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May 2021 Newsletter
Bozho,
 
The Native Nations Law and Policy Center would like to extend our heartfelt congratulations to the graduating class of 2021. Your passion and brilliance were so bright they even permeated the gulf between our computer screens. We are elated for the gifts you are sure to bring Indian Country and the legal profession. As we look forward to Summer 2021, stay tuned for announcements regarding a Summer Speaker Series. In the meantime, enjoy the blossoms of spring.
 
Megwetch,
 
Angela R. Riley (Citizen Potawatomi Nation)
Professor of Law and Director, Native Nations Law and Policy Center
TRIBAL LEGAL DEVELOPMENT CLINIC SPOTLIGHT
The Tribal Legal Development Clinic is open for the summer! Law students will work under the direction of the clinic director, Lauren van Schilfgaarde on tribal projects that include restorative justice, human rights,and cultural resource protection. As always, the Clinic welcomes project solicitations from tribes and tribal organizations. Inquire here!
NNLPC News
TLDC Clinic Dirrector, Lauren van Schilfgaarde, co-authored an article in the ABA Human Rights Magazine, The Next Four Years for Indian Country Need Human Rights



TLDC Director, Professor Lauren van Schilfgaarde, participated in a panel organized by the Center on Media, Crime and Justice on tribal justice issues. Watch the panel HERE.
Project to Implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in the United States
The NNLPC is pleased to announced the launch of the “Tribal Implementation Toolkit.”

The UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples is a standard-setting document that recognizes that Indigenous Peoples have rights to self-determination, equality, property, culture, religious freedom, health, and economic well-being, among many others. It calls on States to undertake legal reform that will remedy past violations and ensure current protections for Indigenous Peoples’ rights.

The “Tribal Implementation Toolkit,” produced in collaboration between the Native American Rights Fund, the University of Colorado Law School, and UCLA Law’s Tribal Legal Development Clinic, considers how tribes can support and implement the Declaration through tribal lawmaking.


Both the full color version of the Toolkit and the text-only versions are available here: https://un-declaration.narf.org/resources/

Lauren van Schilfgaarde Testifies
Our TLDC Director Lauren van Schilfgaarde testified on May 20, 2021 at a legislative hearing that The Subcommittee for Indigenous Peoples of the United States, led by Chair Teresa Leger Fernández (D-N.M.), hosted.

This hearing featured a bipartisan set of bills (H.R. 438 and H.R. 2930). van Schilfgaarde testified on a discussion draft of the RESPECT Act, proposing to codify tribal consultation procedures for federal government projects and regulatory actions Watch HERE and read the testimonies HERE.
Biden Administration Announces the Nomination of a Native American Attorney to the Federal Bench
President Biden nominated Muscogee Citizen Lauren J. King to the Federal Bench for the Western District of Washington. If confirmed, King will be only the third Native American federal judge in the country and the first Native American federal judge in Washington state history. The NNLPC congratulates Lauren J. King on her nomination!
NALSA Blanket Ceremony
We were very grateful to be able to gather in person with the recent lifting of restrictions in Los Angeles to celebrate our NALSA graduates from 2020 and 2021. Graduates and their guests, all vaccinated, listened to remarks from Professors Goldberg, Riley, and van Schilfgaarde and our graduates were honored in a blanket ceremony.
Graduate Spotlights
We offer congratulations to all of the UCLA Law 2021 graduates!

You can watch the virtual culmination ceremony HERE and read below about our Native Nations Law and Policy Center 2021 graduates, their accomplishments, and plans after law school.

EVENTS
Stay tuned for our Summer Event Series!
Recent Event Recordings
Roundtable Debrief on the Cooley Oral Argument at the Supreme Court

Watch recording here
United States v. Cooley: Threats to Tribal Police Power
and Native Governance

Launch Event!
United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples:
Tribal Implementation Toolkit


McGirt v. Oklahoma:
Reflections on a Landmark Case and What We've Learned So Far