Native American Law Report articles from August 2004

Native American Law Report archives from August 2004

Native voices counted.(Slants & Trends)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2004... NATIVE VOICES COUNTED last month when U.S. senators filibustered against the confirmation of William Myers III to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. He failed to get the 60 votes required for confirmation. In voting against Myers July 20,...

The city of Seattle signed.(Slants & Trends)(contracts)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2004... THE CITY OF SEATTLE SIGNED a government-to-government accord with area tribes last month, reminding the public of its title as one of the first and few major cities to forge an intergovernmental agreement with tribes. Under the accord, the...

New lawsuits have been launched.(Slants & Trends)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2004... NEW LAWSUITS HAVE BEEN LAUNCHED over alleged rampant abuse at Indian boarding schools during the early 1900s, only this time the defendant is the Roman Catholic Church. Many of the same plaintiffs who sued the federal government last year...

Aboriginal leaders contest legality of taxing post-secondary education.(First Nations Taxation)
August 1, 2004... By 2006, the Canadian government could begin taxing funding issued through its aboriginal post-secondary education (PSE) program. But aboriginal advocates say the move would violate their treaty rights and contradict previous court rulings on...

Justice questions natives-only fishery but says policy is legal under charter.(Preference Policy)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2004... Aboriginals-only fisheries are not illegally discriminatory, but there are better ways to achieve what the preference policy was set up to do, the British Columbia Supreme Court has ruled. The Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO)...

Natives try to sue Canadian company over cleanup under Superfund law.(Environment)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2004... In a lawsuit that could set a legal precedent, tribal leaders are saying a Canadian company is responsible under U.S. Superfund law for helping to cleanup decades of smelting and mining pollution in Lake Roosevelt, Wash., where the tribe's...

Judge affirms court's jurisdiction in case over tribal enrollment rights.(Tribal Enrollment)
August 1, 2004... A California state court has ruled that it has jurisdiction over a tribe's membership dispute, citing as support the recent controversial decision by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to give itself unprecedented jurisdiction over...

Newly signed gaming compacts.(Native American Gaming compacts)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2004... NEWLY SIGNED GAMING COMPACTS in California will continue to be valid for the time being, despite a pending lawsuit. Last month, a federal judge refused to issue a temporary restraining order at the request of the Rincon Band of Luiseno Indians....

Lawsuit asserts equal rights for Inuits as fellow aboriginals under Indian Act.(Aboriginal Rights)
August 1, 2004... A Canadian lawsuit filed last month is demanding that thousands of non-treaty aboriginals be entitled to the same rights as treaty Indians, whose benefits have been clearly outlined under the Indian Act since 1939. * Kiviaq v. Canada (No....

New web-based genetics database targets attorneys, researchers.(Online Resource)(National Human Genome Research Institute)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2004... As Native American issues increasingly converge with the field of genetics, lawyers and tribal leaders could benefit from a new online database for genetics law and policy. Created by the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI),...

In the process of claiming land.(The Native American Lands Group)(up against proposal to build a rail and bus transportation system)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2004... IN THE PROCESS OF CLAIMING LAND for a proposed casino for the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes, a casino group has managed to stall various public projects near the Denver International Airport. The Native American Lands Group, which is spearheading...

Indian Arts and Crafts regulation ruled overly broad, unconstitutional.(Indian Case Law Abstracts)
August 1, 2004... Native American Arts, Inc. v. The Waldron Corporation U.S. District Court, N.D. Ill., No. 01 C 2370 (July 23, 2004) A federal district court has ruled that a regulation implementing the Indian Arts and Crafts Act of 1990 (IACA) was...

Tribal-state gaming compacts upheld; did not require enactment of state law.(Indian Case Law Abstracts)
August 1, 2004... Taxpayers of Michigan Against Casinos v. State of Michigan Supreme Court of Michigan, No. 122830 (July 30, 2004) The Michigan Supreme Court has ruled that the legislative approval of tribal-state gaming compacts was not an enactment of...

No tribal court jurisdiction in lawsuit by non-member tribal college student.(Indian Case Law Abstracts)
August 1, 2004... Smith v. Salish Kootenai College U.S. Court of Appeals, 9th Cir., No. 03-35306 (August 6, 2004) A federal appeals court has ruled that a tribal court did not have jurisdiction over the civil claim of a non-tribal member who was injured on...

State regulation of SNF on tribal land is pre-empted by federal government.(Indian Case Law Abstracts)(spent nuclear fuel)
August 1, 2004... The Skull Valley Band of Goshute Indians v. Nielsen U.S. Court of Appeals, 10th Cir., No. 02-4149 (Aug. 4, 2004) A federal appeals court has ruled that a state could not interfere with an Indian tribe's agreement to allow storage of...

Feds must be party to the case when tribe challenges deeds.(Indian Case Law Abstracts)
August 1, 2004... Wyandotte Nation v. Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City U.S. District Court, D. Kan., No. 01-2303 (July 14, 2004) A federal court has dismissed a tribal suit seeking title to land because the suit challenged the validity...

Lawsuit against BIA cattle impoundment thwarted unless tribe is party to case.(Indian Case Law Abstracts)(Bureau of Indian Affairs)
August 1, 2004... Taylor v. Bureau f Indian Affairs U.S. District Court, S.D. Cal., No. 03CV1819 (July 9, 2004) A federal court has ruled that individuals could not challenge the action of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) without joining an Indian tribe...

Tribe's deputation agreement request is 'contractible' service under ISDEAA.(Indian Case Law Abstracts)
August 1, 2004... Hopland Band of Pomo Indians v. Norton U.S. District Court, N.D. Cal., No. C 04-00102 (July 1, 2004) A federal court has ruled that agreements under the Indian Law Enforcement Reform Act (ILERA) are "contractible" services under the Indian...

University's first Indian law scholarship goes to Stanford graduate.(Indian Scholarship)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2004... Syracuse University's College of Law has awarded its first American Indian Scholarship, which will cover the recipient's full tuition at the law school for up to three years. Megan Green of Portland, Ore., a graduate of Stanford University,...

Washington AG backs inclusion of Indian law in state bar exam.(Indian Law)
August 1, 2004... Indian law advocates may be better positioned to incorporate Indian law into the Washington state bar exam, now that state Attorney General Christine Gregoire has endorsed a tribal organization's resolution urging such action in Idaho, Oregon...

A lawsuit to stop bison hazing.(laws, regulations and rules)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2004... A LAWSUIT TO STOP BISON HAZING was correctly dismissed by a lower court in 2003, according to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals July 14. Environmental groups argued in the 2001 lawsuit that efforts to capture bison that wandered away from...