Indigenous Governance Database
jurisdiction
Emergence of a Distinct Legal Identity From the Forces of Assimilation: The Mesquakie Indians and the Fight for Citizenship, 1842-1912
This paper, “Emergence of a Distinct Legal Identity From the Forces of Assimilation: The Mesquakie Indians and the Fight for Citizenship” presents a close examination of the various legal disputes that led to Mesquakie citizenship. Among these disputes are a few cases that intersect with parents’…
Native Nation Building and the CARES Act
On June 10, 2020 the Native Nations Institute hosted an a online panel discussion with Chairman Bryan Newland of the Bay Mills Indian Community, Councilwoman Herminia Frias of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe, and hosted by Karen Diver the former Chair of the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa and…
Westbank First Nation: Jurisdiction/Territory Excerpt
2. Aboriginal Rights and Title 2.1 Westbank is part of the Okanagan Nation which has occupied and benefited from Okanagan traditional territory since time immemorial. 2.2 Westbank has never ceded, surrendered, or in any way relinquished aboriginal title and will continue to assert its interests…
Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation: Jurisdiction/Territory Excerpt
ARTICLE I - TERRITORY AND JURISDICTION Section 1. The authority and jurisdiction of the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation shall extend to the fullest extent possible, including, without limitation, (a) to any and all persons, including non-members and members of the Prairie Band …
Matthew Fletcher: Defining Citizenship: Blood Quantum vs. Descendancy
Michigan State University Law Professor Matthew Fletcher compares and contrasts between Anishinaabe conceptions of citizenship and belonging historically and today, and proposes that conference participants consider taking some innovative approaches to redefining citizenship that address the…
Tribe asserts DV jurisdiction over non-Indians
The U.S. Department of Justice has reported that American Indian women “are more than 2.5 more likely to be raped or sexually assaulted than women in the USA in general”. The DOJ also reports, per its Bureau of Justice Statistics, that at least 70 percent of the “violent victimizations experienced…
The Unintended Consequences of Disenrollment
For most of the modern tribal self-determination era, American Indian nations have emphasized inclusion. Starting in the early 1970s, higher tribal membership numbers equated to higher federal self-determination dollars. As tribes otherwise redoubled their efforts to reverse the destruction caused…
Cast-off State Parks Thrive Under Tribal Control, But Not Without Some Struggle
Rick Geisler, manager of Wah-Sha-She Park in Osage County, stands on the shore of Hula Lake. When budget cuts led the Oklahoma tourism department to find new homes for seven state parks in 2011, two of them went to Native American tribes. Both are open and doing well, but each has faced its own…
Supplemental Recommendations of Tribal Leaders on the President's State, Local, and Tribal Leaders Task Force on Climate Preparedness and Resilience
Tribes and Alaska Native Villages feel the effects of a changing climate in ways that are unique to their ways of life, geography, and relationships with the Federal Government. According to the National Climate Assessment, “the consequences of observed and projected climate change impacts have and…
President's State, Local, and Tribal Leaders Task Force on Climate Preparedness and Resilience: Recommendations to the President
As the Third National Climate Assessment makes clear, climate change is already affecting communities in every region of the country as well as key sectors of the economy. Recent events like Hurricane Sandy in the Northeast, flooding throughout the Midwest, and severe drought in the West have…