Tribal Defense Attorney Group

The following message was forwarded to me by Lori Guevara, who serves as a Trustee for the Washington State Bar Association's Indian Law Section. She wanted me to get the word out about this group - so feel free to pass the following information on to whomever may be interested. Thank you.

We are pleased to announce the creation of a new national web page and listserve for attorneys, law students and lay advocates who represent native defendants in criminal proceedings before tribal courts! So far we have over 30 individuals participating from across the county ( i.e. Arizona, Washington, Oregon, Michigan, Colorado, and Minnesota), which includes public defenders from such tribes as Swinomish, Lummi, Tulalip, Umatilla, Pascua Yaqui, Navajo, Gila River, Tohono O'odham, Southern Ute, Sault Ste Marie, Bay Mills, Mississippi Choctaw and attorneys from Indian legal aid offices that provide criminal representation in tribal courts. We have had discussions concerning such things as the ICRA, mental competency hearings, and funding sources. The web site is http://groups.yahoo.com/group/tribaldefenseattorneys/. Because it is a "closed" group, it does required the approval of a moderator to join and have access. We would love to have all tribal public defenders and defense attorneys join us.
Thank you,
Cami


--
Cameron Ann Fraser
Michigan Indian Legal Services
814 S Garfield Avenue, Suite A
Traverse City, MI 49686
(231) 947-0122
cfraser@mils.org

Navajo president addresses crime issues at Native law enforcement conference

For Immediate Release: October 5, 2007
Navajo Nation Office of the President & Vice President
www.opvp.org
Navajo President Joe Shirley, Jr., addresses Native crime before National Native American Law Enforcement Assoc. conference
MEMPHIS, Tenn.- Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley, Jr., has credited the National Native American Law Enforcement Association with helping to elevate the profile of tribal law enforcement agencies and bring greater attention to the needs of tribes nationally.
The President made his comments Tuesday during the opening session of NNALEA's 15th annual training conference here.
Approximately 600 participants attended the conference. Also representing the Navajo Nation was Navajo Division of Public Safety Director Samson Cowboy, Navajo Police Chief Jim Benally and Navajo Nation Emergency Management Incident Commander Johnny Johnson.
NNALEA is a nonprofit organization to promote and foster mutual cooperation between American Indian Law Enforcement Officers/Agents/Personnel, their agencies, tribes, private industry and public.
"In this day and age, it seems every which way we turn our sovereignty as individuals, as families, as communities, as nations is tested by crime," President Shirley said.
TO READ THE FULL STORY CLICK HERE
Audio:
President Shirley 1
President Shirley 2
President Shirley 3
President Shirley 4
Navajo Nation Office of the President
George Hardeen,
Communications Director
E-mail: pressoffice@opvp.org
Ofc: 928-871-7917 Cell: 928-309-8532

A Practical Guide to the Indian Child Welfare Act

BOULDER, CO-NARF is proud to announce the publication of its new "Practical Guide to the Indian Child Welfare Act." The Guide, available both on the Internet and in print, is a powerful resource tool for tribal, state and federal entities involved in Indian child custody proceedings. Among the wealth of contents and resources is frequently asked questions with answers falling under 22 topics, including:
Application of the ICWA
Jurisdiction
Who has rights under the Act
Intervention
Role of Tribal Courts
Tribal State Agreements
Foster placement & removal
Resources

The Internet version, available at www.narf.org/icwa, also contains more than 1,000 full-text resources.

The ICWA Practical Guide Project was generously funded by the Administration for Native Americans, with supplemental funding by the Morongo Band of Mission Indians, and supported by NICWA as a key partner. NARF and an Advisory Board-made up of multi-disciplinary team consisting of members of tribal courts, tribal ICWA departments, state governments, Indian law practitioners, Native non-profit organizations, law firms and urban Indian centers-provided guidance on the comprehensive content of the guide. To order a copy of the Guide, print a free copy, or access the expanded Internet edition, please visit: www.narf.org/icwa.