Good Morning NUNAverse,
Yesterday, the Supreme Court morning added two new cases involving Indian Country to its docket for this term. In Denezpi v. United States, the Justices agreed to consider whether a prosecution in the Court of Indian Offenses can trigger the Constitution’s double jeopardy clause. The Court of Indian Offenses is a trial court that operates in areas where tribes have jurisdiction over Native peoples, but where there are not tribal courts to fully exercise that jurisdiction. The question is whether the court constitutes a “federal agency” so that a conviction in that court bars a later prosecution in a federal district court for a crime arising out of the same incident.
In Ysleta del Sur Pueblo v. Texas, the Justices will weigh in on a dispute over the application of state standards to tribal gaming operations on Native land. The case involves a federal law that bars on tribal lands any gaming activities “prohibited by the laws of the State of Texas.” The question is whether the law prohibits any kind of gambling that is banned under state law, or whether it goes further and also prohibits any gaming that the state regulates.
Sealaska and the non-profit The Nature Conservancy recently donated $20 million to the newly established Seacoast Trust, a fund which will support Southeast Alaska projects like the Hoonah Native Forest Partnership. The fund aims to promote a new type of conservation – one based on trust and relationships, and centers Indigenous-led stewardship. The decision signals Sealaska’s commitment to new economic models, as they make the transition away from large-scale, old growth timber harvesting. This past January, they announced they would be ending logging operations after more than 40 years as an industry powerhouse.
Yesterday morning, the Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians hosted a groundbreaking ceremony for the tribe’s first charter school, Endazhi-Nitaawiging (The Place Where It Grows). The charter school is owned by the tribe, and its focus is to teach enhanced knowledge of Ojibwe language, culture, leadership, and environmental stewardship. The first phase of the school, costing just over $8 million, was funded by resources Red Lake Nation received from the American Rescue Plan Act. The second phase will allow additional space for Endazhi-Nitaawiging to grow and add a grade each year.
Keep reading for a full news update.
Law:
Court Adds Two Cases On Native American Law And Issues Two Opinions Granting Police Officers Qualified Immunity
SCOTUS Blog, Amy Howe, October 18
The Supreme Court on Monday morning added two new cases, both involving Native Americans, to its docket for this term. In Denezpi v. United States, the justices agreed to consider whether a prosecution in the Court of Indian Offenses can trigger the Constitution’s double jeopardy clause. The Court of Indian Offenses is a trial court that operates in areas where tribes have jurisdiction over Native Americans, but where there are not tribal courts to fully exercise that jurisdiction. The question is whether the court constitutes a “federal agency” so that a conviction in that court bars a later prosecution in a federal district court for a crime arising out of the same incident.
Other:
Marie Wilcox, Who Saved Her Tribe’s Language, Dies
AP News, October 19
Marie Wilcox, a Native woman in California who saved her tribe’s dying language, has died. She was 87. Wilcox was once the last fluent speaker of Wukchumni but she worked for more than 20 years to produce a dictionary of the language spoken by her tribe in California’s San Joaquin Valley and taught her family. Now there are at least three fluent speakers of the language, including her daughter. Wilcox died Sept. 25 in a Visalia hospital after her aorta ruptured. Her great hope was for the language work she started to continue, her daughter, Jennifer Malone.
In Southeast Alaska, A New Type Of Conservation
Indian Country Today, Meghan Sullivan, October 19
The Alaska Native Regional corporation Sealaska and the non-profit The Nature Conservancy recently donated $20 million to the newly established Seacoast Trust, a fund which will support Southeast Alaska projects like the Hoonah Native Forest Partnership mentioned above. Financial oversight will be conducted by Spruce Root, a Juneau-based non-profit. The fund aims to promote a new type of conservation — one based on trust and relationships, and centers Indigenous-led stewardship. For years, the Tongass National Forest has been the center of a fierce conflict between the timber industry and conservationists, with Alaska Native corporations and tribes often caught in the middle. As more non-Alaskans got involved with the dispute, nuanced, region-led solutions were increasingly overlooked. The dynamic led to some divisions within local communities, as people seem pressured to pick between economic stability or the protection of homelands.
Indian Country Remembers Contributions Of Rep. Dale Kildee Who Passed Away Last Week
Native News Online, Levi Rickert, October 18
Former Democratic Michigan Congressman Dale Kildee, whose name appears on 134 pieces of legislation directly impacting Native Americans, passed away on Wednesday, October 13, 2021. Kildee, who served a Michigan district that included the city of Flint, served 18 terms in Congress from 1977 – 2013. During his time in Congress, Kildee became known as an expert on Native American policy and co-founded the Congressional Native American Caucus. Rep. Kildee was 92. Former Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell (Northern Cheyenne, (R-CO), who served with him while he was a member of the House of Representatives remembers Kildee as a friend and a lawmaker who worked hard on behalf of Indian Country.
Red Lake Indian Nation Celebrates Groundbreaking Ceremony For Tribe’s First Charter School, Endazhi-Nitaawiging
Native News Online, Darren Thompson, October 18
On the morning of Monday, October 18, the Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians hosted a groundbreaking ceremony for the tribe’s first charter school, Endazhi-Nitaawiging (The Place Where It Grows). The charter school is owned by the tribe, and its focus is to teach enhanced knowledge of Ojibwe language, culture, leadership and environmental stewardship. The first phase of the school, costing just over $8 million, was funded by resources Red Lake Nation received from the American Rescue Plan Act. The second phase will allow additional space for Endazhi-Nitaawiging to grow and add a grade each year.