March 16, 2009

Wolfchild v. United States featured in U.S. Courts of Appeals Bulletin

This week, we feature a case relating to the Interior Department and trust responsibility to Dakota descendants who were promised land in the late 1800s. U.S. Courts of Appeals Bulletin - find case summaries and links to source documents at: http://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/cta/currentcta.htm

Wolfchild v. United States (Fiduciary accountability)

*Synopsis: Lineal descendants of Mdewakanton Sioux who were loyal to United States during 1862 Sioux Outbreak in Minnesota brought suit against United States for breach of fiduciary duty and contract in management of property originally provided for benefit of loyal Mdewakanton. The United States Court of Federal Claims, Charles F. Lettow, J., 62 Fed.Cl. 521, ruled that government had breached its fiduciary duties, and government filed interlocutory appeal.

March 12, 2009

Climate Change Report: final version released

The final version of "Native Communities and Climate Change: Protecting Tribal Resources as Part of National Climate Policy : Report" has been released. The report was published by the Natural Resources Law Center at the University of Colorado Law School in conjunction with the Western Water Assessment at the University of Colorado. The author is Jonathan Hanna.

The executive summary, draft report, and final version are available from the Library's catalog.

Go to http://narf.org/nill/catalog/catalog.htm and click on "Search the catalog."

Type id=17484 into the search screen, or search by title "Native Communities and Climate Change" (include the quotes).

New memorandum from the Tribal Supreme Court Project

The Tribal Supreme Court Project February 28, 2009 Memorandum is now available at http://narf.org/sct/updatememos/sctcaseupdates.html

"The Tribal Supreme Court Project is part of the Tribal Sovereignty Protection Initiative and is staffed by the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) and the Native American Rights Fund (NARF). The Project was formed in 2001 in response to a series of U.S. Supreme Court cases that negatively affected tribal sovereignty. The purpose of the Project is to promote greater coordination and to improve strategy on litigation that may affect the rights of all Indian tribes. We encourage Indian tribes and their attorneys to contact the Project in our effort to coordinate resources, develop strategy and prepare briefs, especially at the time of the petition for a writ of certiorari, prior to the Supreme Court accepting a case for review. You can find copies of briefs and opinions on the major cases we track on the NARF website
(www.narf.org/sct/index.html)."

March 9, 2009

Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act featured in the Indian Law Bulletins

The Indian Law Bulletins were updated on March 6, 2009. Among the cases featured is United States v. Begay about sex offender registration (U.S. District Courts Bulletin). The Regulatory Bulletin features a notice from the Bureau of Indian Affairs relating to tribal reassumption of jurisdiction over child custody proceedings. Find the Bulletins -- new and archived editions -- at http://narf.org/nill/bulletins/ilb.htm

Online map resource for Indian reservations and other new items at the library:

Find new items at the library easily by going to the online catalog home page: http://www.narf.org/nill/catalog/catalog.htm

Click on "search the catalog" and then on "new items."

Recently cataloged:

Federal lands and Indian reservations.
http://www.nationalatlas.gov/printable/fedlands.html
"These maps were designed for use on the World Wide Web or for generating high quality color prints. Each map shows the Federal Lands and Indian Reservations overlaid on top of State boundaries, selected streams and waterbodies, and major cities for easy reference. In addition, there is a map showing Federal Lands and Indian Reservations for the entire United States."

The four hills of life : Northern Arapaho knowledge and life movement / Jeffrey D. Anderson.

States and tribes: building new traditions : sustainable development : state and tribal initiatives / by Sia Davis. This is one of numerous publications by the National Conference of State Legislatures on relationships and partnerships between tribes and states.