Law: DOMA is not a tribal issue - Passing a tribal ordinance to grant marriage licenses to same-sex couples is grandstanding because the stated purpose can be accomplished without defying federal law. And it puts tribal sovereignty at risk by inviting a federal lawsuit that would further erode the sovereignty of all tribes. Same-Sex couples in Washington state have been getting married since the 1970s. The real issue is the marriage license. Even here, the issue is not about real inequality, since, gay or straight, we all have precisely the same rights. As every tribal council knows, benefits can be extended to non-member partners (married or not, same-sex or not) by a tribal resolution under the principle of "close socio-economic ties." In this way, tribes can confer legal recognition on same-sex marriages without defying DOMA, and without putting the tribal sovereignty of all tribes at risk.

Law: Leaders Place New Emphasis on Indian Perspective - The National Congress of American Indians (NCAI), the National Indian Gaming Association (NIGA), and the United South and Eastern Tribes (USET) all shared the same overlapping concerns in 2011 – the (priority) of seeking land restoration through a "clean Carcieri fix," the four "e’s" – economic development, education, energy, and the environment – taxation issues, Internet gaming, and the perennial concern with protecting sovereignty. But a different tone entered the discourse in 2011 as leaders began to place a new emphasis on seeing and addressing issues and relationships from an Indian perspective – a perspective detailed in the U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Law: Not a Good Year for Indian Country in the Courts or Congress - The year began with a ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit giving a Michigan resident standing to sue the Interior Department for taking land into trust for the Gun Lake Tribe. A coalition filed a Carcieri challenge to block the federal government’s decision to take 152 acres of land into trust as an initial reservation for the Cowlitz Indian Tribe. Congress failed to pass a clean Carcieri fix. Congress passed the Nation Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which will give the president unilateral authority to detain anyone indefinitely without charge or trial. Senators Dianne Feinstein and John McCain introduced bills that would make it almost impossible to take off-reservation land into trust. And the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a decision denying justice to the Oneida Indian Nation for more than 260,000 acres stolen by the State of New York.

Law: $30 million jury award against tribe that owns Red Hawk Casino - A jury has awarded $30 million to the former business partner of the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians, which owns Red Hawk Casino. The tribe argued that because of sovereign immunity it couldn't be sued. The court disagreed, and the lawsuit went ahead. By law, said Dennis Whittlesey, a Washington lawyer who specializes in tribal gaming issues, Sharp Image can't seize tribal property, including the casino itself. On the other hand, said Nelson Rose, an Indian gaming law expert at Whittier College, the tribe can't simply escape the claim.

Law: Stage could be set for fight on Mdewakanton land trust request - A U.S. Supreme Court decision, Carcieri vs. Salazar — limiting the federal government’s authority to place land in trust to tribes under federal jurisdiction before a 1934 federal act — could come into play as the Shakopee Mdewakanton Dakota Community seeks to place an additional 156 acres of land into federal trust.

Law: Supreme Court agrees to review fee-to-trust decision - December 12, 2011, the Supreme Court granted the petitions to review the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals decision in Patchak v. Salazar. The Secretary of Interior accepted 147 acres of fee land in Wayland Township, Michigan, into trust in 2009 for gaming purposes. Patchak, a neighboring land owner, challenged the Secretary's decision on the ground that the Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians was not under federal jurisdiction as of the date the IRA was enacted, as required pursuant to the Supreme Court's 2009 decision in Carcieri v. Salazar.

Law: Job Creators Paralyzed by Supreme Court’s Carcieri Decision - The uncertainty created by the Carcieri decision paralyzes economic development because banks and other financing sources are hesitant to back tribal businesses; it is impossible to tell whether a tribe will be affected by the Carcieri ruling.

Law: Northwest Gaming Law Summit Focuses On Indian Country - At the 9th Annual Northwest Gaming Law Summit held in Seattle last Thursday and Friday, several speakers also discussed the ongoing failure of Congress to implement a fix to the Carcieri decision, which has been the subject matter of several articles by Dennis Whittlesey in prior editions of this newsletter.

Law: Carcieri: Indian Country’s ‘Number One Priority’

Law: New Law Attempts to Bring Justice to Indian Country

Law: Knowledge Is Power: Plenary Power Is False

Law: Towards a Carcieri Fix - Are We There Yet?

Carcieri: Resolving Carcieri crisis would create jobs, cost taxpayers nothing

Law: Tribal courts lack power over non-Indian abusers

NIGA Meeting Echoes Urgency to 'Fix Carcieri'

Reversing trust land decision is Obama administration's top priority for Indian Country

Supreme Court ruling on tribal trust land needs remedy

The Political Economy of the Carcieri Fix

Woman behind Cobell Indian trust case remembered for grit