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Native Languages Legislation Passes Congress

December 8, 2006

Posted & © By: Brad Jolly, Partner

Congress passed the Esther Martinez Native American Languages Preservation Act of 2006, sending it to the President for signature. The Act provides for the revitalization of Indian languages through support of Indian language immersion programs, such as language nests, survival schools, and language restoration programs. The Act does not create new programs, but incorporates proven native language. more »

New Judge Assigned to Cobell Litigation

December 8, 2006

Posted & © By: Brad Jolly, Partner

Judge James Robertson, an appointee of the Clinton administration, has been assigned to preside over the Cobell litigation, taking over from Judge Lamberth, who was removed by the appellate court for claims of appearing biased against the federal government when stating the obvious in terms of the government's abhorrent behavior in the past and in the current litigation.

Settling IIM Trust Mismanagement Alone Not Option

December 4, 2006

Posted & © By: Brad Jolly, Partner

Indian country's refusal to agree to the Bush Administration's disgusting proposal to settle the Cobell litigation was more than the correct response. However, it is seeming more and more that the United States will not agree to any settlement of the Cobell litigation that does not include an en masse disposal of all of the government's wrongdoings toward Indian peoples and nations. Senator John McCain (R-AZ) himself has stated outright that he will not support any bill that settles the Cobell litigation if it does not simultaneously "settle" as many other trust claims as possible. more »

New Members of Indian Affairs Committee

November 15, 2006

Posted & © By: Brad Jolly, Partner

Two of the newly elected Democratic senators have been selected to sit on the Senate Indian Affairs Committee. John Tester (D-MT) and Claire McCaskill (D-MO) will both sit on the Committee, raising the number of Democrats on the Committee to eight and reducing the Republicans to the six member minority.

Pit River Tribe v. United States Forest Service, 9th Cir. 2006

November 8, 2006

Posted & © By: Brad Jolly, Partner

The Pit River Tribe and other plaintiffs won a significant victory in the Ninth Circuit for Indian religious freedom. On November 6, 2006, the Ninth Circuit reversed the Eastern District of California's summary judgment in favor of the government that would allow, once again, the destruction of sacred lands.

The Pit River Tribe brought suit to stop the development of a geothermal plant on federal forest land that includes the sacred Medicine Lake. more »

NIGC Case Involves Greater Issues than MICS Authority

October 30, 2006

Posted & © By: Brad Jolly, Partner

The D.C. Circuit's decision holding that the NIGC lacks authority to fully regulate class III gaming involves a lot more than the limited issue raised in the litigation and determined by the courts. It involves the larger issue of the NIGC's actions and structure with respect to Indian gaming - at least at the Washington level. To understand, one has to first look at the history of the entire case.

The issue started with the NIGC attempting to conduct an audit of the Colorado River Indian Tribes' ("CRIT") gaming facility. more »

Bush Returning U.S. to Termination Policy

October 30, 2006

Posted & © By: Brad Jolly, Partner

In what is yet another example of the Bush Administration proving that those who do not learn from the past are doomed to repeat it, the administration has responded to the Cobell Settlement before Congress by adding provisions to slowly terminate the federal trust responsibility over both individual Indian and tribal trust lands. In a document entitled "New Issues for S.1439," the Bush administration has proposed that the Cobell settlement legislation include provisions that would consolidate fractionated Indian lands over the next 10 years to 10 owners and convert the federal trust relationship into a "beneficiary-managed" trust under which the United States would have no liability. more »

CRIT v. NIGC, D.C. Cir.

October 24, 2006

Posted & © By: Brad Jolly, Partner

On October 20, 2006, the D.C. Circuit dealt another blow to the National Indian Gaming Commission's ("NIGC") claimed penultimate authority over Indian gaming. As both the original administrative law judge recommended and the D.C. District Court held, the D.C. Circuit found that the NIGC's claimed authority over all aspects of class III gaming, even if it contravenes a tribal-state compact, simply does not exist. more »

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INDIAN LAW UPDATES

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