Register for the IGRA Conference!

Indian Country’s Winning Hand: 20 Years of IGRA
October 16-17, 2008
Radisson Fort McDowell Resort & Casino
Scottsdale/Fountain Hills, Arizona
Visit the conference website to learn more about the conference and registration for the event!
www.law.asu.edu/ILP
Stay the weekend so you can attend NCAI!
65th Annual Convention and Tradeshow
Sunday, October 19, 2008 1:00 PM – Friday, October 24, 2008 1:00 PM
Phoenix Convention Center

Student Mixer with NABA-AZ

Dear NABA-AZ Members:

Please join us on Thursday September 25th at 5:30 p.m. at Macayo’s in Tempe for our second NABA-AZ Student Mixer! The details are on the attached flyer. At the mixer, we will be announcing the three NABA-AZ Book Scholarship winners. Please RSVP to Jenny Braybrooke at jbraybro@fclaw.com or 602-916-5247 by September 18th

Hope to see you there!

Thanks!

Kerry Patterson
NABA-AZ President

Article by Katosha Nakai (’03)


Katosha Belvin Nakai (’03) of Lewis and Roca LLP has an article featured in Arizona’s Environmental and Natural Resources Law Section Update August 2008. “Penny-Wise or Pound Foolish: Business Investment in the Implementation of a Tribal Superfund law” can be found on page 4 of the update.

Navajo Nation Supreme Court Oral Arguments

Navajo Nation Supreme Court Oral Arguments
Ford Motor Co. v. Kayenta District Court

Thursday, September 18, 2008
10:30 AM — Noon
Great Hall, Sandra Day O’Connor College Of Law

Proper courtroom etiquette must be observed at all times.
Please note that law students have priority seating.

Case Summary
The case concerns Ford Motor Company’s request that the Navajo Nation Supreme Court prevent the Kayenta District Court from hearing a wrongful death case brought by the Todecheene family. The Todecheenes brought the case on behalf of a Navajo police officer who died in a rollover accident on the Navajo Reservation while driving a Navajo Nation police vehicle manufactured by Ford. The Todecheenes allege the vehicle was defective, and seek damages from Ford. The Nation purchased the vehicle from a Ford dealership located in Gallup, New Mexico, a town located outside the Navajo Reservation. The purchase was financed by Ford Motor Credit, a subsidiary of Ford.

Ford argues that the Navajo courts lack jurisdiction to hear the case under Federal Indian law principles. The Kayenta District Court ruled that it had jurisdiction over the lawsuit. Instead of seeking review by the Navajo Supreme Court, Ford filed an action in the federal district court of Arizona to enjoin the Navajo courts from hearing the case. The federal district court ruled there was no jurisdiction, based on United States Supreme Court precedent on the scope of tribal jurisdiction over non-Indians. The Navajo Nation appealed the ruling, and the Ninth Circuit initially affirmed the district court, agreeing that the Navajo courts lacked jurisdiction. However, the Ninth Circuit later vacated that ruling and required Ford to seek review by the Navajo Supreme Court on one issue: whether the Navajo Nation could assert jurisdiction under the second exception of the United States Supreme Court case Montana v. United States, 450 U.S. 544 (1981). That exception recognizes tribal jurisdiction if the actions of a non-Indian “threatens or has some direct effect on the political integrity, the economic security, or the health or welfare of the tribe.” Id. at 566. The Navajo Nation Supreme Court further asked the parties to discuss whether the Treaty of 1868 between the Nation and the United States independently allows the Nation’s courts to hear the case. Finally, the Court requested that the parties brief the Court on the effect, if any, of a recent United States Supreme Court opinion on tribal jurisdiction, Plains Commerce Bank v. Long Family Land & Cattle Co. The Navajo Nation Department of Justice and Susan Rose, a private attorney, filed amicus briefs in the case.

For more information contact:
Kate Rosier at 480-965-6204 or Email kathlene.rosier@asu.edu

JOBS: Attorney Northern Arapaho Tribe

Northern Arapaho Tribe
Notice of Employment
TRIBAL IV-D Attorney

The Tribal IV-D Attorney is the staff attorney for the office of Child Support Enforcement. The Attorney provides all legal work necessary for or related to the establishment, modification and enforcement of child support obligations done by the Office of Child support.
Pre-Employment Drug Screening and Background check required.
Salary: $76,960
Opening: August 18, 2008
Closing: September 12, 2008

How to apply:
Send a complete Northern Arapaho Tribal Application and resume with letter of interest to Northern Arapaho Tribe:
Attn: Human Resources: P.O. Box 396, Fort Washakie, WY, 82514
or submit in person to Human Resources located at the Tribal Complex Building, 533 Ethete Road, Ethete WY.

Full job descriptions and applications for emloyment can be found at www.northernarapaho.com Click on Human Resources to view the job descriptions and to print the application from the PDF file. For more information you can email us at NATHR@Live.com or call 307 332 6120 ext 159

Humetewa on Native American Calling

U.S. Attorney Diane Humetewa:
scheduled guest for Native America Calling
Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2008
The show will be broadcast on KUYI, HOPI radio at 10 am Arizona time and on KGHR – Tuba City at 11am Daylight Savings time . You can also listen on-line at www.nv1.org at the same times.

Native in the Spotlight Diane Humetewa:
U.S. Attorneys are federal prosecutors who represent the U.S. government in the federal courts. Each U.S. Attorney is the chief federal law enforcement officer within his or her particular jurisdiction. Last December Diane Humetewa (Hopi) was sworn in as U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona, marking the first time an American Indian woman has been appointed as a U.S. Attorney. Her office prosecutes violent crimes such as sexual assault and homicide, as well as drug trafficking, fraud, and bank robbery. The Arizona district includes 21 Indian reservations. What’s it like being a real life, modern day crime fighter?