JOB: Staff Attorney for Crow Tribe of Indians

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JOB ADVERTISEMENT
CROW TRIBE OF INDIANS
CROW AGENCY, MT

Staff Attorney

The Executive Branch of the Crow Tribe of Indians is accepting applications for a full-time in-house attorney position at the Office of Legal Counsel in Crow Agency, MT. Position open until filled.

Minimum Qualifications
· A Juris Doctorate (J.D.) degree from an accredited law school;
· Admitted to practice in the State of Montana and a member in good standing of the Montana Bar;
· Willing to sit for the next available administration of the Crow Tribal Bar Exam;
· Prior legal experience (3+ years) preferred;
· General understanding of and inherent respect for Crow Tribal and Native American history and culture;
· Working knowledge of the Federal Rules of Evidence and Civil Procedure;
· Demonstrated knowledge of Federal Indian Law;
· Willing to sit for and ability to pass a criminal background check;
· No felony convictions and no serious misdemeanor convictions within the past five years;
· Must pass a pre-employment drug test;
· Commitment to the concepts of tribal sovereignty and Indian self determination

Salary: DOE

Description: The successful applicant will be responsible for diverse matters on behalf of the Executive Branch of the Crow Tribe, and will provide legal counsel to the Tribal governmental departments. S/he will be expected to divide her/his time as appropriate to cover the caseload in each respective assigned area. S/he will represent the Tribe in various cases or matters in which the Tribe has an interest, as assigned or delegated by Joint Lead Counsel for the Executive Branch.

Duties may include practice in tribal, federal, and state courts and arbitration proceedings; participating in teleconference and telephonic hearings as required; performing legal research in appropriate areas of law; review and analysis of statutes and caselaw pertaining to tribal, federal, and state law and any other relevant tribal codes; development of Tribal codes and legislation, including presentations to the Tribal Legislature and collaborative work with its Committees; analysis of pending Federal and State legislation for effects on the Crow Tribe; review of contracts and grant applications; land and leasing transactions; interface with the Bureau of Indian Affairs and other Federal and State agencies; training and supervision of others as required; and other related duties as assigned or required.

Preference in filling vacancies is given to qualified Crow Tribal members, and to members of federally recognized Indian tribes.

Interested individuals should submit a letter of interest, resume, and three references to: Office of Legal Counsel, Crow Tribe, Attention: Heather Whiteman Runs Him-Oleyte, P.O. Box 340, Crow Agency, MT 59022. Questions may be directed via email to: heatherw@crownations.net.

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Professor Rebecca Tsosie Welcomed as Inaugural Oregon Tribes Professor of Law


Oregon Law is pleased to welcome Professor Rebecca Tsosie as the first ever Oregon Tribes Law Professor and a Wayne Morse Center distinguished speaker for the Climate Ethics, Climate Equity theme.
Professor Tsosie, who is of Yaqui descent, has worked extensively with tribal governments and organizations and serves as a Supreme Court Justice for the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation. She has served as Executive Director of the top ranked Indian Law program at Arizona State University’s Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law since 1996. She teaches Indian law, property, bioethics, and critical race theory, as well as seminars on international indigenous rights. Professor Tsosie also teaches in the school’s LL.M. program in Tribal Policy, Law, and Government. Additionally, she is a Faculty Fellow of the Center for the Study of Law, Science, and Technology and an Affiliate Professor in ASU’s American Indian Studies Program. In 2005, Professor Tsosie was appointed a Willard H. Pedrick Distinguished Research Scholar.
Professor Tsosie has written and published widely on doctrinal and theoretical issues related to tribal sovereignty, environmental policy, and cultural rights. She is the author of many prominent articles dealing with cultural resources and cultural pluralism. Professor Tsosie is the co-author of a federal Indian law casebook titled American Indian Law: Native Nations and the Federal System. In addition, Professor Tsosie annually speaks at several national conferences on tribal sovereignty, self-determination, and tribal rights to environmental and cultural resources.
Professor Tsosie is a recipient of numerous distinguished awards and honors, including a Woodrow Wilson Fellowship, the Native Nations Distinguished Alumnus Award, the “Judge Learned Hand Award” for Public Service, and the American Bar Association’s “2002 Spirit of Excellence Award.”
During Professor Tsosie’s visit, she will meet and consult with the faculty, students, and staff on Indian legal education, meet with Oregon Law’s Native American Law Student Association, meet with Oregon tribes to discuss the issues of climate change, and present the annual Rennard Strickland lecture, cosponsored by the Wayne Morse Center and Oregon Law’s Environmental and Natural Resources Law (“ENR”) Program on October 15.
The Oregon Tribes Professorship is established to boost scholarship, public service, and academic offerings in Indian Law. It is aimed to provide legal education about and to the Native Americans at Oregon Law, and serve as a bridge between the law school and the Native American community. This chair was made possible by a grant from the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde and contributions from numerous registered tribes in Oregon.

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Dorinda Strmiska has accepted a new position with the National Indian Gaming Commission. She will be starting there on October 13, 2009.
The ILP congratulates you!

ILC files amicus brief in Fifth Circuit Religious Freedom Case

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Indian Legal Clinic Files Amicus Brief in Fifth Circuit Religious Freedom Case

The ASU Indian Legal Clinic and Quarles & Brady filed an amicus brief on behalf of the Lipan Apache Tribe of Texas in A.A. v. Needville School District. Indian Legal Clinic Student-Attorney Daniel Lewis, Quarles & Brady attorney Katea Ravega, and Professor Patty Ferguson-Bohnee prepared the brief.

The school district appealed a permanent injunction issued by the Southern District of Texas prohibiting the district from enforcing a regulation that would prevent a Native American kindergartner from wearing his hair in braids at school in violation of his constitutional rights of freedom of expression and religion. The school district’s policy prevents boys from wearing their hair long, and specifically provides that a boy’s hair “shall not cover any part of the ear or touch the top of the standard collar in the back.” Because of the policy, the student was placed in in-school suspension. The student believes “that his long hair is not only an expression of his ancestry and heritage, but also a sacred symbol of his life and experience in this world.”

The amicus brief addressed the Lipan Apache tradition of wearing hair long for both expression of identity and religious purposes and requested the Fifth Circuit to affirm the lower court’s decision.

Professor Ferguson Bohnee chosen NABA-AZ Member of the Year

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Patty Furguson-Bohnee Patty Ferguson-Bohnee, director of the Indian Legal Clinic, has been chosen 2009 NABA-AZ Member of the Year Award by the Native American Bar Association of Arizona.

Ferguson-Bohnee was chosen for her “immeasurable” work in both the legal community and the Native American community, including her service as co-founder and vice president of NABA-AZ, her work for the Native community on the Election Protection project, and her recent appointment as vice president of the National NABA.
Ferguson-Bohnee will be recognized at the inaugural Seven Generations Awards Dinner from 6-9 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 26, at the Whirlwind Golf Club on the Gila River Indian Community, 5692 W. North Loop Road in Chandler.

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 United States 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.

Breann Swann receives research fellowship!

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2009 LL.M. grad receives research fellowship

Breann Yoshiko Swann, a 2009 graduate of the College of Law’s LL.M. in Tribal Policy, Law and Government program, recently was named the recipient of an Inaugural Research Fellowship according to a recent University of Hawai’i, Mānoa press release.

The fellowship was established through the Kamehameha Schools, a charitable educational trust, whose mission is to provide educational opportunities to improve the capacity and well-being of people of Hawaiian ancestry. It will enable Swann to conduct up to three years of research, scholarship, teaching and/or other research-related projects at the Ka Huli Ao Center for Excellence in Native Hawaiian Law at the William S. Richardson School of Law.

Swann earned her bachelor’s degree in English from Yale University and a J.D. from the University of Southern California — Gould School of Law.

To read the University of Hawai’i press release click here.

To read other College of Law stories about Swann please visit http://www.law.asu.edu/?id=902 and http://www.law.asu.edu/?id=1368.…..

JOB: Udall

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Morris K. Udall Foundation
Program Manager, Native American Congressional Internship Program and Native American Recruiting

Full-time position based in Tucson, Arizona.

Brief description:
The Udall Foundation’s Native American Congressional Internship Program is a ten-week, summer internship for Native Americans and Alaska Natives in Washington, D.C. Interns work in Senate and House offices and federal agencies to gain an insider’s view of the federal government. The program provides interns with opportunities to research legislative issues important to tribal communities; exposure to resources available in Washington, DC, for legislative research and tribal policy development; and opportunities to network with key public officials, agency officials, and national tribal advocacy organizations.

The Program Manager for the Native American Congressional Internship Program manages strategy, implementation, and communication in four principal areas: applicant recruitment and intern selection; Congressional and federal agency office placements; intern housing and enrichment activities; and alumni development. The Program Manager reports directly to the Senior Program Manager for Education Programs, is an integral member of the Education team, and works with the Program Manager for the Udall Scholarship Program on strategy and implementation of Native American recruitment for the undergraduate scholarship. The Program Manager spends approximately 3 months each year (May 15-August 15) in Washington, D.C. to provide general supervision and professional mentoring of 12 Native American Interns.

Principal responsibilities:
§ Work with Education staff to develop and implement a national recruiting plan and targeted outreach for the Internship Program and Native American undergraduate scholarship.
§ Work with Education staff to enhance promotional materials and the internship website.
§ Work with Education staff to create guidelines for the selection of interns.
§ Coordinate application and selection processes.
§ Manage applicant and intern notifications.
§ Maintain institutional relationships with Congressional offices and federal agencies in Washington, D.C.
§ Arrange placement for 12 Native American Interns in appropriate congressional/agency offices.
§ Strategize and implement intern orientation, public receptions and enrichment activities.
§ Arrange housing for interns and manage residence and student life issues.
§ Maintain and develop alumni network and institutional relationships with Native American communities and organizations.
§ Conduct program evaluations to ensure continued improvements.

Necessary Qualifications:
§ BA/BS degree
§ Experience mentoring, advising, and/or recruiting Native American college or graduate students
§ Knowledge of policies, issues and problems affecting Indian country
§ Ability to spend May 15-August 15 living in Washington, DC (housing and per diem provided)
§ Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal
§ Familiar with Microsoft Word and Excel applications

Preferred Qualifications:
§ Master’s or professional degree in Native American studies or similar field
§ Experience interning or working for the federal government
§ Previous experience as a residential advisor or in college admissions
§ Familiar with Microsoft Publisher and Picture Manager

Salary range: $35,000-$45,000 with federal benefits. Reasonable relocation costs paid. Information on the Foundation and its programs can be found at www.udall.gov. Applicants should submit a cover letter and resume to Morris K. Udall Foundation, attn: Jane Curlin; 130 S. Scott Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85701-1922; or email a cover letter and resume (Word or PDF) to Jane Curlin at curlin@udall.gov. No faxes or phone calls.

Deadline to submit materials: September 18, 2009