Indian Legal Program Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law: May 2006

This electronic newsletter is sent to Arizona State University College of Law faculty, staff, students, advisory council, alumni, friends of the program, tribal judges, and prospective students. Please let me know if you would like to be taken off this mailing list, know someone who would like to be added, or would like the update sent to a different email account.

Alumni
Doreen Hobson (‘01) and Denise Hobson (’03) are featured in the article below from the Navajo Times.

Green and brown: Navajo-Irish family celebrates both heritages with equal vigor
By Cindy Yurth
Special to the Times

TEMPE, Ariz. – There was Dottie Frances Hobson, Chinle native, typical Navajo mom, sewing a skirt. For her son. “I didn’t know where to start,” said Dottie. “I had to look at pictures on the Internet.” It wasn’t a skirt, actually, it was a kilt. And if you want to tell six-foot-four, 250-pound Andrew Hobson he dresses like a girl, be my guest.

Meet the Art Hobsons of Tempe, a Navajo-Irish family who celebrate both sides of their cultural heritage because, hey, it’s twice the fun. There’s mom Dottie, who still considers herself a traditional Navajo in spite of the fact that she’s learned to drink tea instead of coffee. There’s dad Art, who grew up on the rez as a self-described “BIA brat” and is a great-nephew of pro-independence Irish author Bulmer Hobson. There’s Andrew, 30, a champion of the Highland Games who likes to paint huge canvasses of yeis in his spare time. Sisters Andrea, 34, Doreen, 32, and Denise, 29, can hold their own with a Braemar stone (one of several extremely heavy objects that athletes throw at the Highland Games). But Denise also had her kinaaldá as a teen, and Doreen, an attorney with an Albuquerque law firm, enjoys her job the most when she works with Navajo clients.

It all started in the early 1960s, when young Dottie left Chinle to attend college at the University of Arizona. Hoping to meet other Native Americans, she joined the Indian Students Association. The first person she met at UofA was the club president, a fellow Diné. The second person was his buddy Art, a handsome bilagáana who had grown up in Dinétah and felt more comfortable among the Native students than with other whites. Although she had always told herself she would marry another Navajo, Dottie couldn’t resist Art’s Irish charm. The two were wed in 1967.

With their tall, athletic bodies, open Celtic faces and sparkling black eyes, the Hobson brood is striking, to say the least. When they visit Ireland, they’re mistaken for gypsies. Even here in Arizona, where the races have been mixing pretty freely for centuries, they turn heads. Especially Andrew. “Neesy and I screen his dates for him,” confided Doreen. “People think he protects us, but it’s the other way around.”

Truth be told, Art’s first-generation American parents didn’t make a point of being Irish. “We knew when St. Patrick’s Day was, but other than that, we were your typical rez family,” Art recalled. It was up to the Hobson kids to embrace their Celtic side. Which they did, with a bear hug. Denise, who just earned her law degree, finagled every study trip to Ireland she could. After one of her excursions, she brought back the perfect souvenir – a real live Irishman. Red-headed Jason Ryan is now her husband.

Andrew got recruited into Mesa Community College’s Highland Games as a UofA track star. Last summer he was one of only 10 competitors worldwide to be chosen to compete in the “Clash of the Celtic Giants” at Glenarm Castle in Northern Ireland. He came in fourth, but he stole the show with his exotic looks. “His dad’s Irish, and his mum’s a Navajo Indian,” gushed the BBC announcer. “When they left for Ireland, Andrew was (Highland Games American champion) Ryan Vierra’s sidekick,” noted Doreen. “By the time they came back, Ryan was Andrew’s sidekick.”

Actually, the Hobsons’ two cultures aren’t as far apart as you might think. “When I first went to Ireland, looking around at all the little farms and all the sheep, I thought, ‘This is just like home,’” said Denise. Doreen listed some fetishes common to both the Irish and the Diné: “Blood sausage, Guinness and potatoes.” And Dottie was astounded to tour an Irish castle last year and find a weaving loom not too unlike the one her mother has back in Chinle.

But the links run deeper than that. Both cultures, noted Jason, have been oppressed by foreign powers for centuries and yet managed to keep their music, language and traditions intact. There was enough empathy between Native America and the Emerald Isle that during the Potato Famine, the Choctaw tribe, fresh off the Trail of Tears themselves, raised money for starving Irish families.

Tomorrow, St. Patrick’s Day, will find Irish and Native Americans mingling in Albuquerque as Doreen’s friend Patty (believe it or not, another attorney who competes in the Highland Games) hosts a blowout with live Celtic music, blood sausage and mugs of Guinness. Jason will be the special guest of a local radio station, helping the DJs hand out cabbages and potatoes on the street. And the latest addition to the Hobson clan, 10-month-old Liam Ryan, will be taking it all in with his usual concerned expression. With his red hair and bright blue eyes, little Liam doesn’t show much of his Navajo ancestry, but you can bet he’ll learn about it. At the very least, he’ll never forget his mother’s clan. His middle name is “Kinyaa’áanii.”

2006 Judge Learned Hand Awards Luncheon
A Program of the American Jewish Committee

ASU College of Law Professor Rebecca Tsosie will be honored by the Arizona Chapter of the American Jewish Committee (AJC) with the 2006 Judge Learned Hand Public Service Award.

Honorary Chair Governor Janet Napolitano

Wednesday, March 29, 2006
Hyatt Regency Phoenix
11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.

For more information contact:
The American Jewish Committee
4725 North Scottsdale Road #243
Scottsdale AZ 85251-7622
Phone: 480-970-6363
Fax: 480-970-6464
Email: arizona@ajc.org

Professor Stuart Banner Public Lecture and Book Signing
"How the Indians Lost Their Land"

Monday, April 3, 2006
6:00 p.m.
Public Lecture and Book Signing

Arizona State University
College of Law
Room 116

Stuart Banner, Professor at UCLA School of Law, will discuss his new book "How the Indians Lost Their Land: Law and Power on the Frontier."

Between the early seventeenth century and the early twentieth, nearly all the land in the United States was transferred from American Indians to whites. This dramatic transformation has been understood in two very different ways--as a series of consensual transactions, but also as a process of violent conquest. Both views cannot be correct. How did Indians actually lose their land?

Stuart Banner provides the first comprehensive answer. He argues that neither simple coercion nor simple consent reflects the complicated legal history of land transfers. Instead, time, place, and the balance of power between Indians and settlers decided the outcome of land struggles. As whites' power grew, they were able to establish the legal institutions and the rules by which land transactions would be made and enforced.

This story of America's colonization remains a story of power, but a more complex kind of power than historians have acknowledged. It is a story in which military force was less important than the power to shape the legal framework within which land would be owned. As a result, white Americans--from eastern cities to the western frontiers--could believe they were buying land from the Indians the same way they bought land from one another. How the Indians Lost Their Land dramatically reveals how subtle changes in the law can determine the fate of a nation, and our understanding of the past.

ILP Alumni & Friends Breakfast
Thursday, April 6, 2006 at 7:30 a.m. – Albuquerque Marriott - Albuquerque, New Mexico
The breakfast will be held the first morning of the Federal Bar Association’s Indian Law Conference. Come visit with old friends and professors and meet the new law students.

Cohen's Handbook: Treatise or Brief?
Saturday, April 8, 2006 from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
On the Saturday after the Federal Bar Association’s Indian Law Conference we are co-sponsoring a conference with AILC and UNM. Please visit the link below for more information. http://lawschool.unm.edu/announcements/indian-law-symposium/symposium.php

To date, the following outstanding scholars and practitioners have confirmed their participation in the Cohen Handbook symposium:

* Judge William C. Canby, Jr.
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
* Philip S. (Sam) Deloria
Director, American Indian Law Center, Inc.
* Professor Philip P. Frickey,
University of California at Berkeley
School of Law - Boalt Hall
* Professor Carole Goldberg
UCLA School of Law
* Professor Kevin Gover
Arizona State University College of Law
* Professor John P. LaVelle
University of New Mexico School of Law
* Dean Nell Jessup Newton,
University of Connecticut School of Law,
Editor-in-Chief of the 2005 Edition
* Professor Joseph William Singer
Harvard Law School

Second Annual Southwest Indian Law & Policy Forum
The Marshall Model and the New Supreme Court
The University of Arizona
March 24, 2005
1:00 P.M. to 6:00 P.M.
Law School Room 139

This year's Southwest Indian Law and Policy Forum will focus on the new U.S. Supreme Court and the implications for Indian country. It is an important time to review the probability of success with the current Court using long standing legal strategies, such as the Marshall model, and consider other tactics that are either new or have not worked with previous courts. Valuable perspectives will be included from the tribes, state, international arena, U.S. Supreme Court, state courts, tribal courts, academia, Indian law practitioners, Indian country's non governmental organizations, other professionals doing business with and for tribes, and the general Native American community. We hope to provide a forum where the community can share their experiences and begin a dialogue on solutions to these and other issues currently facing Native America.

As this event is a vehicle to disseminate the work in academia to the tribes for practical use, we strongly welcome the surrounding community and those working outside of academia. We strive to sew a discussion between perspectives from a variety of angles, expertise, and backgrounds, including non-academic and professional. We hope this interdisciplinary discussion will inform participants of problematic issues they would not have seen from the confines of their discipline and create the space for novel solutions. Thus, we hope the dialogue will inform policy and verse policymakers on important considerations, providing instruction for more holistic approaches.

Discussion with:

NGO Perspective: John Echohawk, Executive Director, Native American Rights Fund
Indian Community Perspective: Phillip S. Deloria, Director, American Indian Law Center
State Perspective: Congressman Grijalva, Ariz. District 7
Tribal Perspective: Justice Lorene Ferguson, Navajo Supreme Court
Practitioner Perspective: Thomas E Luebben, Luebben Johnson & Barnhouse LLP
Academic Perspective: Raymond D. Austin, Former Navajo Supreme Court Justice, Adjunct Professor, Univ. of Arizona
Tribal Court Perspective: Judge Violet Lui-Frank, Tohono O'odham Court
International Perspective: James C. Hopkins, Professor, Indigenous Peoples Law & Policy Program, Univ. of Arizona
Federal Courts Perspective: James Riding In, Professor, Arizona State Univ., Snowbowl/SF Peaks case

Masters of Legal Studies at Arizona State University College Of Law

Do you know someone who wants to learn more about Indian Law but does not want to become an attorney?

The Masters of Legal Studies (“MLS”) program at ASU College of Law is currently accepting applications for the fall semester. MLS students can achieve a basic familiarity with legal thought and explore the relation of law, including Federal Indian Law, to their ongoing fields of work or scholarship.

The MLS program consists of a minimum of 30 semester hours of approved study. By way of introduction to legal methodology and reasoning, each MLS candidate will be required to choose at least two of the following basic first year law courses—Contracts, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law, Property, and Torts. Candidates will additionally choose either Legal Process, Legislation, or Jurisprudence in order to include a broad perspectives course in their curriculum. These core courses will provide 10 to 12 of the requisite 30 credit hours. The remainder of the credit hours are electives and could include such courses as Federal Indian Law I, Federal Indian Law II, Cultural Resources, Tribal Law and Government, Economic Development in Indian Country, Litigating Indian Rights, Gaming Law and American Indian Health Policy. A thesis is not required.

To begin this graduate-level program, students must have earned an undergraduate degree from an accredited four-year college or university in the United States or a comparable degree from a foreign institution. All applicants must submit official transcripts of their undergraduate and graduate degree studies, a personal statement, a writing sample, and two letters of recommendation. Criteria for admission include prior academic experience, recommendations by professors and/or employers, employment and life experience, and evidence of potential for success. Graduate school entrance exams (e.g., LSAT, GRE, GMAT, etc) are NOT required. Online applications for the MLS are available at http://www.law.asu.edu/mls

For additional information please contact Ann Marie Downes, Director of ILP Graduate Programs at ann.m.downes@asu.edu or 480.727.0616.

Kennedy School Launches Native American Public Service Fellowship
Cambridge, MA. Harvard's Kennedy School of Government has announced a new full-tuition Native American Public Service Fellowship (NAPSF), to be awarded to an individual who has demonstrated commitment to matters of concern to Native American tribes. Areas of focus may include (but are not limited to) tribal self-governance and policy.

The fellowship carries a $7,500 annual stipend (and Kennedy School Summer Program fees where applicable) and will be awarded to an entering full-time student in any of the School's master's degree programs for either one or two years depending on the length of the incumbent's academic program. Recipients agree to accept employment in some form of public service directly benefiting Native Americans for a minimum of three years immediately following completion of the Kennedy School degree.

"Native American tribes and communities face unique opportunities and challenges, relating to education, health policy, economic growth, and housing," said Kennedy School Dean David Ellwood. "This fellowship is another way that Harvard and the Kennedy School can help serve them as they grow and change in the years ahead." Joe Kalt, co-director of the Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development (HPAIED) said, "The development of successful tribal self-governance on Indian lands has improved the lives of many Native Americans, and this new fellowship at the Kennedy School will provide additional human resources on the ground in many areas, to help advance this encouraging trend."

Native American candidates for the fellowship will be given preference in the selection process. The selections will be made by a committee consisting of a Harvard faculty member, the Kennedy School's directors of Financial Aid and Admissions, the director of Harvard University's Native American Program and a student representative of the Kennedy School's Native American Caucus.

Applications for the inaugural NAPSF may be submitted through April 7, 2006 and should consist of a current resume, a brief statement of particular qualifications and purposes, and where applicable, proof of tribal enrollment. For more information, please visit: http://www.ksg.harvard.edu/financialaid/

Free Indian Country Child Custody, Support & Visitation Conference
The Office on Violence Against Women, United States Department of Justice and the National Tribal Trial College are sponsoring a free 3 day conference on Litigation and Enforcement of Child Custody, Child Support, and Visitation Orders in Minneapolis on May 23 - 25, 2006.

Participants will learn how Native survivors of domestic violence can:

Win custody of their children
Collect child support
Keep their children safe during visitation

The 3 day interactive course will build legal and advocacy skills to increase safety and economic justice for battered Native women and their children. Leading attorneys and advocates from Indian Country will facilitate small breakout groups to allow participants to discuss and problem sovle cutting edge legal and advocacy issues.

Faculty will include: Hon. Mel Stoof (Lakota Sicangu), Genvieve James (Dine), Sandy Davidson (Annishinable/White Earth), Cheryl Neskahi Coan (Dine), Prof. Kelly Gaines-Stoner (Oklahoma City University School of Law), Deb Blossom (Shoshone-Paiute), Sarah Michele Martin (Chief Advocate, Tohono O'odham Nation), Jeremy NeVilles Sorell (White Earth), Jim White (Citizen Potawatomi Nation), and more.

Registration is free. Register on-line at http://www.swclap.org/nttc_conf.htm or by calling Arlene O'Brien at 520-623-8192. Registration closes April 27, 2006.

A discounted room rate of $113 for singles/doubles is available at the Crowne Plaza Northstar, 618 Second Avenue South, Minneapolis, Minnesota. Hotel reservations for the National Tribal Trial College discounted room rate may be made no later than April 27th by calling 1-800-556-7827 or 612-338-2288.

Free Continuing Legal Education is available for most jurisdictions. For more information, please visit our website at www.swclap.org or call us at 520-623-8192. Certificates of attendance will be issued to all participants completing the training.

Hallie Bongar White
Executive Director
Southwest Center for Law and Policy
4055 E. 5th Street
Tucson, Arizona 85711-1940
Tel: (520) 623-8192
Fax: (520) 623-8246
Website: www.swclap.org

JOBS

Arizona State University
Policy Center Coordinator Position
Deadline: Friday, March 24, 2006

Title: Coordinator

Job Code: 091406
FLSA: E
Job Family: 1A

Prime Functions:

Under general supervision, plans, organizes and coordinates activities, functions and programs in accordance with priorities, time limitations, funding limitations or other specifications.

Duties and Responsibilities:

* Develops and schedules a program/event work plan in accordance with specifications, objectives and funding limitations.
* May supervise, train and evaluate assigned staff.
* Prepares budget proposals and recommendations and establishes budget control system for controlling expenditures; controls expenditures in accordance with budget allocations; recommends equipment and resources for function/program.
* Performs tasks related to specific function/program assigned, such as tracking event attendance, development of brochures or other unique projects.
* Represents the college/department and serves on various department and university committees.
* Interacts and maintains liaison with students, faculty, staff and outside/community agencies in facilitating program objectives.
* Develops and facilitates workshops, meetings or conferences with high impact on program and/or participants; coordinates logistics, scheduling and participant communications.
* Provides leadership training and organizational management opportunities through workshops and seminars to targeted groups.
* Schedules facility and services for use by campus and outside organizations.
* Maintains direct contact with personnel of various outside organizations and university departments associated with scheduled function/program.
* Represents the college/department and serves on various department and university committees.
* Attends seminars, workshops and conferences.
* Provides assistance and information to faculty, staff and outside organizations regarding function/program.
* Serves as a representative to ensure all aspects of function/program are implemented and controlled according to plans.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

* Knowledge of issues pertaining to area of assignment.
* Knowledge of budgeting and accounting principles.
* Knowledge of basic project management.
* Knowledge of supervisory practices and principles.
* Skill in budget preparation and forecasting.
* Skill in coordinating and prioritizing work and activities of self and others.
* Skill in establishing and maintaining effective working relationships.
* Skill in both verbal and written communication.

Minimum Qualifications:

Bachelor's degree in a field appropriate to the area of assignment and three years of related experience; OR, Any equivalent combination of education and/or experience from which comparable knowledge, skills and abilities have been achieved.

- - - - - - - -
There is a vacancy in the Crownpoint, New Mexico District Office.

Position: Attorney

Requirements: Licensed in one of four states: AZ, NM, CO, or UT and a member of the Navajo Nation Bar Association or willing to take the next NNBA exam. Applicant must have at least two (2) years of professional legal experience, preferably in criminal law or public defender work.

Contact:

Kathleen Bowman, Director/Attorney

Office of Navajo Public Defender

P. O. Box 3210

Window Rock, AZ 86515-3210

Telephone No. (928) 871-6370

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

POSITION TITLE: Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation's General Counsel

Department: Tribal Attorney’s Office

Reports to: Tribal Council

Definition/Purpose:
Oversee and manage the office of the Tribal Attorney. Provide legal advice to the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation Tribal Council, tribal departments and economic enterprises. Represent the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation in matters brought in state and Federal court.

Essential Functions:
Essential functions may include the following tasks, knowledge, skills and other characteristics. This list of tasks is ILLUSTRATIVE ONLY, and is not a comprehensive listing of all functions and tasks performed by positions in this class.

Tasks:

Manages staff of the Tribal Attorney’s Office; supervises, assigns and reviews work of subordinate staff; provides/oversees staff training; prepares and presents budget; monitors expenditures; makes purchasing/procurement recommendations; oversees operation of the Legal Advocate office and staff; works at hours and times outside of normal business hours and days.

Serves as legal advisor to the tribal council, tribal government departments and economic enterprises; provides legal advice and analysis of tribal, state and Federal laws and regulations; drafts and revises the Tribal Constitution, Law and Order Code, other tribal laws, ordinances, and policies; drafts, reviews and recommends changes to contracts; reviews other agreements, proposals; represents the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation in state and Federal court actions; performs other duties as assigned or required.

Knowledge/Skills:

· Knowledge of the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation Constitution, Law and Order Code, Arizona Revised Statutes, Federal Indian Law, Indian Civil Rights Act, Indian Child Welfare Act,

· Knowledge of Indian Gaming Regulatory Law,

· Knowledge of Tribal Case Law, Federal Rules of Evidence;

· Knowledge of contract and employment law;

· Knowledge of state and Federal court protocol, proceedings, and practices;

· Knowledge of legal research utilizing books and electronic research systems;

· Knowledge of the principles of management, administration, supervision;

· Knowledge of the principles of budget, personnel management and record keeping;

· Skill in interpreting and applying complex laws, statutes, ordinances, and rules;

· Skill in drafting complex court orders;

· Skill in managing a high case load consisting of a variety of case types;

· Skill in utilizing a computer and in software capable of word processing;

· Skill in establishing and maintaining effective and cooperative working relationships with other departments of the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation, state and Federal officials, departments, and agencies.

Minimum Qualifications/Education:
An attorney licensed to practice law in the State of Arizona or an attorney who possesses a license to practice law in another state and obtains a license to practice law in the State of Arizona within 12 months of hire. Three years of experience as a trial attorney or advocate that included administrative/management and/or supervisory responsibilities.

PAY RATE: $115,951.85 to $139,142.21 Per Annum (DOE)

POSITION STATUS: Regular, Full-Time

OPEN DATE: March 9, 2006

CLOSE DATE: Open until filled

SUBMIT APPLICATION TO:
Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation Human Resources Dept.
Attention: Recruiter
PO Box 17779
Fountain Hills, AZ 85269
Phone: 480-816-7119
Fax: 480-816-0419
E-Mail: Leslie Garraway

INDIAN PREFERENCE:
Preference will be given to qualified applicants who are members of federally recognized Indian tribes. To be considered for Indian Preference, you must submit your Certificate of Indian Blood (CIB) with your application.

For more information about the Indian Legal Program, contact:

Kate Rosier, Director
Indian Legal Program
The College of Law
Arizona State University
(480) 965-6204
www.law.asu.edu

Indian Legal Program
Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law

Tuesday, May 02, 2006

SAVE THE DATE!

Monday, May 01, 2006

Professor Tsosie Publishes New Chapter

NALSA 2006 Graduation

ASU ILP Update -- March 31, 2006

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