Conference on 40 Years of the Indian Civil Rights Act: History, Tribal Law, and Modern Challenges

The Indigenous Law and Policy Center at Michigan State University College of Law, directed by Matthew L.M. Fletcher, is hosting a number of legal history-related events this year, including an upcoming conference on the 40th anniversary of the Indian Civil Rights Act. Here are the details:

5th Annual MSU Indigenous Law Conference
October 10-11, 2008 @ MSU Law College
Forty Years of the Indian Civil Rights Act – History, Tribal Law,

and Modern Challenges

The Indian Civil Rights Act will be 40 years old in 2008 – and Santa Clara Pueblo v. Martinez will be 30. We have decided to dedicate our 5th annual conference to the Act and to Martinez. Confirmed speakers already include Kristen Carpenter, Trent Crable, Marty Curry, Gordon Henry, Sonia Katyal, Elizabeth Kronk, Stacy Leeds, Dan Lewerenz, Catharine MacKinnon, Rebecca Miles, Eva Petoskey, Frank Pommersheim, Angela Riley, Mark Rosen, Wenona Singel, Paul Spruhan, Rina Swentzell, Melissa Tatum, Gerald Torres, Ann Tweedy, Gloria Valencia-Weber, Rose Cuison Villazor, and others.

We are pleased to announce that Lawrence Baca will be the keynote speaker for this conference.

Our vision for this year’s conference is to solicit papers that cover a specific provision in the Indian Civil Rights Act, e.g., free speech, freedom of religion, due process, equal protection, and so on. We want academics, practitioners, tribal judges, tribal leaders – anyone that has something important to say about this very important statute. We will collect the best of these papers into an edited collection for publication with a major university press, co-edited by Kristen A. Carpenter, Matthew L.M. Fletcher, and Angela R. Riley.

A picture of our postcard, with artwork by Sam English, is on our MSU website. Registration for this event is now available online here.

Here is the tentative agenda:

Friday, October 10, 2008
9 AM — Keynote
Lawrence Baca

10 AM to Noon — Indigenous Women Assess the Indian Civil Rights Act
Moderator: Sheena Oxendine
Rebecca Miles
Eva Petoskey
Rina Swentzell
Gloria Valencia-Weber

LUNCH, Food provided by Pi’ilani

1 PM to 2 PM — Commentary on the Indian Civil Rights Act
Moderator: Matthew L.M. Fletcher
Catharine MacKinnon

2 PM to 3 PM — Sex and Gender
Moderator: Mae Kuykendall
Angela Riley
Ann Tweedy

3:30 PM to 5 PM — Race, Representation, and Theory
Moderator: Kristi Bowman
Mark Rosen
Sonia Katyal
Gerald Torres

DINNER–All Seasons Bistro
Literary Event–All Seasons Bistro
Frank Pommersheim
Gordon Henry
Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Saturday, October 11, 2008
9 AM to 10:30 AM — Tribal Courts & Due Process
Moderator: Kate Fort
Stacy Leeds
Frank Pommersheim
Paul Spruhan

10:45 AM to 11:45 AM — Property and Community
Moderator: TBD
Wenona Singel
Melissa Tatum
Rose Cuison Villazor

LUNCH

1 PM to 2:30 PM — Free Speech and Religion
Moderator: Frank Ravitch
Marty Curry
Dan Lewerenz
Kristen Carpenter

2:30 PM to 3:30 PM — Criminal Procedure
Moderator: Zeke Fletcher
Trent Crable
Elizabeth Kronk

More information is here.