Native American Law Report articles from November 2004

Native American Law Report archives from November 2004

Tax question before high court.(Slants & Trends)(Oneida Indian tribe)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... The U.S. Supreme Court has scheduled oral arguments in an Indian law case that could decide when exactly the government may tax property reacquired by an American Indian tribe. The case began when the City of Sherrill in New York foreclosed...

A long-anticipated bill.(Slants & Trends)(American Indian Probate Reform Act of 2004)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... A LONG-ANTICIPATED BILL to reduce the exponential fractionation of Indian lands became law after President Bush signed it Oct. 28. But skeptics in Indian Country have their doubts. The subject of many hearings in recent years, the American...

Justices hear oral arguments in case over ISDEAA contract support costs.(U.S. Supreme Court)(Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act)
November 1, 2004... Indian law advocates across the United States wait with bated breath, now that the U.S. Supreme Court has heard oral arguments in a major Indian law case. The case concerns whether the federal government must treat tribal contractors the same...

Attorneys request that trust beneficiaries be notified of inaccurate accounting.(Cobell v. Norton)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... If a federal district court accepts the latest motion by Indian attorneys in the eight-year trust fund lawsuit, the Interior Department could be required to regularly notify trust beneficiaries that it is unable to provide accurate and reliable...

Supreme Court orders rehearing of minority disenfranchisement case.(Voting Rights)(Farrakhan v. Locke)
November 1, 2004... A voting rights lawsuit filed by a convicted Native American felon is not yet in its home stretch--last month, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the case but ordered a rehearing in a federal court in Washington state. Farrakhan v....

Court rules Indians could use tribal IDs to vote in 'battleground' Minnesota.(Tribal Voting Rights)(identification cards)
November 1, 2004... Native Americans in Minnesota were allowed to vote in the Nov. 2 elections using their tribal-issued identification cards, as a result of a lawsuit claiming state laws unfairly targeted American Indian voters. In Minnesota, current law...

Federal court dismisses $25 billion case on alleged abuse at BIA boarding school.(BIA School Abuse)(Bureau of Indian Affairs)
November 1, 2004... A federal judge has dismissed a $25 billion class action lawsuit alleging crimes of sexual, physical and mental abuse at Indian boarding schools in South Dakota. The charges should have been brought administratively, the court ruled. ...

Parents sue school district for $4 million over alcohol-related deaths of two boys.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... The parents of two boys who died from alcohol poisoning earlier this year are suing a Montana school district on charges it was obligated to protect the children. The 11-year-old boys went missing from school in February 2004 after...

State campaign contribution laws trump tribal sovereignty immunity.(Indian Case Law Abstracts)
November 1, 2004... Fair Political Practices Commission v. Santa Rosa Indian Community Court of Appeal of California, 3rd Dist., No. C044555 (October 27, 2004) A California court has ruled that the state could enforce its campaign contribution...

Exclusion of native Hawaiian groups does not violate right of due process.(Indian Case Law Abstracts)
November 1, 2004... Kahawaiolaa v. Norton U.S. Court of Appeals, 9th Cir., No. 02-17239 (October 27, 2004) A federal appeals court has ruled that the exclusion of native Hawaiian groups from the Department of the Interior's regulations for federal...

Appeals court: tribal police officers can use vehicle lights off-reservation.(Indian Case Law Abstracts)
November 1, 2004... Cabazon Band of Mission Indians v. Smith U.S. Court of Appeals, 9th Cir., No. 02-56943 (November 3, 2004) A federal appeals court has ruled that a county sheriff's department could not prohibit tribal police officers from...

Controversy over retirement benefits a matter of tribal law, court rules.(Indian Case Law Abstracts)
November 1, 2004... Prescott v. Little Six, Inc. U.S. Court of Appeals, 8th Cir., No. 03-3702 (October 21, 2004) A federal appeals court has ruled that the existence of certain retirement plans was a question of tribal law. And federal ERISA claims...

States have no regulatory authority over Indian land taken into trust.(Indian Case Law Abstracts)(Wyandotte Nation v. Sebelius)
November 1, 2004... Wyandotte Nation v. Sebelius U.S. District Court, D.Kan., No. 04-2140 (October 6, 2004) A federal district court has enjoined the state of Kansas from asserting jurisdiction over gaming on land provisionally taken into trust for...

Trust supersedes congressional act disbursing land to non-Mdewakantons.(Indian Case Law Abstracts)
November 1, 2004... Wolfchild v. United States U.S. Court of Federal Claims, No. 03-2684L (October 27, 2004) The U.S. Court of Federal Claims has ruled that a trust was created by the federal government for the lineal descendants of a loyal band of...

Despite waiver on tribal sovereignty, public school cannot sue in state court.(Indian Case Law Abstracts)(Joseph K. Lumsden Bahweting Public School Academy v. Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Joseph K. Lumsden Bahweting Public School Academy v. Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians. Court of Appeals of Michigan, No. 252293 (October 26, 2004) A Michigan court has ruled that a state political subdivision that...

Federal court deems IACA charges too vague, a 'fishing expedition'.(Indian Case Law Abstracts)(Native American Arts, Inc. v. Aquino, Indian Arts and Crafts Act)
November 1, 2004... Native American Arts, Inc. v. Aquino U.S. District Court, N.D.Ill., No. 04 C 2540 (October 29, 2004) A federal court has ruled that allegations of violations of the Indian Arts and Crafts Act (IACA) were too vague and amounted to a...

Justice department provides grants to improve tribal law enforcement.(Tribal Law Enforcement)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... The U.S. Department of Justice has announced more than $20 million in grants to help tribal communities improve their capacities for law enforcement and justice. Totaling $21.4 million, the funds will provide for a slew of initiatives,...

Native American sues Wal-Mart corp. for racial discrimination in Nebraska.(Tribal Law Enforcement)(Greg Clements)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... A former Native American Wal-Mart employee is suing the corporation for alleged racial harassment while working at a store in the small town of Chadron, Neb. Greg Clements is a Marine Corps veteran and a member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe....

Enviro case to stay.(Teck Cominco Ltd.'s liability case for water pollution damages)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... ENVIRO CASE TO STAY--A U.S. judge has rejected a Canadian mining company's request to dismiss a lawsuit filed against it that claims the company has been polluting the Columbia River with lead-zinc pollutants. Teck Cominco Ltd. of Vancouver...