Native women from domestic violence. But Department of Justice statistics show most domestic violence perpetrators in Indian country are non-Indians, and the Bryant decision leaves intact their constitutional rights, including the right to appointed counsel.

Agenda: A Celebration Of The Work Of Charles Wilkinson: Served With Tasty Stories And Some Slices Of Roast, University Of Colorado Boulder. Getches-Wilkinson Center For Natural Resources, Energy, And The Environment

A Celebration of the Work of Charles Wilkinson (Martz Winter Symposium, March 10-11)

Conference held at the University of Colorado, Wolf Law Building, Wittemyer Courtroom, Thursday, March 10th and Friday, March 11th, 2016.

Conference moderators, panelists and speakers included University of Colorado Law School professors Phil Weiser, Sarah Krakoff, William Boyd, Kristen Carpenter, Britt Banks, Harold Bruff, Richard Collins, Carla Fredericks, Mark Squillace, and Charles Wilkinson

"We celebrate the work of Distinguished Professor Charles Wilkinson, a prolific and passionate writer, teacher, and advocate for the people and places of the West. Charles's influence extends beyond place, yet his work has always originated in a deep love of and commitment to particular places. We …

Wheeler For Two, Do You Have A Reservation? The Supreme Court's Inconsistent Treatment Of Tribal Sovereignty, Fred Kantrow

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

U.S. Restores Millions Of Acres To Native Americans, Kevin Washburn

Faculty Scholarship

The Obama Administration has restored nearly 2 million acres to tribal ownership in a variety of different ways.

Practical Reasoning And The Application Of General Federal Regulatory Laws To Indian Nations, Alex T. Skibine

Washington and Lee Journal of Civil Rights and Social Justice

No abstract provided.

A Happier Ending For Everyone: Resolving Adoption Disputes Between Putative Fathers And Adoptive Parents Through Clinical Mediation, Tiffany Bostinelos

Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal

This article will discuss the problems putative fathers face when their biological child is put up for adoption without their consent or knowledge. It will further argue that when a custody issue does arise between putative fathers and adoptive parents, the best way to resolve the custody dispute--and more importantly protect the best interest of the child--is through a process called clinical mediation. Finally, even if clinical mediation is not successful, this article will argue that clinical mediators should be permitted to make recommendations to the court as to the custody or visitation issues.

Partial Final Judgment And Decree On The Water Rights Of Taos Pueblo, Usdc, Dcnm

Native American Water Rights Settlement Project

Court Decree: Partial Final Judgment and Decree on the Water Rights of Taos Pueblo: Parties: Taos Pueblo, New Mexico, USA, Town of Taos, Taos Valley Acequia Association, El Prado Water and Sanitation District, 12 Mutual Domestic Water Consumer Associations. Recitals; Approval of Settlement Agreement; Contract Rights to Water from San Juan - Chama Project; Historic and Existing Use Water Rights; Historically Irrigated Acreage; Municipal, Domestic, and Industrial Use; Livestock Use; Groundwater Rights; Disclaimers; Records of Water Use; Change of Use; Rights Held in Trust; Conclusions; Entry and Modification of Decree. 38 Exhibits: 5973-1 Taos Pueblo Settlement Agreement; 5973-2, Att. 1 …

Uncounseled Convictions A Threat To Indians, John P. Lavelle

Faculty Scholarship

The Supreme Court is now poised to address whether a tribal court conviction that did not give the Indian defendant representation by a lawyer can be used to increase the sentence when the Indian is later prosecuted on a federal domestic assault charge.

Cedar Mesa Proposal Good For All, Kevin Washburn

Faculty Scholarship

A coalition of tribes, led by the Hopi and the Navajo, and including the Utes of Colorado and Utah and several of New Mexico’s pueblos have asked President Obama to use the Antiquities Act to declare this landscape a national monument to be protected alongside other nearby national treasures, such as Arches, Canyonlands, Bryce Canyon and Zion National Parks.

Border Town Bullies: The Bad Auto Deal And Subprime Lending Problem Among Navajo Nation Car Buyers, Megan Horning

Student Published Scholarship

This article argues that due to the circumstances of Navajo Nation residents, Navajo car buyers have a greater need for cars and are therefore disproportionately harmed by unfair border town auto deals and subprime auto loans. Additionally, this article suggests several ways to address these issues while acknowledging the conundrum created if Navajo Nation residents are prevented from buying cars.

Part I of this article describes the current U.S. auto sales and lending process, including the stages of car buying, credit score calculation, and how national auto sales, lending, and investment markets profit from unfair car sales and subprime lending. …

The Standing Rock Sioux Indians: An Inconvenience For Black Gold, Alina Yohannan

University of Baltimore Journal of Land and Development

The issue of the Native American (“Indian”) tribes’ rights to their lands started with the application of the European doctrine of discovery, continued with series of wars and population decimations, and finished with broken treaties and territorial occupations. After centuries of struggle for land and sovereignty, Indians still fight for their rights to the North American territories.

The lawsuit brought by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (“the Corps”) is the latest and most publicized in recent years. The Tribe’s main concerns are the passing of a major crude-oil pipeline (Dakota Access Pipeline, or …

Tribes And Water In The Colorado River Basin, Colorado River Research Group

Books, Reports, and Studies

4 pages : charts.

The special nature of tribal water rights -- Quantified water rights -- The Colordo mainstream reservations -- Central Arizona tribes -- Upper basin tribes -- Outstanding / unresolved tribal claims -- The path forward.

The Legislative History Of The Mccarran Amendment: An Effort To Determine Whether Congress Intended For State Court Jurisdiction To Extend To Indian Reserved Water Rights, Dylan R. Hedden-Nicely

Articles

The year 1976 marked a sea change in federal policy regarding the treatment of American Indian tribes and their water rights. In that year, the Supreme Court of the United States was called upon to determine the scope of the McCarran Amendment, a rider on a federal appropriations bill that waived the sovereign immunity of the United States in state court general stream adjudications "where it appears that the United States is the owner or is in the process of acquiring water rights by appropriation under State law, by purchase, by exchange, or otherwise." The Supreme Court, in what has …

Biagaweit: Securing Water From The Mighty River In The Snake River Basin Adjudication, Jeanette Wolfley

Faculty Scholarship

This symposium article describes the Shoshone and Bannock peoples journey to quantify their water rights in the SRBA. It begins with the Shoshone-Bannock Tribal cultural perspective on water and water rights. It then discusses the concept of tribal homelands and the water required and necessary for sustaining a tribally reserved home as guaranteed in the Fort Bridger Treaty of 1868, including a discussion of the Winters doctrine which affirms the treaty's promises. It concludes with a review of the Fort Hall Indian Water Rights Agreement. 'Biagaweit' is the Shoshone word for the Snake River. The mighty Snake River begins its …

Consult, Consent And Veto: International Norms And Canadian Treaties, Shin Imai

Osgoode Legal Studies Research Paper Series

Large parts of Canada, from Ontario to parts of British Columbia and north to the Northwest Territories, are covered by the “numbered treaties”, signed between First Nations and the Crown between 1871 and 1929. These treaties provide for the creation of small reserves for the Indians, and the “surrender” of the remaining tracts of land to the Crown. The land that is “surrendered” continues to be available for Indigenous hunting, fishing and harvesting activities. However, once the land is “taken up” by the provincial Crown for activities such as mining, lumbering and settlement, the treaty rights to hunt, fish and …

Aboriginal Title And Indigenous Governance: Identifying The Holders Of Rights And Authority, Kent Mcneil

Osgoode Legal Studies Research Paper Series

Aboriginal rights, including Aboriginal title to land, are communal rights that are vested in Indigenous collectivities that are connected to the specific Indigenous groups that occupied and used land prior to European colonization of Canada. Identifying the present-day collectivities that hold these rights is therefore essential. This research paper examines the jurisprudence on this matter in relation to three categories of court decisions: Aboriginal title cases, Aboriginal rights cases apart from title, and duty to consult cases. Analysis of the case law reveals that identification of current rights holders is treated as a matter of fact that depends in part …