Category Archives: Professors

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.

Tsosie will Speak at the University of Oregon School of Law

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Tsosie to speak on ‘Indigenous Peoples and Global Climate Change’

Rebecca TsosieRebecca Tsosie, Executive Director of the Indian Legal Program, will speak next month on “Indigenous Peoples and Global Climate Change: Intercultural Models of Climate Equity” at the Knight Law Center at the University of Oregon School of Law.

The presentation, scheduled for Sept. 11, will frame the issue of “climate equity” within a global context, but focus on the impacts of climate change on indigenous peoples. Indigenous peoples have been identified as “vulnerable groups” within the discussions on climate change, and it is projected that many indigenous groups will experience relocation and destruction of their traditional lifeways. This grim reality poses a unique set of challenges for all governments, and also features an opportunity to examine the legal and ethical duties that might arise from these challenges.

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. Tsosie 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.

Furnish & Attakai present at Navajo Nation Judicial Conference

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Professor Emeritus Dale Beck Furnish and ILP alumnus Shawn Attakai (’00) participated in a panel at the Navajo Nation’s Annual Judicial Conference, “Navajo Justice 1959 – 2009 — 50 Years of Reflection,” on June 17 at the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation.

Furnish, along with Justice Emeritus and Adjunct Assistant Professor Raymond Austin of the James E. Rogers College of Law at the University of Arizona, and Shawn Attakai, a Kayenta Judicial District staff attorney, were on the panel, Fundamental Law / Navajo Statutory Law / Federal Requirement. Two of Furnish’s articles on Navajo Nation law were used as the basis for the three-hour discussion.

ILP co-presents environmental workshop

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Ann Marie DownesThe application of federal environmental law in Indian Country was the focus of a workshop presented by the College of Law’s Indian Legal Program and the ASU American Indian Policy Institute on May 27 on the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community.

Ann Marie Downes, director of the College’s Indian Legal Graduate Programs, and Patricia Mariella, the institute’s director, conducted the workshop for the Community’s Environmental Protection and Natural Resources Department.
Among discussion topics were well-known cases in Indian law, including Dura v. Reina, which originated on the Salt River-Maricopa Indian Community. Other discussion centered on the development of federal Indian policy, civil and regulatory jurisdictional issues.
The workshop is the first of several on environmental compliance and enforcement that the institute will be conducting with the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community.

Tsosie named Outstanding Teacher!

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We just received this email from Dean Berman! Congratulations to Professor Tsosie!

As you may know, every year the students vote on the outstanding teacher at the College of Law. This year, the vote was a tie, and so I am pleased to announce that Carissa Hessick and Rebecca Tsosie will share the award. I also note that both Carissa and Rebecca, in addition to their obvious dedication to teaching, both also maintain a very active roster of scholarly, conference, and community service activities, giving the lie to any notion that these different aspects of professorial life are engaged in only on an either/or basis.
Heartiest congratulations to Carissa and Rebecca!
Paul
____________________________________
Paul Schiff Berman
Dean and Foundation Professor of Law
Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law
Arizona State University

ILP/NALSA Graduation – 5/16/9 at 5:00 p.m.

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On behalf of the Indian Legal Program and the Native American Law Students Association, I would like to invite alumni and friends of the program to attend the ILP/NALSA graduation reception on Saturday, May 16th at 5:00 p.m.

The event will take place in the College of Law Rotunda. Dinner will be served. Please RSVP to Sunny Larson at Sunny.larson@asu.edu by May 8th.

Amicus Brief in Northwest Austin Municipal Utility District No. 1 v. Holder

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The Indian Legal Clinic and Sacks Tierney filed an amici brief in the above-reference case regarding the constitutionality of the Section 5 preclearance requirements. Indian Legal Clinic Student Attorney Nikki Borchardt (3L), Adjunct Professor and ASU Alum Judy Dworkin and Professor Patty Ferguson Bohnee prepared the brief.

Brief of the Navajo Nation, Anthony Wounded Head, et al. Amici are concerned that if the Court declares that the reauthorization of Section 5 is unconstitutional, American Indian voting rights will be significantly impacted and result in a reversal of the strides made in recent years to ensure greater Indian voter participation. This would negatively impact many American Indian voters who only recently secured the right to vote, continue to face discrimination in voting, and who cannot shoulder the financial burden to bring lawsuits under Section 2 of the VRA.

Taxation on Indian Reservations

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TAX LAW SECTION
LUNCHEON EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM

“TAXATION ON INDIAN RESERVATIONS”

SPEAKER: THE HONORABLE PATRICK IRVINE, Arizona Court of Appeals, Div. One

Judge Irvine has been a judge of the Arizona Court of Appeals since 2002. He received his B.S. and J.D. from ASU, and an LL.M in Taxation from the University of San Diego. From 1989 to 2002, he served in the Arizona Attorney General’s Office in various capacities. During his tenure at the AG’s Office he chaired the Open Meeting Law Enforcement Team, Opinion Review Committee, Indian Law Working Group and Election Law Committee. He previously worked as an Assistant General Counsel to the Gila River Indian Community, a tax manager for an international accounting firm, and in private practice.

DATE: TUESDAY, APRIL 28, 2009

TIME: 11:45 — Registration/Lunch
NOON — Program

COST: $25.00 (Section Members) – $30.00 (Non-Members) — Lunch Provided

PLACE: STATE BAR OFFICES
4201 N. 24th Street, Phoenix, AZ
(East side of 24th Street, a half block north of Indian School
Front of building faces east — plenty of parking)

May Qualify for MCLE Credit

REGISTRATION/RSVP FORM — Please Respond by Friday, April 24, 2009.

____ I will attend the Tax Law Section Educational Luncheon on TUESDAY, April 28.

___ I am bringing _____guest(s). Name(s) _________________________________

My payment in the amount of $_____________

______is enclosed ______will be paid at the door.

(Tax Section Members ~ $25.00 each; Non-Members ~ $30.00 each)

You can RSVP by:

Mail: State Bar of Arizona, PO Box 53099, Phoenix, AZ 85072-3099
Fax: 602.416-7504
E-mail: nancy.nichols@staff.azbar.org

NAME_____________________________________BAR NUMBER _______________

PAYMENT METHOD:
_____ Check made payable to the State Bar of Arizona

_____ VISA ______MasterCard ______American Express ______Discover Card

I hereby authorize the State Bar of Arizona to charge the above amount to the following credit card.

CARD # ____________________________________EXP.DATE ________________

CVV2# (3-4 digit code on back front of card)________________

NAME ON CARD (if different from above)_____________________________________

CARD BILLING ADDRESS ___________________________________________________

CITY_____________________________________STATE___________ZIP_____________

SIGNATURE

_______________________________________________________________
For accounting only: Tax Section T617-4520-002

To facilitate participation in programs and events the State Bar of Arizona provides reasonable accommodation in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. If you require accommodation, please indicate this on your RSVP form. Whenever possible accommodation requests should be made as far in advance of the program as possible.

Nancy L. Nichols
Administrator, Committees & Sections
State Bar of Arizona
4201 N. 24th St., Suite 200
Phoenix, AZ 85016-6288
Direct Phone: 602-340-7304
Direct Fax: 602-416-7504
nancy.nichols@staff.azbar.org

Carl Artman joins the Indian Legal Program faculty

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I am pleased to report that Carl Artman has accepted the College of Law’s offer to become a Professor of Practice as part of our new initiative on economic development in Indian Country.

Carl J. Artman is currently a shareholder on the Godfrey & Kahn’s Indian Nations and Environmental & Energy Practice Groups. Prior to joining Godfrey & Kahn, Carl was the Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs for the United States Department of the Interior in Washington, DC. He served also as the Associate Solicitor for Indian Affairs at the Department. Prior to the appointments, Carl was Chief Legal Counsel for the Oneida Tribe of Indians of Wisconsin in Green Bay. Carl has represented clients in environmental, corporate, emerging technologies, telecommunications and bankruptcy matters. Carl is licensed to practice in Wisconsin, Colorado and Pennsylvania. Carl currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Library of Congress’s American Folklife Center. He served on the Board of the Presidential Board of Advisors on Tribal Colleges and Universities, Oneida Nation Electronics, Qubit Technology Inc., Airadigm Communications, Inc. and Personal Communications Industry Association. He was the Chairman of the Tribal Management Advisory Committee and the Tribal Budget Advisory Committee. He was a member of the U.S. Delegation to the United Nation’s Convention to Eliminate Racial Discrimination. While at the Department of Interior, Carl served as a member of the Trust Executive Steering Committee, Climate Control Task Force Steering Committee and Fire Policy Council. He was a member of the Board of Governance for the National Indian Programs Training Center and the Board of Regents for the Haskell Indian Nations University. He served as an editor for the Denver Journal of International Law Policy.

Artman received his bachelor’s degree from Columbia College in Columbia, Mo., his law degree from Washington University in St. Louis, and his Master of Business Administration from the University of Wisconsin Business School.