NATIVE LAW United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit (2022) Connor Sakati In Metlakatla Indian Community v. Dunleavy, 48 F.4th 963 (9th Cir. 2022), the Ninth Circuit held that Alaskan fishing regulations limiting fishers from entering a fishery are inapplicable to the Metlakatla Indian Community, because these regulations would violate the community’s right to fish traditional Continue Reading »
NATIVE LAW Emma Giusto In Scudero v. State, 496 P.3d 381 (Alaska 2021), the supreme court held that an Alaska Native’s fishing rights did not exempt him from the State’s fishing regulations. (Id. at 383). Scudero, a member of the Metlakatla Indian Community, was charged with not having a fishing permit, fishing in closed waters, Continue Reading »
NATIVE LAW Emma Giusto In Ahtna, Inc. v. Department of Natural Resources, 2021 Alas. LEXIS 26 (Alaska, Mar. 12, 2021), the supreme court held that (1) the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA), 43 U.S.C. §§ 1601–1629h extinguished aboriginal title and retroactively validated the State’s right of way over Native land, and (2) the right Continue Reading »
NATIVE LAW, FAMILY LAW Mary Beth Barksdale In Walker E. v. State, Department of Health & Social Services., Office of Children’s Services, 480 P.3d 598, 607 (Alaska 2021), the supreme court upheld the termination of parental rights under the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) and AS 47.10 where the Office of Children’s Services (OCS) had Continue Reading »
NATIVE LAW, FAMILY LAW Mary Beth Barksdale In Clark J. v. State, Department of Health & Social Services, Office of Children’s Services, 483 P.3d 896 (Alaska 2021), the supreme court reversed the Superior Court’s termination of parental rights, finding clear error where the Office of Children’s Services (OCS) had failed to make active efforts to Continue Reading »
NATIVE LAW Kristen M. Renberg, Ph.D. In Peidlow v. Williams,1the supreme court held that the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) requires a superior court that receives a tribal court order to first determine whether the order was issued in an ICWA child custody proceeding, and if it was, to follow the full faith and credit Continue Reading »
FAMILY LAW / NATIVE LAW Jacob Keohane Matter of April S. In the Matter of April S., 467 P.3d 1091 (Alaska, 2020), the supreme court ruled that an out-of-state mental health professional qualified as an expert under the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), given the severity of the child’s psychiatric conditions. The ICWA requires Continue Reading »
In Peidlow v. Williams,¹ the supreme court held that the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) requires a superior court that receives a tribal court order to first determine whether the order was issued in an ICWA child custody proceeding, and if it was, to follow the full faith and credit mandate of the ICWA. The Continue Reading »
In Bill S. v. State, Department of Health & Social Services,[1] the Supreme Court held that clear and convincing evidence of active efforts to prevent the breakup of an Indian Family under the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) must include documented efforts to provide specific assistance rather than vague and overgeneralized testimony. The Office of Continue Reading »
In Sam M. v. State, Department of Health & Social Services,[1] the supreme court reiterated that courts must look to the Office of Children Services’ (OCS) efforts during the entirety of a case to assess whether it made active efforts to keep Indian children with their parents. Sam M. sought custody of his biological daughter Continue Reading »
