Federal Indian Law For Alaska Tribes

BIA Providers Conference

ljaeger — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 19:33:27 +0000

The Bureau of Indian Affairs is offering a large conference for Alaska tribes in Anchorage, November 28 – December 2. A full range of topics will be covered.

http://biaprovidersconference.com/

ANCSA Presentation, Willie and Elizabeth Hensley

ljaeger — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 18:46:29 +0000

There will be a Presentation on ANCSA given by Willie and Elizabeth Hensley at the Schaible Auditorium, UAF, 7:00 PM Thursday, July 7, 2011. It can be watched online at www.alaskalivestream.com

Tribal Court Conference August 9 – 11, 2011

ljaeger — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 18:17:27 +0000

There will be an Alaska Tribal Court Conference held in Fairbanks on August 9 – 11, at the Westmark hotel. The Conference is open to the public for no cost, but may also be taken as a one credit course through the University Tribal Management Program. Contact Lisa Jaeger at lisa.jaeger@tananachiefs.org for more information.

H.R. 1291 Restricting land into trust for Alaska

ljaeger — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 21:00:18 +0000

Representative Cole introduced a bill into the United States Congress that would provide a ‘fix’ to the Indian Reorganization Act due a problem created through the Supreme Court in a decision called Carcieri v. Salazar. However, Representative Don Young had a provision included which would prohibit Alaska Native land from being taken into trust. Currently BIA regulations prohibit this, but this bill would create a statute which would do so. The Bill was introduced on March 31, 2011.

Oneida case and tribal fee land

ljaeger — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 23:56:27 +0000

The United States Supreme Court issued an Order (January 10) on Madison County v. Oneida Nation of New York which basically upholds the idea that the Tribe has sovereign immunity and land cannot be taken away without their consent. This case is much like the Nome Eskimo case (1991) in Alaska where the Alaska Supreme Court held that land could not be taken from Nome Eskimo Community because the IRA provided protection. The important thing about this Oneida case is that the Oneida’s do not have an IRA. The implications of the decision in this case are very good for tribes in Alaska that own land in fee simple title and are not organized under the IRA.

Obama Speaks to Tribes

ljaeger — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 19:02:03 +0000

Obama Speech to Tribes Dec 2010

On December 16, 2010 President Obama met with tribal leaders from across the country. He spoke of progress in terms of increased funding for various programs including BIA Roads, Education, and Tribal Justice. An interesting point he made is that he thinks ALL federally recognized tribes in Alaska should be able to have their lands taken into trust. BIA regulations prohibit that for Alaska tribes….maybe this is the time to work on BIA to change that regulation.

Cobell Settlement

ljaeger — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 00:53:41 +0000

President Obama signed a settlement resolving a 14 year old class-action lawsuit (Cobell v. Salazar) against the federal government for mismanagement of Indian trust accounts. While this is excellent for the Lower 48 tribes that had their funds mismanaged, the settlement basically does not effect Alaska tribes which do not hold Indian trust accounts. However, there will be some sort of settlement for Alaska Native Allotment and restricted townsite lot owners.

http://www.americanindianreport.com/wordpress/2010/12/obama-signs-cobell-settlement/

BIA Providers Conference

ljaeger — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 22:25:25 +0000

The annual BIA Providers Conference will be held at the Egan Center, Anchorage, on November 29 – December 3rd! Lots of training opportunities for tribal governments.