By Taylor Jones Associate Editor, Vol. 24 On October 4, 2018, the Northern Federal District Court of Texas held the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) to be unconstitutional. Since that decision, Cherokee Nation, Navajo Nation, and other tribes are seeking to have the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals overturn the decision. Enacted as a response […]
native americans
An Overlooked Consequence of the Government Shutdown: The Expiration of the Violence Against Women Act
By Mackenzie Walz Associate Editor, Vol. 24 On December 22nd, 2018, the United States government entered a partial shutdown after Congress and the White House failed to reach an agreement over the amount of funding to appropriate for the construction of a wall at our southern border. Since that moment, the national conversation has focused […]
Little Justice for Native American Women Victimized by Non-Native Attackers
By Ben Cornelius Associate Editor, Volume 23 In April of 2015, Edith Chavez, a Native American woman, was beaten and knocked unconscious at a North Dakota gas station by an unknown assailant.[1] She was then abducted, drugged, and driven northwest, likely to be sold into prostitution. Prostitution and human trafficking is thriving alongside the oil […]
American Indian Political Representation: An Update on Congressional Races Across America
By Ben Cornelius Associate Editor, Volume 23 The highest achieving American Indian in U.S. politics was Kaw-Osage-Pottawatomie Charles Curtis. Curtis was the 31st Vice President of the United States serving with President Herbert Hoover.[1] Curtis started his career as a horse jockey, later attending law school, leading to his election to Congress. He eventually became […]
The Indian Child Welfare Act and the Battle over Lexi
By Laura Page Associate Editor, Vol. 22 After more than two years of protracted litigation and aggressive media coverage, the family at the center of a challenge to the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) filed a petition for Supreme Court certiorari last month. The Pages, former foster parents to six-year-old Lexi, initiated the challenge when the […]
The Standing Rock Sioux and Dakota Access Pipeline: Just the Beginning
By Laura Page Associate Editor, Vol. 22 After months of protests, the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe recently celebrated a minor victory, with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit granting a temporary injunction of the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL). In its decision, the court emphasized that the injunction was merely […]
Constitutional Disparagement? : Legal Challenges to Racist Imagery
By Tom Topping Associate Editor, Vol. 21 Contributing Editor, Vol. 22 In 2015 an activist group named People Not Mascots became one of the latest organizations to file a complaint with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office seeking to have a disparaging image’s federal trademark revoked. The target of this complaint is the Cleveland Indians Chief […]
Attorneys for Native Americans Ask Federal Judge to Dismiss Washington R*dskins’ Lawsuit
By Whitney Robinson, Associate Editor Vol. 20 On Friday, October 31, lawyers for the five Native American tribes fighting the Washington R*dskins over the team’s name and trademark protections asked a federal judge in Alexandria, VA to dismiss the team’s lawsuit against them. According to the attorneys for the Native Americans, the R*dskins should not […]
Michigan Journal of Race & Law 