Smith & Jolly News & Updates

Stephen H. and Tammy H. v. Arizona Department of Economic Security et. al., Ariz. Ct. App.

Tue, 15 Jan 2008 20:15:16 GMT

On January 3, 2008, the Court of Appeals for the state of Arizona held that in order to find a child dependent where the Indian Child Welfare Act applies a qualified expert must explicitly state that continued custody by the parents or Indian custodian is likely to result in serious physical or emotional damage to the child. The court also held that if the parents’ or custodians’ behavior is likely to harm the child, the expert must offer an opinion about the parents’ or custodians’ ability to modify their behavior....

Federal Court Decides Yankton Reservation not Disestablished

Fri, 28 Dec 2007 19:21:13 GMT

The Federal Court for the District of South Dakota has held that the Yankton Sioux Reservation has not been disestablished and remains under the jurisdiction of the Tribal and federal governments. The State of South Dakota and Charles Mix County have been arguing that the reservation was disestablished in the 1800s and, therefore, no longer exists.

Osage Nation v. Oklahoma, 10th Cir.

Fri, 28 Dec 2007 19:15:28 GMT

The 10th Circuit has dismissed the State of Oklahoma and the Oklahoma Tax Commission from a lawsuit brought by the Osage Nation to enjoin the state's collection of income tax on members of the Nation. The question in the case involves whether Osage County, which was once the Osage Reservation, constitutes Indian country and precludes Oklahoma's taxation of members' income. Oklahoma currently will only recognize Osage trust land and individual allotments as Indian country....

Progress and Lack Therof on Indigineous Rights Declaration

Fri, 21 Dec 2007 19:25:56 GMT

On September 13, 2007, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples by a vote of 143 in favor, 11 abstaining, and only 4 states voting against it. Of course, it was no surprise that the United States voted against rights for indigenous peoples, including its own Indian peoples, and the votes of New Zealand and Australia were not too out of character either....

House Passes Native Hawaiian Recognition Bill

Thu, 25 Oct 2007 20:31:55 GMT

On Wednesday, October 24, the House of Representatives passed the Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act by a vote of 261-153. The vote was very much along party lines, with every Democrat present except one - Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) - voting in favor of the bill and most Republicans voting against it.

The bill recognizes the right of Native Hawaiians to organize their own government and to negotiate with Hawaii and the United States to determine the governing authority and jurisdiciton of the Native Hawaiian government....

Bush Signs Native American $1 Coin Act

Mon, 24 Sep 2007 19:01:51 GMT

On Thursday, September 20, President Bush signed the Native American $1 Coin Act into law. The Act provides for a new back to the Sacagawea dollar coin to honor Native Americans and their contributions to the United States. A new Indian person or contribution of Indian peoples will be approved each year. The front of the coin will still be of Sacagawea.

Each year, the Department of Treasury will approve a new design in consultation with the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, the House Congressional Native American Caucus, the National Congress of American Indians, the U.S....

United Nations Adopts Indigineous Rights Declaration

Sat, 15 Sep 2007 01:02:44 GMT

After 20 years of negotiations and three decades of drafts, on September 13, the United Nations General Assembly voted 143 to 4 to adopt the Declaration of Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The only countries voting against the Declaration were the United States, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia. Eleven countries abstained from voting.

The Declaration is non-binding, but sets forth major rights for indigenous peoples throughout the world, including rights of self-determination, to be free from discrimination, and to maintain their cultures, societies, languages, and spiritual practices....

Democratic Presidential Candidates Say 'No' to Prez on the Rez

Sun, 22 Jul 2007 01:38:52 GMT

All top three Democratic Presidential candidates have said they will not attend the Prez on the Rez debate to be held at the Morongo Reservation in August. Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton and former Senator John Edwards all turned down the debate, citing scheduling conflicts. On the other hand, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, former Senator Mike Gravel and Congressman Dennis Kucinich all have agreed to attend.

Prez on the Rez is a historic debate - the first ever presidential debate to focus solely on Indian issues and be held in Indian country....

Senate Once Again Looking to Amend IGRA

Mon, 02 Jul 2007 02:55:39 GMT

In response to the D.C. Circuit's decision in CRIT v. NIGC, the Senate is working on a draft amendment to IGRA to, once again, expand the power and authority of the National Indian Gaming Commission ("NIGC"). In CRIT v. NIGC, the D.C. Circuit was the third judicial or quasi-judicial body to instruct the NIGC that it lacks authority to regulate class III gaming. But, of course, the NIGC cannot be satisfied in its unending quest for unfettered and unlimited authority over Indian gaming.

When Congress enacted the IGRA, it carefully struck a balance over the regulation of gaming in Indian country....

Indian Affairs Committee Approves Apology Resolution

Mon, 14 May 2007 22:06:41 GMT

On Thursday, May 10, 2007, the Senate Indian Affairs Committee approved Senate Joint Resolution 4, a resolution which apologizes to Indian peoples for the United States' "official depredations and ill-conceived policies" toward them. The resolution is sponsored by Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS), who is a current candidate in the Republican presidential primaries for the 2008 presidency.

New Attorney

Wed, 02 Jan 2008 02:12:31 GMT

Smith & Jolly, LLC is pleased to announce that Crista L. Echo-Hawk has joined the firm as an Associate Attorney. Crista is a recent graduate of the University of Colorado Law School where she served as Cultural Liaison of the Native American Law Students' Association. Crista clerked at the Native American Rights Fund ("NARF") and was also as a student attorney for the American Indian Law Clinic....

Updated Sites

Sat, 29 Dec 2007 01:50:47 GMT

Smith & Jolly is pleased to announce that it has integrated its law firm and resources websites for easier access and browsing. Now, all of the information and pages on our information and resources website can be accessed from any page on any of Smith & Jolly's websites.

New Attorney

Thu, 01 Nov 2007 19:03:18 GMT

Smith & Jolly, LLC is pleased to announce that Ruth N. Mackey has joined the firm as an Associate Attorney. Ruth is a recent graduate of Boalt Hall School of Law at the University of California, Berkeley where she served as a Senior Supervising Editor of the California Law Review. Ruth helped finalize the Native American Rights Fund's ("NARF") "A Practical Guide to the Indian Child Welfare Act" and has also worked in criminal defense....

New Paralegal

Tue, 23 Oct 2007 17:37:50 GMT

Smith & Jolly, LLC is pleased to announce that Kathy A. Dandurand has joined the firm as a Paralegal. Kat has received formal training in civil litigation and many other areas of the law and will be working with all attorneys of the firm. You can review Ms. Dandurand's resume on our main site.

New Indian Law Updates Search

Wed, 17 Jan 2007 04:00:11 GMT

Smith & Jolly has added a new search feature to its Resources website at info.sjndnlaw.com. Our Indian law updates displayed on our Articles & Writings page can now be searched, including all of our Indian law updates archives. You can find the search feature on the Articles & Writings page, Indian Law Updates Archives pages, and each individual Indian law update page....

New Redesigned Websites

Sat, 16 Dec 2006 04:25:18 GMT

Smith & Jolly is pleased to announce and introduce its new redesigned websites. Both Smith & Jolly's main site at www.sjndnlaw.com and its Resources & Information website at info.sjndnlaw.com have been completely redesigned to provide more accessibility to information and overall better user experience. We hope you enjoy the new site design.

New RSS News Feeds

Thu, 24 Aug 2006 22:47:38 GMT

Smith & Jolly is pleased to announce that it now offers RSS News Feeds for the public. Currently, the firm offers 5 different feeds containing news from Indian country, Indian law updates, and similar information. The feeds are offered free to the public. For more information about the content of each feed and instructions for subscribing, go to our RSS Feed page.

Expanded Resources Website

Thu, 24 Aug 2006 22:46:41 GMT

Smith & Jolly is pleased to announce its new expanded Resources & Information website, which is a subdomain of Smith & Jolly's main website, but related to it. The expanded Resources & Information site contains announcements and news about the law firm, a page with news from Indian Country, articles written by or found of interest by attorneys at the firm, Indian law updates and commentary, and useful Internet links....

New Attorney

Mon, 15 May 2006 22:45:10 GMT

Smith & Jolly, LLC is pleased to announce that Dianne A. Van Voorhees has joined the firm as an Associate. In her career, Dianne has worked in the areas of Indian law, Family Law, Natural Resources, Water Law, Indian Child Welfare, Bankruptcy, and many other areas. As an associate of the firm, Dianne will practice in all areas of Indian law providing both transactional and litigation services. You can review Ms....

New Attorney

Sun, 01 Jan 2006 23:43:54 GMT

Smith & Jolly, LLC is pleased to announce that Dena Silliman Nielson is associating with the firm as Of Counsel. You can review Ms. Nielson's resume on our main site.