Joe Sexton, Yakama Nation Present to Society for American Archaeology Re: Kennewick Man

On Saturday, Joe Sextion presented, along with Yakama Nation Leadership, at the Society for American Archaeology's 83rd Annual Meeting in Washington, DC, regarding: "The Cultural Affiliation of the Ancient One (Kennewick Man)." According to the program description:

The Colville, Nez Perce, Umatilla, Wanapum, and Yakama utilized NAGPRA’s preponderance of evidence standard to demonstrate a relationship of shared group identity with the Ancient One. The tribe’s proactive approach with collaborative partners overcame the hegemonic ideology of a federal agency to repatriate the Ancient One for his final journey to the Creator. For over twenty years, the Claimant Tribes asserted their cultural affiliation. Our purpose here is to illustrate that, although he was repatriated under the WIIN Act of 2016, there does exist evidence of a shared group identity based upon all available, population specific data for the Columbia Plateau. This information provided the evidentiary basis for the identification of an earlier group and cultural affiliation to the Claimant Tribes. The Ancient One falls within the variability exhibited at the same time period and throughout time on the Columbia Plateau. He was not outside of the norm for the population existing during the Early Cascade period and for the populations that followed for which he has a shared group identity. The Claimant Tribes are in fact culturally affiliated to the Ancient One and have never signed anything that legally says they are not.

Joe Sexton is Of Counsel with Galanda Broadman, PLLC.  Joe’s practice focuses on tribal sovereignty issues, including complex land and environmental issues, and economic development matters.  He can be reached at (509) 910-8842 and joe@galandbroadman.com.

Bree Black Horse Elected to National Native Bar Association Board

At its Annual Meeting on April 4th in Scottsdale, Arizona, the National Native American Bar Association (NNABA) elected Bree Black Horse to its Board of Directors.  Bree will serve a two-year term as an at-large member of the Board.

Bree, at center, with Lloyd Miller, Heather Kendall-Miller, Gabe Galanda and Eric Eberhard, at the FBA Annual Indian Law Conference in Scottsdale on April 4

Bree is an associate in the Seattle office of Galanda Broadman and an enrolled member of the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma.  Her practice focuses on defending individuals’ civil rights in federal, state and tribal courts. She can be reached at (206) 735-0448 or bree@galandabroadman.com.

Bree Black Horse Featured in Seattle Times #MeToo Story: "Us Too"

Bree Black Horse is featured in a Seattle Times Pacific NW Magazine story (here) regarding "the different ways women from minority and marginalized populations connect with the #MeToo movement’s outpouring of stories about sexual harassment and violence."

Described as "a rising Native American attorney in Seattle" and "a legal advocate for indigenous women at the law firm Galanda Broadman," Bree explains the "crisis of domestic violence and sexual assault against women in Indian country."

Black Horse points out that while over two-thirds of violence against indigenous women happens at the hands of nonnative men, it has been difficult for tribal courts to prosecute nonnative people accused of assault on reservation land.

She’s pushing for greater attention to the disappearance and killing of indigenous women, including Muckleshoot tribal member Renee Davis, who was fatally shot by King County deputies in 2016. Davis was pregnant at the time.

She says it’s also important for indigenous communities to address the other sad fact that indigenous men are responsible for a significant portion of harassment and violence against native women.

Bree's "been talking to her mom a lot about the traditional importance of women within families as well as in tribal ceremonial functions, and how that high esteem has been eroded by European influence."

Black Horse wants to retrieve what has been lost.

“I think it’s time for us to come together as a people and return to those traditional values,” she says. “I want us to remember who we are.”

Bree is an associate in the Seattle office of Galanda Broadman and an enrolled member of the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma.  Her practice focuses on defending individuals’ civil rights in federal, state and tribal courts. She can be reached at (206) 735-0448 or bree@galandabroadman.com.

Gabe Galanda to Talk Lawyer Ethics/Disenrollment at NNABA Annual Meeting

On Wednesday, April 4, 2017, at the National Native American Bar Association's (NNABA) Annual Meeting, which is being held in conjunction with the Federal Bar Association's 2018 Indian Law Conference, Gabe Galanda will deliver the "Update on NNABA Formal Ethics Opinion No. 1: 'Ensuring Due Process For All Native Americans Targeted For Disenrollment.'"

NNABA adopted Formal Ethics Opinion No. 1 in 2015 in reaction to the tribal disenrollment epidemic and, in particular, "to remind lawyers and any bar associations to which they belong that lawyers’ ethical obligations to their licensing jurisdictions do not stop at reservation boundaries."

Disenrollment scholars have cited lawyer involvement in disenrollment crusades, and the resulting void in due process at law, as a contributing cause of the epidemic.  As Dr. David Wilkins wrote in his seminal book, Dismembered: Native Disenrollment and the Battle for Human Rights:

Certain recurrent themes became evident in the course of examining these and other [disenrollments, including] the powerful role played by lawyers who work for tribal governments....

Lawyers were cited several times as being the culprits in crafting disenrollment policies, revising enrollment procedures to make it easier to disenroll, and in pursuing lawsuits that enrich law firm coffers while financially crippling those facing disenrollment.

Although disenrollment seems to be waning nationally, thanks in significant part to NNABA's ethics position according to Dr. Wilkins, the unethical lawyer dynamics that he identifies, persist in certain ongoing disenrollment sagas and in other tribal contexts.

Lawyers, especially Big Law attorneys, continue to draft tribal resolutions and ordinances that deny due process to disenrollees (here, for example); and to cause "the tribe" to otherwise violate indigenous human rights. Those lawyers, including Native attorneys, forsake their ethics and morals in order to "save the tribal client" and the lucrative billable hours--and salaries and bonuses--that comes with tribes as clients. Those lawyers give dishonest--even illegal--advice, rather than difficult, ethical advice. Those lawyers sell snake oil to the tribal client.

And those shady lawyer dynamics are not unique to disenrollment. They exist in "intra-tribal" leadership disputes, too.  There, the lawyers count votes on Tribal Council or otherwise handicap which faction will win; place their bets on that faction; and then aid and abet that's faction illegality. Because that faction controls the tribal treasury, the lawyers' bets generally don't fail.

With state bar disciplinary bodies still finding their way in Indian Country, this unethical lawyering occurs way too frequently within tribal communities. But with the likes of NNABA shining a bright light on such lawyer malfeasance, there is hope that those lawyers will eventually be rooted out.

Gabriel S. Galanda is the managing lawyer of Galanda Broadman, PLLC, in Seattle. Gabe is a descendant of the Nomlaki and Concow Tribes, belonging to the Round Valley Indian Tribes of Northern California.  He can be reached at (206) 300-7801 or gabe@galandabroadman.com.

How Doth Bob Kelly Disenroll Thee? Let Me Count the Stays

Bob Kelly has written the Nooksack 306, announcing that the interim "Tribal Council officially removed your name from the roll book of currently enrolled members of the Nooksack Indian Tribe." 

The 306 have been "officially" disenrolled, without any notice or due process whatsoever.

This time there wasn't even a 1-800 disenrollment hotline to call.  

The 306 can now only seek "reconsideration."  Fait accompli.

Kelly cites a recently "ratified and reaffirmed" council resolution from 2016, which was, and remains, invalidated by the United States. 

With grand delusion, he also cites "the movement against the concept of disenrollment to turn the Tribal Court system into a constitutional court"--in other words, the cries of indigenous peoples for normative due process and equal protection at law.  Huh? 

Anyway, a federally invalidated tribal council resolution cannot be tribally "ratified and reaffirmed," especially by an interim council that lacks a constitutional quorum.

Crucially, the Kelly Faction stands in further violation of each of the following ten federal administrative stays and related Tribal Court and Court of Appeals injunctions.  It is hard to fathom how anybody could be more enjoined than the Kelly Faction at the moment. 

• St. Germain v. Acting N.W. Reg’l Dir., 17 IBIA No.16-022 (Bd. of Indian App. 2016) (Appealing “whether the Superintendent and Regional Director approved the Tribe’s proposed amend to Title 63 in accordance with the administrative rules, procedures, and laws that direct BIA decision making.”); 

• 43 C.F.R. § 4.314(a) (2004) (“No decision of an administrative law judge, Indian probate judge, or BIA official that at the time of its rendition is subject to appeal to the Board, will be considered final . . . .”); 

• 25 C.F.R. § 2.6(a) (1989) (“No decision, which at the time of its rendition is subject to appeal to a superior authority in the Department, shall be considered final . . . .”); 

• 25 C.F.R. § 2.6(b) (1989) (“Decisions made by officials of the Bureau of Indian Affairs shall be effective when the time for filing a notice of appeal has expired and no notice of appeal has been filed.”); 

• Order at 2, Michelle Roberts, et al., v. Robert Kelly, et al., No. 2013-CI-CL-003 and Belmont, et al, v. Kelly, et al., No. 2014-CI-CL-007, (Nooksack Tribal Ct. Feb. 26, 2015) ("the Parties shall maintain the status quo . . . until a decision approving Title 63 becomes final for the Department of the Interior pursuant to 25 C.F.R. § 2.6."); 

• Opinion at 9, Michelle Roberts, et al., v. Robert Kelly, et al., No. 2013- CI-CL-003 (Nooksack Tribal App. Ct. Mar. 18, 2014) (“[T]hese procedures were not properly adopted in accordance with the strict requirements of the Nooksack Constitution, and any procedural rules governing disenrollment proceedings must be adopted by ordinance and the ordinance approved by the Secretary of the Interior as provided for in the Nooksack Constitution.”); 

• Decision and Order Granting Plaintiffs’ Motion for Preliminary Injunction, Belmont et al, v. Kelly, et al., No. 214-CI-CL-007 (Nooksack Tribal Ct. June 12, 2014) (granting Plaintiff’s motion for preliminary injunction holding “[t]his approach appears to be an attempt to circumvent the very clear holdings of the Court of Appeals that disenrollment procedures . . . must be approved by the Secretary of the Interior . . . .”); 

• Order Enjoining Disenrollment Proceedings, Michelle Roberts, et al., v. Robert Kelly, et al., No. 2013-CI-CL-003 (Nooksack Tribal Ct. Mar. 31, 2014) (Court “hereby issues a permanent injunction against the Defendants enjoining them from undertaking disenrollment proceedings . . . .”); 

• Second Order Granting Request to Join April 15, 2016, Motion and Be Subject to June 28, 2016, Order, Belmont, et al, v. Kelly, et al., No. 2014-CI-CL-007 (Nooksack Tribal App. Ct. Sept. 28, 2016) (order granting Formal Indications to 127 more plaintiffs regarding Nooksack Tribal Court June 28, Order); and 

• Order Granting Requests to Join April 15, 2016, Motion and Be Subject to June 28, 2016, Order, Belmont, et al, v. Kelly, et al., No. 2014-CI-CL-007 (Nooksack Tribal App. Ct. Sept. 21, 2016) (order granting Formal Indications to 17 plaintiffs regarding Nooksack Tribal Court June 28, 2016 Order). 

The 306 could also seek contempt of court from the Nooksack Tribal Court.  But with fake judge Ray Dodge still holding his finger down on the scales of justice in Deming, that isn't an option.

Still, the 306 belong, and intend to stay right where they belong: at Nooksack and in Deming.

Gabriel S. Galanda is the managing lawyer of Galanda Broadman, PLLC, in Seattle. Gabe is a descendant of the Nomlaki and Concow Tribes, belonging to the Round Valley Indian Tribes of Northern California.  He can be reached at (206) 300-7801 or gabe@galandabroadman.com.

Galanda Broadman Adds Professor Robert Hershey As Of Counsel

Professor Robert Hershey will serve as Of Counsel with Galanda Broadman and bring decades of Indian country legal experience to the growing firm.  

Robert is Clinical Professor of Law Emeritus and was the founding Director and immediate past Director of Clinical Education for the Indigenous Peoples Law & Policy Program at the University of Arizona. He practices out of Tucson, Arizona.

“Galanda Broadman exemplifies a dedication and diligence toward genuine self-determination of Native American and Indigenous societies. Their attorneys have heightened and heartfelt experiences of professional advocacy,” said Robert. “I am honored to be associated with their teaching, mentoring, litigating, and fearless representation of Native rights.”

“Professor Hershey’s four decades of legal, trial, and clinical advocacy for the protection of traditional indigenous values and ways is unmatched,” said Gabe Galanda, the firm’s managing lawyer.  “We couldn’t be prouder to have him on our team.”

Robert received his law degree from the University of Arizona College of Law in 1972. He then worked as a Staff Attorney for the Fort Defiance Agency of Dinebeiina Nahilna Be Agaditahe (DNA Legal Services) on the Navajo Indian Reservation.

From 1983 to 1999, he served as Special Litigation Counsel and Law Enforcement Legal Advisor to the White Mountain Apache Tribe, and, from 1995 to 1997, as Special Counsel to the Pascua Yaqui Tribe. From 1998-2002 he was a special litigation counsel to the Gila River Indian Community.

Robert also serves, now in his twenty-ninth year, as Judge Pro Tempore for the Tohono O’odham Judiciary.  He was an Associate Justice for the Yavapai-Prescott Indian Tribal Court of Appeals and a Deputy Judge Pro Tempore for the Colorado River Indian Tribes.

As a practitioner, in addition to litigating for Tribes and Native Nations, Robert has conducted seminars for tribal law enforcement agencies in matters such as tribal jurisdiction, evidence, search & seizure, game and fish legislation, juvenile diversion, jail management, victim-witness support, and use of force, including firearms. He co-wrote the Bureau of Indian Affairs Law Enforcement Policies and Procedures.

Galanda Broadman PLLC, is an American Indian-owned law firm with offices in Seattle, Spokane and Yakima, Washington and Bend, Oregon. The firm is dedicated to advancing tribal Treaty and other sovereign legal rights, and Native American civil rights and Indigenous Peoples’ human rights.  Robert is an independent attorney who will associate with the firm on a case-by-case basis.

Galanda/Dreveskracht's Disenrollment Law Review Article Named Top 100 All-Time

Ryan Dreveskracht and Gabe Galanda, at left, at Nooksack, facing off with the Tribal Police Chief

Gabe Galanda and Ryan Dreveskracht's Arizona Law Review article, "Curing the Tribal Disenrollment Epidemic: In Search of a Remedy," was recently cited as one of "the 100 most influential Indian law scholarly pieces from the last thirty years."

Professors Grant Christiensen and Melissa Tatum listed Gabe and Ryan's article as #64 of the Top 100 all-time, in their forthcoming Tulsa Law Review article, "Reading Indian Law: Evaluating Thirty Years of Indian Law Scholarship."

Gabriel S. Galanda is the managing lawyer of Galanda Broadman, PLLC, in Seattle. Gabe is a descendant of the Nomlaki and Concow Tribes, belonging to the Round Valley Indian Tribes of Northern California.  He can be reached at (206) 300-7801 or gabe@galandabroadman.com.

Ryan Dreveskracht is an attorney with Galanda Broadman, PLLC, in Seattle.  His practice includes civil rights and wrongful death litigation.  He can be reached at (206) 909-3842 or ryan@galandabroadman.com. 

New York Times Cites Gabe Galanda Re: Tribal Opioids Litigation

The New York Times quoted Gabe Galanda's scholarship in a recent article: "In Opioid Battle, Cherokee Want Their Day in Tribal Court."

The article cites a 2003 article Gabe wrote for the American Bar Association, Getting Commercial in Indian Country, in reference to Montana v. U.S., 450 U.S. 544 (1981):

Tribal courts generally do not have jurisdiction over people who are not Native Americans. The Cherokee are relying on a 1981 exception created by the Supreme Court: If a non-Indian business has a commercial, consensual relationship with the tribe, the Court said, the tribe may assert authority.

Gabriel S. Galanda is the managing lawyer of Galanda Broadman, PLLC, in Seattle. Gabe is a descendant of the Nomlaki and Concow Tribes, belonging to the Round Valley Indian Tribes of Northern California.  He can be reached at (206) 300-7801 or gabe@galandabroadman.com.

Bree Black Horse Teaches ACLU-WA How to "Get to Know Indian Country"

Yesterday Bree Black Horse taught a CLE at the Seattle, Washington chapter of the ACLU about how to approach outreach and community speaking events with local tribes; consideration of the history of Washington state tribes and reservations; and techniques for culturally competent interactions. 

Bree is an associate in the Seattle office of Galanda Broadman and an enrolled member of the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma.  Her practice focuses on defending individuals’ civil rights in federal, state and tribal courts. She can be reached at (206) 735-0448 or bree@galandabroadman.com.

Ryan Dreveskracht Talks Civil Rights to UW Law, Societies & Justice Students

Last night, Ryan Dreveskracht spoke at the UW Law, Societies & Justice Department's Career Night, regarding his career as a tribal and civil rights attorney. 

Ryan is currently litigating several civil rights and wrongful death cases against county police officers and jail officials, in federal district and state superior court.

Ryan Dreveskracht is an attorney with Galanda Broadman, PLLC, in Seattle.  His practice includes civil rights and wrongful death litigation.  He can be reached at (206) 909-3842 or ryan@galandabroadman.com.