Post by Okwes on Feb 23, 2006 9:17:43 GMT -5
Mashantucket Figure In Updated 'Bible' Of American Indian Law
Mashantucket Figure In Updated 'Bible' Of American Indian Law Dean of
UConn Law presents tribe with copies of her work By Karen Florin
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fcf953a24229> Nell Jessup Newton, dean of the University of
Connecticut School of Law, presents copies of the newly updated
"Cohen's Handbook of Federal Indian Law" to Mashantucket Pequot
Tribal Chairman Michael J. Thomas, left, and tribal general counsel
Jackson T. King Jr. at the Mashantucket Pequot Community Center.
Mashantucket — The last time the "bible" on American Indian
Law was updated, Congress had yet to pass laws protecting Indian graves
or regulating gaming on reservations.
The law that guards the welfare of Indian children was in its infancy in
1982, when the previous edition of "Cohen's Handbook of Federal
Indian Law" was published. Regulation of the environment on tribal
lands was immature at best.
Locally, the boundaries of the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan
reservations had yet to be decided by acts of Congress, and the federal
recognition process that would become so controversial here as other
tribes sought similar acknowledgment was newly minted.
On Tuesday, University of Connecticut Law School Dean Nell Jessup Newton
presented the Mashantucket tribal council and legal departments with
copies of the updated handbook. An expert in Indian law, Newton edited
the book with help from 30 of the country's most prominent Indian law
scholars.
"It was a massive undertaking, and it is regarded as the bible on
Indian law," said Newton.
She thanked the Mashantuckets, who contributed $90,000 to the effort
over a three-year period. UConn and several other benefactors also
supported the effort, which was commissioned 10 years ago and gathered
real momentum during the past five years. The scholars met regularly to
review their work while tracking Supreme Court decisions and other
developments in Indian case law.
"A lot of the ground rules either have changed or are shifting,"
Newton said.
During her own career, Newton said, she has sometimes referred back to
the original edition of Cohen's Handbook, published in 1941. Attorney
Felix S. Cohen, who worked as a solicitor for the Department of the
Interior, compiled the federal laws and treaties that made up the first
handbook. The work was not updated again until 1958, and the next
edition was published in 1982. A supplement will be added in the summer
of 2007, Newton said, and the next edition would be published in six
years.
The $150 book will be part of every law library's collection and on the
desk or bookshelf of anyone who wants access to the basic laws governing
Indians.
"It's a treatise," Newton said. "We can't go in depth on
everything."
Jackson T. King Jr., chief counsel for the Mashantuckets, said the legal
department ordered copies in advance and received them several weeks
ago. He has already consulted the handbook.
"Right now we're having some discussions with (the Town of) Ledyard
about what's taxable and what's not," King said. "I went right
to the book, and I'll be sending copies to the town attorney."
King, who has been involved with the tribe since its renaissance in the
1980s, said it was fun to look through the book and see how many
Mashantucket cases are cited. He saw about six or seven.
Joey Carter, a tribal member who serves as the Mashantuckets' deputy
chief regulator, said he would turn to the book as he reviews and
supplements the tribe's environmental regulations.
"I want to make sure my great-great-grandchildren have clean water
and trees to look at," he said. "This book will be very
beneficial to my department and the tribe."
Chairman Michael J. Thomas said the book lays out the basic premise of
the U.S. government's relationship with American Indians, which is often
misunderstood by the public.
"These are not race-based preferences," Thomas said of the
sovereignty tribes enjoy. "It is based on pre-existing governance.
We were the first government. ... It is a point the greatest country in
the world has chosen to honor."
Mashantucket Figure In Updated 'Bible' Of American Indian Law Dean of
UConn Law presents tribe with copies of her work By Karen Florin
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<http://www.theday.com/theday/profiles.aspx?pro=032264f5-7eba-4aab-ab3d-\
fcf953a24229> Nell Jessup Newton, dean of the University of
Connecticut School of Law, presents copies of the newly updated
"Cohen's Handbook of Federal Indian Law" to Mashantucket Pequot
Tribal Chairman Michael J. Thomas, left, and tribal general counsel
Jackson T. King Jr. at the Mashantucket Pequot Community Center.
Mashantucket — The last time the "bible" on American Indian
Law was updated, Congress had yet to pass laws protecting Indian graves
or regulating gaming on reservations.
The law that guards the welfare of Indian children was in its infancy in
1982, when the previous edition of "Cohen's Handbook of Federal
Indian Law" was published. Regulation of the environment on tribal
lands was immature at best.
Locally, the boundaries of the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan
reservations had yet to be decided by acts of Congress, and the federal
recognition process that would become so controversial here as other
tribes sought similar acknowledgment was newly minted.
On Tuesday, University of Connecticut Law School Dean Nell Jessup Newton
presented the Mashantucket tribal council and legal departments with
copies of the updated handbook. An expert in Indian law, Newton edited
the book with help from 30 of the country's most prominent Indian law
scholars.
"It was a massive undertaking, and it is regarded as the bible on
Indian law," said Newton.
She thanked the Mashantuckets, who contributed $90,000 to the effort
over a three-year period. UConn and several other benefactors also
supported the effort, which was commissioned 10 years ago and gathered
real momentum during the past five years. The scholars met regularly to
review their work while tracking Supreme Court decisions and other
developments in Indian case law.
"A lot of the ground rules either have changed or are shifting,"
Newton said.
During her own career, Newton said, she has sometimes referred back to
the original edition of Cohen's Handbook, published in 1941. Attorney
Felix S. Cohen, who worked as a solicitor for the Department of the
Interior, compiled the federal laws and treaties that made up the first
handbook. The work was not updated again until 1958, and the next
edition was published in 1982. A supplement will be added in the summer
of 2007, Newton said, and the next edition would be published in six
years.
The $150 book will be part of every law library's collection and on the
desk or bookshelf of anyone who wants access to the basic laws governing
Indians.
"It's a treatise," Newton said. "We can't go in depth on
everything."
Jackson T. King Jr., chief counsel for the Mashantuckets, said the legal
department ordered copies in advance and received them several weeks
ago. He has already consulted the handbook.
"Right now we're having some discussions with (the Town of) Ledyard
about what's taxable and what's not," King said. "I went right
to the book, and I'll be sending copies to the town attorney."
King, who has been involved with the tribe since its renaissance in the
1980s, said it was fun to look through the book and see how many
Mashantucket cases are cited. He saw about six or seven.
Joey Carter, a tribal member who serves as the Mashantuckets' deputy
chief regulator, said he would turn to the book as he reviews and
supplements the tribe's environmental regulations.
"I want to make sure my great-great-grandchildren have clean water
and trees to look at," he said. "This book will be very
beneficial to my department and the tribe."
Chairman Michael J. Thomas said the book lays out the basic premise of
the U.S. government's relationship with American Indians, which is often
misunderstood by the public.
"These are not race-based preferences," Thomas said of the
sovereignty tribes enjoy. "It is based on pre-existing governance.
We were the first government. ... It is a point the greatest country in
the world has chosen to honor."