Christina Entrekin (’98) is the Director of Programs for Vancouver Aboriginal Child & Family Services in Vancouver, BC. VACFSS has been a child and family serving agency since its incorporation in 1992. The group is continuing to transform services to make them more grounded within our history and to reflect the diverse cultures of the clients we serve. With the transfer of child protection services from the Ministry of Children and Family Development (MCFD) in 2008, VACFSS continues to focus on better outcomes for the children and families it serves. VACFSS honours the traditions and wisdom inherent in the Aboriginal community. The goal is to work to create a stronger community through partnerships with other service providers and by connecting with community resources.

Michael Lane, (’94) graduate in May, 2009 (with first class honors) with a Masters of Indigenous Studies from Te Whare Wananga o Awanuiarangi ( a fully accredited Maori University). He is cuurently employed as a Specialist Advisor-Ngati Rangiwewehi Charitable Trust
Job. He is currently assisting with the capacity development for tribal selfgovernment; assisting in developing linkages with other Indigenous Peoples; establishing their Quality Management System; advising and researching on a possible Aboriginal Title Claim addendum to their Treaty of Waitangi Claim.

Gila River Indian Community Defense Services Office is looking to hire an IMMEDIATE full time TEMPORARY position of Defense Attorney I. This position should be as long as two months, working four ten hour shifts. Salary would be pro rated from approx. $60,000 annual w/o benefits. This position could lead to permanent position with benefits. Contacts: Cecilia Vaca-Payton or Jessica Turk @ (520) 562-5700

March 17-18, 2009 Workshop on NEPA in Indian Country
International Institute for Indigenous Resource Management
444 South Emerson Street
Denver, Colorado 80209-2176
Phone: (303) 733-0481; FAX: (303) 744-9808
E-Mail: iiirm@iiirm.org Website: www.iiirm.org

A Workshop on the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) in Indian Country Designed for Tribal Council Members, Attorneys, Natural and Cultural Resource Specialists and environmental Protection Professionals and Federal Agency Personnel and Contractors Working in Indian Country

March 17-18, 2009 Radisson Hotel Denver Stapleton Plaza
3333 Quebec Street
Denver, Colorado

Applied to the Colorado Supreme Court for Continuing Legal Education Credit

The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) can be an important part of federal agency consultation with Indian tribes. However, effective tribal participation in the NEPA process requires an awareness of the workings and procedural requirements of NEPA, technical expertise, knowledge of the broad range of tribal environmental, social, cultural, health and safety interests that March be affected by federal programs and activities and a strategy that links NEPA responses to other legal and statutory requirements such as the federal-Indian trust doctrine, treaty rights, AIRFA, NAGPRA, etc. This Workshop will provide practical instruction and assistance to inform tribal decision-makers on: the requirements and latest developments in NEPA compliance and litigation; the role of tribal, federal and state regulators in the NEPA process; and strategies to identify and protect tribal interests that March be affected by
proposed federal actions.

Preliminary Agenda
March 17, 2009
8:15 a.m. Registration, Coffee and Continental Breakfast
9:00 a.m. Welcome and Introductions Mervyn L. Tano, International Institute for Indigenous Resource Management
9:30 a.m. Small Group Exercise
10:15 a.m. History and Overview of NEPA James “Skip” Spensley, Spensley & Associates
10:30 a.m. NEPA as a Tribal Environmental Protection and Development Strategy Mervyn L. Tano
11:30 a.m. Break
11:45 a.m. An Approach to Identifying Tribal Interests Affected by Proposed Federal Actions Mervyn L. Tano
12:30 p.m. Lunch (on your own)
1:30 p.m. Planning for NEPA: What Tribes Need to Know About Federal Agencies, What Federal Agencies Need to Know About Tribes Mervyn L. Tano
2:30 p.m. The Environmental Impact Statement: The Process James “Skip” Spensley
4:30 p.m. Adjourn

March 18, 2009
8:30 a.m. Registration, Coffee and Continental Breakfast
9:00 a.m. Content of the EIS: Making Sure it’s Adequate James “Skip” Spensley
10:00 a.m. Assessing Cumulative Impacts Mervyn L. Tano
10:45 a.m. Break
11:00 a.m. Tribes as Cooperating Agencies: Issues and Opportunities Mervyn L. Tano
11:30 a.m. Other Issues including Programmatic EIS, Environmental Justice, etc. James “Skip” Spensley and Mervyn L. Tano
12:30 p.m. Lunch (on your own)
1:30 p.m. Indigenous Approaches to Adaptive Management Mervyn L. Tano
2:10 p.m. Strategic Approaches to NEPA Requirements James “Skip” Spensley Mervyn L. Tano
2:40 p.m. Small Group Exercise
4:15 p.m. Adjourn

Workshop Faculty:
James W. “Skip” Spensley is one of the nation’s experts on the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) working with its requirements from numerous perspectives including administrative, legislative, judicial, and project development. Mr. Spensley served as staff to the President’s Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) in 1970 after NEPA was first enacted. He assisted in preparing the first CEQ guidelines on environmental impact statement (EIS) preparation. He subsequently worked with an environmental law firm in Alexandria, Virginia where he litigated NEPA cases. In 1974, Mr. Spensley worked for a transportation and consulting firm which managed one of the largest urban transportation projects in New York where he was the architect of the EIS for the West Side Highway Project in New York City. In 1975, Mr. Spensley was hired by the United States House of Representatives to act as Legal Counsel to the Subcommittee responsible for NEPA. During his tenure there, he was responsible for writing the first and only amendment to NEPA in 1975. In 1984, The Marchor of Denver hired Mr. Spensley to manage the preparation of the EIS for Denver’s new international airport, the largest land area commercial airport in the world. Between 1989 and 1995, he has consulted with numerous large-scale projects concerning their NEPA requirements including among others the Vail Ski Area Expansion project; the Department of Energy’s Technology Integration Program; the E-470 Toll Road Project in Denver; and the Rocky Flats Site Wide Environmental Impact Statement. Since 1995, Mr. Spensley has provided consulting and project management services to the Colorado Department of Transportation, the City and County of Broomfield, the Seattle Port Authority, Will County Illinois on the 3rd Chicago South Suburban Airport project and several private company clients concerning environmental documents related to major transportation and development projects. Mr. Spensley has lectured on environmental law and NEPA at both the University of Colorado and the University of Denver in the law schools and other graduate programs since 1982. He is the author of the NEPA Compliance Manual for federal managers and author of the NEPA Chapter in the Environmental Law Handbook (Editions 12-16) for Government Institutes. He conducts regular annual national workshops on NEPA and the EIS process.

Mervyn L. Tano Mervyn L. Tano, Esq. is an attorney and the president of the International Institute for Indigenous Resource Management. He earned his Bachelor of Arts Degree in History from the Church College of Hawaii, Masters Degree in Education from the University of Arizona and the Juris Doctor Degree from the J. Reuben Clark Law School at Brigham Young University. Mr. Tano has extensive experience working with Indian tribes and includes, as a small sample: assisting the Confederated tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation establish a comprehensive water quality management system; helping the Nez Perce tribe establish the tribal environmental restoration and waste management department to oversee the cleanup of Department of Energy facilities at Hanford; and, advising the Oglala Sioux tribe on solid waste management issues. Mr. Tano has been a member of several national advisory boards including EPA’s Federal Facilities Environmental Restoration Dialogue Committee, the National Environmental Justice Advisory Council, DOE Office of Science and Technology’s Community Leaders Network, the National Academy of Public Administration’s committee on intergenerational responsibility and the National Research Council’s committee on priority setting, timing and staging of DOE’s environmental management activities. Mr. Tano has written numerous papers, articles and manuals on risk, environmental justice, environmental restoration, technology development, environmental law and radioactive waste management, and has written extensively on tribal strategies for NEPA responses.

Workshop Logistics:
All workshop sessions will be held at the Radisson Hotel Denver Stapleton Plaza, 3333 Quebec Street, Denver, Colorado. Rooms are available to workshop attendees at the special rate of $89.00 (single or double) per night. For reservations, call the Radisson Hotel Denver Stapleton Plaza at 303-317-3500 or 1-800-333-3333. Be sure to mention the “IIIRM NEPA in Indian Country Workshop” and make your reservation by April 20, 2009, to qualify for the special rate.

Registration Information:
Registration Fee: Early registration (until February 28, 2009) is $395.
After that date registration is $450. Tuition includes morning and afternoon coffee service and one copy of the workshop materials. For information on multiple registrations from one tribe, or other information, call the International Institute for Indigenous Resource Management at 303-744-9686. Please fill out the registration form and send it and your check or purchase order to: IIIRM, 444 South Emerson Street, Denver, CO 80209-2176; or FAX to: 303-744-9808.

The International Institute for Indigenous Resource Management
444 South Emerson Street, Denver, Colorado 80209-2176
Workshop on the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) in Indian Country Radisson Hotel Denver Stapleton Plaza, 3333 Quebec Street, Denver, Colorado March 17-18, 2009

To pay by credit card or electronic check, please call Jeanne Rubin at 303-744-9686. A small on-line convenience fee applies.

If you no longer wish to receive these notices please send an e-mail message with “Unsubscribe” on the Subject line to mervtano@iiirm.org.

Mervyn L. Tano, President
International Institute for Indigenous Resource Management
444 South Emerson Street
Denver, Colorado 80209-2216 U.S.A.
Phone: +1 303-733-0481; FAX: +1 303-744-9808; Mobile: +1 720-341-4755
E-mail: mervtano@iiirm.org; Website: www.iiirm.org

Mervyn L. Tano, President
International Institute for Indigenous Resource Management
444 South Emerson Street
Denver, Colorado 80209-2216 U.S.A.
Phone: +1 303-733-0481; FAX: +1 303-744-9808; Mobile: +1 720-341-4755
E-mail: mervtano@iiirm.org; Website: www.iiirm.org

Native Americans, Race and the Constitution
Friday, February 27, 2009
8:30 – Noon

University of Colorado Law School
Wolf Law building – Room 204
2450 Kittredge Loop Road
Boulder, CO

Tuition $100
3 Gernal and .5 CLE applied for

To register and for more information visit:
http://lawweb.colorado.edu/events/details.jsp?id=1923
or contact Jill Tompkins
jill.tompkins@colorado.edu
(303) 492.8126

Presented by the CU and DU Chapters of the Native American Law Students Association

Native Americans to be honored for their contributions to Indian gaming rights

Six people who have worked to protect and expand Indian gaming rights since the inception of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act 20 years ago will be honored this fall by the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University.

The individuals, named “Pathbreakers” for their leadership in helping tribes achieve economic freedom, will be lauded during a national conference sponsored by the College’s Indian Legal Program. “Indian Country’s Winning Hand: 20 Years of IGRA” will be Thursday and Friday, Oct. 16-17, at the Radisson Fort McDowell Resort & Casino in Scottsdale/Fountain Hills. The Pathbreaker’s Banquet will be Oct. 16 in the resort’s Courtyard Plaza.

Robert Clinton, Foundation Professor of Law and a co-chair of the conference’s planning committee, said Indian gaming has been the “white buffalo of the reservation economies, providing the first successful means of economic self-sufficiency for many tribes since their traditional economies were destroyed or decimated through the processes of non-Indian settlement of their former lands.”

The Pathbreakers, who were selected by their peers on a committee comprising leaders of major Indian gaming organizations and programs, have been in the forefront of efforts to restore tribal self-sufficiency and respect for tribal sovereignty, Clinton said.

“They are modern-day warriors who have successfully and selflessly fought important battles for their people, without any thought of personal gain — the mark of a true tribal leader,” Clinton said. “We are privileged and honored to recognize and celebrate the important work and accomplishments of these Indian Gaming Pathbreakers.”

The six are:
· Frank L. Chaves, Former Chairman, New Mexico Indian Gaming Commission. Chaves has worked on gaming issues with tribal governments in New Mexico for more than 12 years. A member of the Pueblo of Sandia, he served as the director of economic development for the Pueblo and was co-chair of the New Mexico Indian Gaming Association.
· Richard G. Hill Sr., Chairman, Oneida Nation of Wisconsin. For nearly 20 years, the Hill name has been synonymous with Indian gaming and tribal economic development. He is a former chairman and spokesperson for the National Indian Gaming Association (NIGA), and he led a national negotiating team in the 1990s to resolve conflicts over Indian gaming between the states and tribal leaders.
· John A. James, Chairman, Cabazon Band of Mission Indians. James has been at the forefront of Indian gaming in California for several decades, from bringing high-stakes bingo to the Cabazon in the 1980s to developing a premiere gaming destination in Southern California. He also is chairman of the Cabazon’s Business Committee and a former executive secretary of NIGA.
· Mark Macarro, Chairman, Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians. With the support of the California Nations Gaming Association, Macarro served as spokesman for a number of successful Indian gaming ballot initiatives in that state. He represents the Pechanga in the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) and on the board of directors of the NIGA, and is chairman of the Riverside County Sheriff Native American Affairs Commission.
· Clinton M. Pattea, President, Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation. Pattea has served on the Nation’s Tribal Council for more than four decades. Arizona’s success in Indian gaming often is attributed to the visionary leadership of Pattea, who was involved in negotiations in the 1990s with then-Gov. Fife Symington who’d refused to discuss a compact with the Nation.
· Ernest L. Stevens Jr., Chairman, National Indian Gaming Association. First elected in 2001, Stevens is in his fourth term at the IGRA helm. He is a former councilman for the Oneida Nation and former first vice-president and treasurer of the NCAI. Stevens recently received the 2008 Gaming Executive of the Year award from the International Masters of Gaming Law.

The conference is a balanced 20-year retrospective of the successes, failures and impact of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988. The conference sponsors are offering an early registration rate of $350, through Sept. 15; thereafter, the rate is $450, through Oct. 10. Pathbreaker’s Banquet tickets are being sold separately for $100 each, through Oct. 8. To register or order tickets, go to www.law.asu.edu/ilp. For more information, call Darlene Lester at (480) 965-7715.

Homeland Security in Indian Country
http://www.abanet.org/cle/programs/t08hsi1.html

Next Wednesday, July 23, 20081:00 PM – 2:30 PM Eastern 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM Central11:00 AM – 12:30 PM Mountain 10:00 AM – 11:30 AM Pacific

Since 9/11, there has been a number of issues involving the intersection of tribal sovereignty and homeland security. Many reservations are located along the U.S. border and are therefore vital to the efforts of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in securing the nation. DHS now provides funding to tribal governments for this purpose. But despite the fact that tribes have all the same law enforcement and homeland security responsibilities as state governments, 9/11 legislation and administrative policy have not always integrated tribal governments.
Attend this teleconference and live audio webcast to learn about the unique issues tribal governments face in addressing homeland security issues and in working with DHS and the Department of Justice (DOJ). Diane Humetewa will address DOJ’s position on matters affecting homeland security, especially after 9/11. Edward Reina will address Indian Country law enforcement efforts, and the limitations under which tribal police work. Heather Dawn Thompson will address how tribal governments are approaching DOJ, the DHS, and Congress about working together on tribal homeland security issues.

Kirke Kickingbird (Moderator), Chair, IRR Native American Concerns Committee; Of Counsel, Hobbs, Strauss, Dean & Walker, LLP, Oklahoma City, OK

Diane Humetewa, U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona, The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona, Phoenix, AZ

Edward Reina, Director of Public Safety, Tohono O’odham Nation,Sells, AZ

Heather Dawn Thompson, Director of Government Affairs, National Congress of American Indians, Washington, DC