Post by Okwes on Sept 5, 2006 12:35:01 GMT -5
Intertribal Courts swears in first chief judge
By: ANDREA MOSS - Staff Writer
www.nctimes.com/articles/2006/08/28//news/inland/82706210455.txt
<http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2006/08/28//news/inland/82706210455.txt\
>
PALA INDIAN RESERVATION ---- American Indian songs, prayers and chants
mixed with solemn vows Sunday as the fledgling Intertribal Court of
Southern California swore in its first chief judge on the Pala Indian
Reservation.
Standing before more than 150 leaders of area Indian tribes, law
enforcement agencies and other guests, retired Superior Court
Commissioner Anthony Brandenburg raised his right hand and pledged to
uphold the laws of those tribes in his new role with the tribal court.
Brandenburg then accepted arrows from each tribe, and, tying the weapons
together with a piece of leather, held them high above his head and said
the bundle symbolized a new unity, strength and rebirth.
"There is no greater expression of tribal sovereignty than an
intertribal system of justice," he said. "The tribal court is about the
people. It's about what they need and what they want."
As the court's chief judge, he will travel among local Indian
reservations, hearing their civil cases.
Tribal court administrator Temet Aguilar told listeners at Sunday's
ceremony that tribal housing disputes, environmental issues, and land
use and trespassing cases are examples of the types of cases the new
court could hear.
It could also settle disputes over tribe enrollment, hear Indian child
welfare cases and handle civil infraction violations such as arson and
assault, he said.
Aguilar said that having the tribal court handle such cases will
preserve Indians' integrity, autonomy and sovereignty. Unlike state and
federal court systems, the tribal court can also factor Indian culture
and heritage into its decisions, he said.
"I hope that all of you here today, someday, will tell your children
that you were here for this event," he said, referring to Brandenburg's
swearing-in, which included the presentation of tribal flags and
performances by rattle-shaking men known as bird singers. "(The court)
preserves our culture."
California has jurisdiction over its Indian reservations, under a
federal law called Public Law 280. Tribes that have court systems,
however, generally handle small claims and minor infractions involving
their members.
Federal courts handle felony cases on the reservations.
The local Intertribal Court got its start in 2002 when an association of
tribal chairmen received a U.S. Department of Justice grant.
The leaders of six San Diego County tribes ---- the La Jolla Nation of
Luiseno Indians, the Mesa Grande Band of Mission Indians, the Pala Band
of Mission Indians, the Pauma Band of Mission Indians, the Rincon Band
of Mission Indians, and the Santa Ysabel Band of Diegueno Indians ----
worked together to plan the court and select its first chief judge.
Brandenburg is a former attorney in private practice who served two
terms on the Encinitas Union Elementary School District before he was
appointed to the bench as a commissioner in 1989. On Sunday, he said he
will strive to be fair and just while administering Indian law.
"A tribe is a family," the new chief judge said. "As with any family,
there are times when they have their differences. As sovereign tribes
and families, we must come together and work together. Because if we
don't, history will repeat itself. And we'll find ourselves facing
outsiders coming in (to decide our disputes)."
The Intertribal Court of Southern California has an office at 365 W.
Second Ave. in Escondido, a location Aguilar said was chosen to enable
the court to serve all its member reservations without bias.
By: ANDREA MOSS - Staff Writer
www.nctimes.com/articles/2006/08/28//news/inland/82706210455.txt
<http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2006/08/28//news/inland/82706210455.txt\
>
PALA INDIAN RESERVATION ---- American Indian songs, prayers and chants
mixed with solemn vows Sunday as the fledgling Intertribal Court of
Southern California swore in its first chief judge on the Pala Indian
Reservation.
Standing before more than 150 leaders of area Indian tribes, law
enforcement agencies and other guests, retired Superior Court
Commissioner Anthony Brandenburg raised his right hand and pledged to
uphold the laws of those tribes in his new role with the tribal court.
Brandenburg then accepted arrows from each tribe, and, tying the weapons
together with a piece of leather, held them high above his head and said
the bundle symbolized a new unity, strength and rebirth.
"There is no greater expression of tribal sovereignty than an
intertribal system of justice," he said. "The tribal court is about the
people. It's about what they need and what they want."
As the court's chief judge, he will travel among local Indian
reservations, hearing their civil cases.
Tribal court administrator Temet Aguilar told listeners at Sunday's
ceremony that tribal housing disputes, environmental issues, and land
use and trespassing cases are examples of the types of cases the new
court could hear.
It could also settle disputes over tribe enrollment, hear Indian child
welfare cases and handle civil infraction violations such as arson and
assault, he said.
Aguilar said that having the tribal court handle such cases will
preserve Indians' integrity, autonomy and sovereignty. Unlike state and
federal court systems, the tribal court can also factor Indian culture
and heritage into its decisions, he said.
"I hope that all of you here today, someday, will tell your children
that you were here for this event," he said, referring to Brandenburg's
swearing-in, which included the presentation of tribal flags and
performances by rattle-shaking men known as bird singers. "(The court)
preserves our culture."
California has jurisdiction over its Indian reservations, under a
federal law called Public Law 280. Tribes that have court systems,
however, generally handle small claims and minor infractions involving
their members.
Federal courts handle felony cases on the reservations.
The local Intertribal Court got its start in 2002 when an association of
tribal chairmen received a U.S. Department of Justice grant.
The leaders of six San Diego County tribes ---- the La Jolla Nation of
Luiseno Indians, the Mesa Grande Band of Mission Indians, the Pala Band
of Mission Indians, the Pauma Band of Mission Indians, the Rincon Band
of Mission Indians, and the Santa Ysabel Band of Diegueno Indians ----
worked together to plan the court and select its first chief judge.
Brandenburg is a former attorney in private practice who served two
terms on the Encinitas Union Elementary School District before he was
appointed to the bench as a commissioner in 1989. On Sunday, he said he
will strive to be fair and just while administering Indian law.
"A tribe is a family," the new chief judge said. "As with any family,
there are times when they have their differences. As sovereign tribes
and families, we must come together and work together. Because if we
don't, history will repeat itself. And we'll find ourselves facing
outsiders coming in (to decide our disputes)."
The Intertribal Court of Southern California has an office at 365 W.
Second Ave. in Escondido, a location Aguilar said was chosen to enable
the court to serve all its member reservations without bias.