Ferguson-Bohnee to testify before Congress

Patty Ferguson-Bohnee, director of the Indian Legal Clinic, has been asked to testify on “Fixing the Federal Acknowledgment Process” before the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs on Wednesday, Nov. 4.
Ferguson-Bohnee has substantial experience in Indian law, election law and policy matters, voting rights, and status clarification of tribes. She has testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs and the Louisiana State Legislature regarding tribal recognition, and has successfully assisted four Louisiana tribes in obtaining state recognition. She has represented tribal clients in administrative, state, federal, and tribal courts, as well as before state and local governing bodies and proposed revisions to the Real Estate Disclosure Reports to include tribal provisions. She has assisted in complex voting rights litigation on behalf of tribes, and she has drafted state legislative and congressional testimony on behalf of tribes with respect to voting rights’ issues.

Before joining the College in 2008, Ferguson-Bohnee clerked for Judge Betty Binns Fletcher of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and was an associate in the Indian Law and Tribal Relations Practice Group at Sacks Tierney P.A. in Phoenix. As a Fulbright Scholar to France, she researched French colonial relations with Louisiana Indians in the 17th and 18th centuries.
Ferguson-Bohnee, a member of the Pointe-au-Chien Indian tribe, serves as the Native Vote Election Protection Coordinator for the State of Arizona.

Staff Attorney Position – NM Legal Aid – Zuni Pueblo

Staff Attorney – Gallup Office
New Mexico Legal Aid (NMLA) has an opening for a Staff Attorney in its Gallup Office. One (1) or more years of legal experience required. NMLA represents low-income individuals and families in a wide variety of poverty law areas including family law, housing, public benefits, consumer and Native American issues. Expectation is that attorney will be active in local bar and community activities. The position offers opportunity to work with Zuni people and practice law in theZuni Trbal Court. The candidate will handle general pverty law cases, utilizing a computerized case management system, participate in community education and outreach to those in need of housing and other benefits, and participate in recruitment of pro bono attorneys. The position also includes work with Zuni people on cases and matters involving Federal Indian and Tribal law issues, including representation of low income individuals in the Zuni Tribal Court. A percentage of the attorney’s time will be devoted to NMLA’s Native American Program issues. Requirements: Candidates must possess excellent writing and oral communication skills, ability to manage multiple tasks, skills sufficient to implement an array of advocacy strategies, ability to manage a caseload, and the ability to build collaborative relationships within the community. Proficiency in Spanish is a plus. Reliable transportation is mandatory. New Mexico bar license is preferred. Candidate will be required to become a member of the Zuni bar upon hire. NMLA offers an excellent benefits package, including generous leave, health insurance and opportunities for training. Competitive salary based on experience, DOE. NMLA is an EEO Employer. Send Resume, two references and a writing sample to: Gloria A. Molinar, NMLA, PO Box 25486, Albuquerque, NM 87125-5486 and or email to: gloriam@nmlegalaid.org; Deadline:10/30/09

Save the Date: 10/28/09

Navajo Government Forum with:
President Joe Shirley Jr.
Council Delegates: Leonard Tsosie, Jonathan Nez, and Kee Allen Begay

Come and discuss the issue and policies that matter to you.

  • 88-24 Council Reduction Initiative
  • Presidential Line Item veto
  • Education
  • Economic Development

Where: Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, ASU
Great Hall, Lecture Room

When: Wednesday, October 28, 2009
5:30-8:30

Free Event!
On-site voter registration!

Press Release
Navajo Government Forum at Arizona State University:
Debate on government reform voting initiatives to reduce the Council from 88 to 24 and provide a presidential line-item veto
Tempe, Arizona: For Immediate Release
A Navajo Government Forum that will focus on two initiatives — one that would reduce the Navajo Council from 88 members to 24 members and one that would add a line-item veto — will be hosted by Arizona State University at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 28, in Armstrong Hall at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law.
President Joe Shirley Jr. and three Council delegates — Kee Allen Begay (Many Farms/Round Rock Chapters), Jonathan Nez (Shonto Chapter) and Leonard Tsosie (Whitehorse Lake/Pueblo Pintado/Torreon Chapters) — will be questioned by a panel of experts, then will take questions on any Navajo Nation issue from the audience.
The initiatives will be on the Navajo Nation ballot in December. Voter registration closes Nov. 16, and voter registration will be available the evening of the forum.
The forum was conceived and organized by the ASU Navajo Students for Politics Committee, and is designed to mobilize ASU students and provide information for the the greater Phoenix Navajo community
The event is sponsored by the American Indian Policy Institute, American Indian Student Support Services, the Office of the Special Advisor to the President on American Indian Affairs, the Indian Legal Program at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, American Indian Studies, and the Phoenix Indian Center.
For more information, contact Kate Rosier, Director of the Indian Legal Program, at (480) 965-6204.

JOBS:Chief Prosecutor, Hopi Tribe

Date: 10/22/2009 3:00 AM

Contact: Nancy F. Piqösa, Employment Coordinator
Employer: The Hopi Tribe
Address:P.O. Box 123
CityStateZip: Kykotsmovi, AZ 86039
Email: NPiqosa@hopi.nsn.us
Phone: 928-734-3219
Fax: 928-734-6611

JobTitle: Chief Prosecutor
Salary: D.O.E

Qualifications:
Required Education and experience: Juris Doctorate; and four (4) years para-legal or administrative work experience with increasing management responsibilities in a federal, state or tribal judicial or law enforcement field.

Description: Please contact tribe for more information

Tsosie article in new book

An article by Rebecca Tsosie, executive director of the Indian Legal Program, has recently been published in a new book, Gathering Native Scholars: UCLA’s Forty Years of American Indian Culture and Research.The book is a collection of selected essays from four decades of the American Indian Culture and Research Journal at the University of California, Los Angeles. Tsosie’s article, “Surviving the War by Singing the Blues: The Contemporary Ethos of American Indian Political Poetry,” was written when she was a J.D. candidate at UCLA.

Tsosie teaches in the areas of Indian law, Property, Bioethics, and Critical Race Theory, as well as seminars in International Indigenous Rights and in the College’s Tribal Policy, Law, and Government Master of Laws program. She has written and published widely on doctrinal and theoretical issues related to tribal sovereignty, environmental policy and cultural rights, and is the author of many prominent articles dealing with cultural resources and cultural pluralism. She also is the co-author with Robert Clinton and Carole Goldberg of a federal Indian law casebook. Her current research deals with Native rights to genetic resources.

JOB: California Indian Legal Services

Date: 10/16/2009 9:54:21 AM

Contact: Patricia De La Cruz-Lynas
Employer: California Indian Legal Services
Address1: 609 S. Escondido Blvd
CityStateZip: Escondido, CA 92025
Email: hiring@calindian.org
Website: www.calindian.org
Phone: 760-746-8941
Fax: 760-746-1815
AcceptingCalls: Yes

JobTitle: Staff Attorney – Eureka Office

Salary: Competitive salary D.O.E full family/partner medical and dental benefits, LTD, life insurance, generous leave policy and potential for annual performance bonus.

Hours: Full Time

Description: Staff attorney will work with Indian individuals, families, organizations and tribal governments in all areas of Federal Indian law, including but not limited to, advising on issues involving jurisdiction, tax, estate planning, trust assets, environmental law, cultural resource protection, Indian education, natural resource development, tribal governance, tribal justice systems, employment, and the Indian Child Welfare Act. Responsibilities may range from the provision of brief counsel and services to low income Indian individuals to representing individuals and tribes in state and federal court, negotiating contracts, advising tribal clients and developing and implementing constitutions, codes, and policies for tribal clients.

Experience: Graduate,Current Bar Members

Submit: Resume,Cover Letter,Writing Sample

SubmitOther: * J.D. degree with exceptional academic achievement.
* Licensed to practice in California.
* Demonstrated knowledge of Federal Indian law with a minimum of three years experience practicing law.
* Excellent oral and written communication skills.
* A willingness to assume a varied caseload.
* Strong work ethic and able to work nights and weekends when many tribal councils meet.
* Ability to travel overnight, valid driver?s license.
* A demonstrated commitment to providing high quality legal services for Indian people.
The following qualifications are desirable but not absolutely required:
* Experience working with Indian individuals or tribes.
* Prior legal services experience.

Sawers to present paper at Indian Law Conference

O’Connor Fellow Brian Sawers will present his paper, “Tribal Land Corporations: Using Incorporation to Combat Fractionation,” at the Federal Bar Association’s 11th Annual D.C. Indian Law Conference. It will be held on Friday, Nov. 13, at the National Museum of the American Indian.

Sawers will participate in the panel, Beyond Land-Into-Trust: Creative Land Ownership Options for Tribes. According to the conference agenda, there are a number of creative ways for tribes to own land other than as federal trust land, such as federal restricted fee and conservation easements. Considering the practical problems with land-into-trust as well as the sovereignty concerns with the federal government “owning” the land, the panel will discuss what options are available.

Sawers’ area of research interest is property law, in particular where property regimes are unstable, developing or in transition. In his current research projects, he’s exploring both the material conditions determining property law and the effect of property regimes on resource utilization.