Firefly
Tawo Seed Carrier
POB 1456
South Pasadena, CA 91031

Tribal Courts Should Be Aware that American Indians Won't Win Upcoming Sovereignty Confrontation

Expert: Tribal courts should beware
American Indians won't win sovereignty conference told
By Joel Hanel - Herald Denver Bureau
Sept. 25, 2007

COLORADO SPRINGS - Indian tribes are headed for a showdown over sovereignty with the U.S. Supreme Court, and they are sure to lose, an Indian scholar said Monday.
The fight probably will start over Indian courts trying to get jurisdiction over a non-Indian defendant, said Philip S. Deloria, who ran the American Indian Law Center at the University of New Mexico for 37 years.
"I bet you a month's salary it's going to happen. The question is when, and how long can we stall it," Deloria said at a conference called "Completing the Circle: Strengthening Criminal Justice in Indian Country."
Efforts already under way in Southwest Colorado might help the tribal courts keep their power.
Congress has protected Indian sovereignty, or the right of the tribes to run their own affairs, Deloria said. But federal judges are getting ready for a challenge. The evidence is plain to see in a number of legal opinions.
"I'm not a legal scholar, but I can read," Deloria said. "And we know the courts have said, 'We don't want you messing with non-Indians, '" he said.
The Supreme Court, he said, will want to defend the rights of non-Indians who live on the reservation but cannot vote in tribal elections.
The answer is for tribes, cities, counties and the federal government to cooperate closely, Deloria said.
That's happening now in Southwest Colorado. Since February, 85 officers have been cross-deputized to enforce federal, state and tribal laws. Thirty more will go through the training next month in Cortez, said Troy Eid, the U.S. Attorney for Colorado.
If police officers are cross-deputized, then they have the authority to enforce the laws whether or not suspects are Indians, Deloria said.
If the tribes can make themselves an essential partner to the local governments, then they might have a chance to retain their power, Deloria said.
"If we had everybody at the table talking about law enforcement and there's an empty chair `85 suddenly, you get focused on who needs to get with the program," Deloria said. "But if we write it off as politics - acceptable politics - then nobody's responsible. "
Despite the success with cross-deputization, Eid was pessimistic about the prospects for more full-time police officers from the Bureau of Indian Affairs for the Ute Mountain Ute reservation.
"Let's be candid about it. We're not making progress in terms of Ute Mountain Ute police levels from BIA," Eid said. "It's just a tough situation out there. Those guys are working 12-hour shifts. Twelve hours on, 12 hours off, sometimes six days in a row."
The problem affects reservations nationwide, and only more money from Congress will help, Eid said.
The conference, sponsored by the Colorado U.S. Attorney's Office, brought together federal and Indian justice experts from the Four Corners states. It continues today and Wednesday, but the last two days are closed to the public because they deal with sensitive victim and law-enforcement topics.
http://durangoheral d.com/asp- bin/article_ generation. asp?article_ type=news&article_path= news/o7/news/ 070925_6. htm

This is worth the read. A bit muffled, but the link regarding the legitimacy of inking yet another SPP agreement by the three leaders is called into question and there is a reference that shows this clearly. This is often a very good source of news indeed.

The question of the treason and illegal measures of PM Harper (and Martin) rightfully comes up again and again.

- V

	Cabinet shuffle a minor change; instead the minority Canadian government must end functioning as a majority government Posted by: joan.Russow on http://PEJ.org Tuesday, August 14, 2007 - 09:06 AM 327 Reads
	Cabinet shuffle a minor change; instead the minority Canadian government must end functioning as a majority government PEJ News - Joan Russow - Global Compliance Research Project. A cabinet shuffle will not result in a minority government no longer functioning as a majority government and it will not result in ending the negotiation of the Security and Prosperity Partnership SPP because the signing and ratifying of this agreement would require accession by only the Prime Minister and cabinet. When the party in power forms a majority government, the failure to bring an international treaty, convention or agreement to parliament is egregious enough, but when the party in power forms a minority government, the simple constitutionally requirement to ratify a treaty, convention or agreement simply through Cabinet is a serious front to democracy. A cabinet shuffle will not impact on Canada’s failing environmental standards; its belligerent invasion and occupation in Afghanistan; its violation of civil and political rights through racial profiling, through the anti-terrorism act, through the no-fly list; its support for the continued mining of uranium and for NATO and for NATO’s first strike nuclear policy; its insidious increase in the defence budget and increased military posture; its promotion of nuclear energy to service US oil wants in the oil sands; its undermining of food security in Canada and abroad by producing and distributing genetically engineered food and crops; its granting of charitable status to so-called charitable organization such as the Fraser Institute; its reluctance to achieve .7% of the GDP for Overseas Development Aid, etc. It will also not result in a minority government no longer functioning as a majority government and it will not result in ending the negotiation of the Security and Prosperity Partnership SPP because the signing and ratifying of this agreement would require accession by only the Prime Minister and cabinet. When the party in power forms a majority government, the failure to bring an international treaty, convention or agreement to parliament is egregious enough, but when the party in power forms a minority government, the simple constitutionally requirement to ratify a treaty, convention or agreement simply through Cabinet is a serious front to democracy. The leaders of Canada, Mexico and the US should cancel the meeting in Montebello and reflect , on the fact that one of them leads a minority government, another one was elected in an election still under dispute, still another is rapidly descending in the polls, They should also reflect on the fact that all three come from rogue states that have generally shown disrespect for international peremptory norms. Instead of further negotiating the SPP which further entrenches the dereliction of duty towards these norms, they should establish a North American Compliance Court where citizens can take evidence of state and corporate non-compliance, and where, in the absence of compliance, charters and licences of corporation can be revoked. SPP et al should be declared to be null and void Under Article 53 of the Convention on the Law of Treaties conflicting with a peremptory norm of general international law (jus cogens) "A treaty is void if, at the time of its conclusion, it conflicts with a peremptory norm of general international law. for the purposes of the present convention, a preemptory norm of general international law is a norm accepted and are recognized by the international community of States as a whole as a norm from which no derogation is permitted and which can be modified only by a subsequent norm of general international law having the same character." Undoubtedly, the more the SPP, along with its tangential institutional arrangements (SPP et al) is entrenched, the more the Conservative minority government will be undermining democracy in parliament. The SPP Summit in Montebello must be cancelled, the SPP be declared null and void and its subsidiary the North American Competitive Council (NACC) must be abandoned and in its place established North American Compliance Court (NACC) for citizens to take evidence of state and corporate non compliance with peremptory norms, and to provide a remedy among other of revoking charters and licences of transnational corporations. If, however, Bush does decide to come to Canada, he should be detained under the Anti-terrorism Act, processed in Montebello, and held until he can be moved to an international tribunal set up, by the UN General Assembly, under article 22 of the Charter of the United Nations, and tried for crimes against the peace. Prometheus Institute does not endorse any article or comment that is published on PEJ.org. The opinions expressed in all articles and comments are those of the authors and not of Prometheus Institute or the Peace, Earth & Justice News.