Gaming regulations, double jeopardy and more in the Indian Law Bulletins this week

This week in the Indian Law Bulletins, we feature a case relating to Indian gaming regulations promulgated by the Department of the Interior, in the U.S. Trial Courts Bulletin: http://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/dct/currentdct.htm

The U.S. Courts of Appeals Bulletin has a case relating to double jeopardy and federal prosecution: http://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/cta/currentcta.htm

The Regulatory Bulletin contains a notice relating to National Indian Gaming Commission annual fee rates: http://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/regulatory/currentfr.htm

You can find additional bulletins, including announcements of law journal articles and news stories, at http://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/ilb.htm.

Tribal Supreme Court Project Update

A new Tribal Supreme Court Project Update Memorandum has been posted at http://www.narf.org/sct/updatememos/sctcaseupdates.html

This week in the Indian Law Bulletins

Petition for writ of certiorari was denied in Bodkin v. Cook Inlet Region Inc. on 11/17/08. This case dealt with age discrimination and Alaska Native regional corporation shareholders. Find the U.S. Supreme Court Bulletin at: http://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/sct/2008-2009update.htm

Other features include:

A case relating to sovereign immunity of a manufacturer as an enterprise of a tribe. See the U.S. Courts of Appeals Bulletin at: http://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/cta/currentcta.htm

A case where an administrator of a self-insurance risk pool is subject to jurisdiction of a tribal court. See the District Courts Bulletin at: http://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/dct/currentdct.htm

A case where a member of a tribe was convicted of unlawful use of nets to take fish and, as part of sentence, was prohibited from owning gillnets during term of sentence, on and off reservation. See the State Courts Bulletin at: http://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/state/currentstate.htm

In the U.S. Regulatory Bulletin is an adopted rule of the Department of Interior/Bureau of Indian Affairs relating to trust reform. http://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/regulatory/currentfr.htm

In the Economic Development section of the News Bulletin, we feature a story about a tribe starting their own wireless company. http://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/news/currentnews.htm

The Law Journal Bulletin includes an article on indigenous sovereignty in light of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. http://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/lawreviews/currentlr.htm

Indian Law Bulletins Updated

This week's U.S. Trial Courts Bulletin features a case relating to the RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations) Act: Southwest Casino and Hotel Corp. v Flyingman. Find case summaries and links to source documents at: http://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/dct/currentdct.htm

The New Bulletin features stories relating to Native American Heritage month and a push for education reform. Find it at: http://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/news/currentnews.htm

The Law Review & Bar Journal Bulletin includes an article about state taxation of tribal construction projects. Find it at: http://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/lawreviews/currentlr.htm

National Native American Heritage Month

From the Librarians' Index to the Internet: ""The Library of Congress, National Archives and Records Administration, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Gallery of Art, National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution and United States Holocaust Memorial Museum join in paying tribute to the rich ancestry and traditions of Native Americans" by providing links to material on Native Americans. Features links to collections and exhibitions, historic places, images, audio and video sources, and related material."

URL: http://www.loc.gov/topics/nativeamericans

New at the Indian Law Bulletins

U.S. Supreme Court: Petition for writ of certiorari was filed in Roberts v. Hagener. This case relates to alleged violation of the Equal Protection Clause in Montana hunting regulations. http://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/sct/2008-2009update.htm

U.S. Courts of Appeals: This week we feature Catskill Development v. Park Place Entertainment Corporation where a casino development group and land developer brought action against competitor alleging tortious interference with contractual relations and tortious interference with prospective business relationships in connection with development and management of Native American casino. http://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/cta/currentcta.htm

U.S. Trial Courts Bulletin: This week we feature a case relating to a challenge to a tribal court search warrant in United States v. Wahtomy. http://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/dct/currentdct.htm

State Courts: This week, we feature a case relating to child support in Cypress v. Jumper. http://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/state/currentstate.htm

U.S. Regulatory information: This week we feature an announcement from the Department of Health and Human Services Announcement of funding awards for fiscal year 2008; Tribal Colleges and Universities Program. http://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/regulatory/currentfr.htm

New in the Supreme Court

Petitions for writ of certiorari were filed in two cases: Bodkin v. Cook Inlet Region, Inc., which deals with age discrimination and shareholder distributions, and Michigan Gambling Opposition v. Kempthorne, which deals with whether Congress’ delegation of authority to the Secretary of the Interior to acquire land for Indians is unconstitutional, and also whether the IRA authorizes the Secretary to acquire land in trust for Indian Tribes that were not recognized and under federal jurisdiction in 1934.

Read about the cases in the U.S. Supreme Court Bulletin - http://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/sct/2008-2009update.htm - and the News Bulletin - http://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/news/currentnews.htm.

In the Indian Law Bulletins this week:

• A case against the United States alleging trust mismanagement and a failure to properly account for trust funds. Federal Trial Courts
• A case relating to termination of parental rights under the Indian Child Welfare Act. State Courts
• A notice from the Secretary of the Interior announcing the Department's intent to form a negotiated rulemaking committee to develop recommendations for proposed regulations regarding Bureau of Indian Education (BIE)-funded school facilities under the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. Regulatory bulletin
• News relating to the current state of the Indian Health Service in the "Health & Welfare" section of the News Bulletin.

Navajo Nation Code Available at Reduced Rate

The Navajo Nation Office of Legislative Council has announced a deep discount on the cost of the 4 hardbound volumes of the Navajo Nation Code. You can purchase the code for $150.00 plus shipping and tax. In addition, the CD-Rom version of the code is available for only $50.00 plus shipping and tax.

Contact the Office of Legislative Council to purchase a copy or for additional information at: 928-871-7166.

New content posted in the following NILL Indian Law Bulletins

U.S. Supreme Court Bulletin - find it at: http://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/sct/2008-2009update.htm . Petitions for writ of certiorari were filed in two cases relating to possession of eagle feathers: Friday v. United States and Rodriguez-Martinez v. United States.

U.S. Trial Courts Bulletin - find it at: http://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/dct/currentdct.htm . This week we feature the Alaska v. Federal Subsistence Board case granting residents of a rural community in Southeast Alaska a customary and traditional use determination (C & T determination) for moose.

News Bulletin - find it at: http://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/news/currentnews.htm . Check out news stories relating to the federal government turning over federal land to the Pechanga Tribe in California for use as a wildlife preserve.

U.S. Supreme Court: 5 Indian Law Cases Denied Review on 10/06/08.

On 10/06/08, petitions for writ of certiorari were denied in South Fork Band v. United States, Matheson v. Gregoire, Klamath Tribes of Oregon v. PacificCorp, Kemp v. Osage Nation, and Kickapoo Traditional Tribe of Texas v. Texas.

Our Supreme Court Bulletin is at http://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/sct/2008-2009update.htm

Indian Law Bulletins updated

This week we feature:

U.S. Supreme Court: On 10/1/08, petitions for writ of certiorari were granted in United States v. Navajo Nation and Hawaii v. Office of Hawaiian Affairs and Ho-Chunk v. Wisconsin was dismissed under rule 46.

Federal Court of Appeals: A case decided on 9/24/08 relating to an arrest of tribal members on tribal land and the sale of cigarettes.

Federal Trial Courts: A case relating to a Native American defendant who was charged with conspiracy to defraud United States.

State Courts: A case decided on 9/29/08 in Louisiana relating to suit by an Indian tribe against an engineering firm for damages related to various contracts concerning an electric power plant.

News: A story published on 9/19/08 on U.S. legislation that would impact the Indian tobacco industry.

Great Resources for Current Events Research

For students and others who are doing current events research, some excellent resources exist at the Library's web site:

Listen to NARF Attorneys on Native America Calling -- Previous interviews with NARF Attorneys are now cataloged at http://www.narf.org/nill/catalog/catalog.htm Search by the phrase "Native America Calling" in our online catalog (Search or Advanced screens).

Review the Indian Law Bulletins weekly, especially the News, at http://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/ilb.htm The Bulletin is a current awareness service (free) that tracks cases and news in Indian Country.

Read the NARF Legal Reviews at http://www.narf.org/pubs/nlr/index.html

New Tribal Law Added to Westlaw

In a recent interview, Thomson West says they are committed to increasing access to tribal law. In the past couple of months, they have added annotated tribal court opinions from the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Court as well as the Mashantucket Pequot Court of Appeals to the Westlaw databases and are also offering the cases in print reporters. The coverage is from Vol. 1 (1992) – present. The database identifier is: MASHPQ-CS and a description of the print copy can be found at: http://west.thomson.com/productdetail/146855/40704092/productdetail.aspx

Thomson West reports that they have contracts with several other tribes to publish their tribal court opinions and codes in both print and on Westlaw. This new content will complement the Oklahoma tribal and CFR court opinions (OKTRIB-CS database) that have been available on Westlaw for many years.

Search, Track the BIA in the Federal Register

There is a new tool that will allow you to search or track regulatory action of the Bureau of Indian Affairs or other agency information. Justia regulation tracker is a free service that allows people to search and track the Federal Register, "the official daily publication for rules, proposed rules, and notices of Federal agencies and organizations, as well as executive orders and other presidential documents."

Justia enables searching or browsing by department or agency, (for instance Department of Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs) include keywords, and limit by document type or date; or browse by agency or date. Coverage begins January 1, 2005. In addition, to searching and browsing, Justia allows you to save a search that will deliver results via an RSS feed. This is a great feature for people who are anticipating or wish to be alerted to developments on a specific topic.

Researchers will wish to compare the Justia regulation tracker to GPO Access a governmental research portal that provides research access to the Federal Register back to 1994.

New list of federally recognized tribes published

The Department of the Interior released a new list of federally recognized tribes on April 4, 2008, titled:"Indian Entities Recognized and Eligible To Receive Services From the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs." For a copy in PDF format, click here.

Only tribes who maintain a legal relationship to the U.S. government through binding treaties, acts of Congress, executive orders, etc., are officially "recognized" by the federal government. Once "recognized" a tribe has a legal relationship with the United States. There are currently more than 550 federally recognized tribes in the United States, including some 200 village groups in Alaska. See the Native American Rights Fund web site for more information.

According to Interior, changes include the following:

"The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe was acknowledged under 25 CFR part 83. The final determination for Federal acknowledgment became effective on May 23, 2007. The list also contains several tribal name changes and corrections. To aid in identifying tribal name changes, the tribe's former name is included with the new tribal name. To aid in identifying corrections, the tribe's previously listed name is included with the tribal name. We will continue to list the tribe's former or previously listed name for several years before dropping the former or previously listed name from the list."

Interior is required to publish a list of federally-recognized tribes per the "Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List Act of 1994" (Pub. L. 103-454). In the United States Code Annotated, it is found at 25 USCA § 479a and 479a-1. A previous list was published March 22, 2007. For previous lists back to 1979, contact the Library.

Training programs

The Library posts Indian-law related training programs at it's web site: http://www.narf.org/nill/resources/programs.htm Recently posted is: Working Effectively with Tribal Governments Training - (Federal Employee/Workforce Native Education and Training sub-working group). This free online course discusses tribal concepts, federal Indian law and policy, and culture. Complete description and sign-in link.

State of Indian Nations Address from NCAI

The National Congress of American Indians has posted its annual "State of Indian Nations Address" by President Joe Garcia at its web site. This year's speech is titled: "Through the Eyes of Our Children: Hope for a Restored Native America" and is the 6th annual address. Previous speeches, back to the first one delivered in 2003, can be accessed by contacting the Library.

NARF Library Helps Guide Standards for Indexing Indian Law Materials Worldwide

Boulder, CO-NARF Librarian Monica Martens is participating in a legal terminology project that will improve the retrieval capabilities of online library databases. Martens' role is to contribute to discussions about terminology for tribal legal materials. NARF's National Indian Law Library (NILL) has been the leader in developing a nationwide collection of tribal codes, constitutions, and intergovernmental agreements.

Librarians regularly educate researchers and the public about the processes for conducting tribal legal research. The terminology project titled the "Classification and Subject Cataloging Policy Advisory Working Group" is organized under the auspices of the American Association of Law Libraries and the Library of Congress. NARF's Librarians are expertly situated to play an important role in bringing attention to tribal legal materials at research institutions and for the general public, through projects such as these.

To learn more about NARF's award-winning National Indian Law Library (NILL) and its services please click here. Donations to support NILL's important work on behalf of Indian Country and NARF are also greatly appreciated.

Model Tribal Secured Transactions Act

The conference proceedings for "Sovereignty symposium 2007 : making medicine" (2007) provide a wealth of information on the Model Tribal Secured Transactions Act. The Act itself is provided, along with analysis, sample tribal codes/regulations and sample tribal compacts (or intergovernmental agreements). Much of the information is reprinted with permission from the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws and can be accessed at the NCCUSL's web site.

For more information, go to the National Indian Law Library's online catalog at http://nillcat.narf.org/ Then type "security law" into the Subject Terms field.