Matthew L.M. Fletcher
The Three Lives of Mamengwaa: Toward an Indigenous Canon of Construction
Many of the intractable political disputes that plague tribal nations can be traced to the reliance on legal principles that are poor fits in Indigenous contexts. I suggest the acknowledgment of an Indigenous canon of construction of tribal laws by tribal judiciaries that will benefit legal development in tribal nations.
Contract and (Tribal) Jurisdiction
Consider two commercial contracts. The first requires customers to waive their rights to bring class actions against large businesses in favor of private arbitration. The second requires a reservation leaseholder to adjudicate disputes in tribal court. Both contracts require dispute resolution in fora over which the Supreme Court does not exercise supervisory jurisdiction. Both arbitration and tribal courts are favored by acts...
(Re)Solving the Tribal No-Forum Conundrum: Michigan v. Bay Mills Indian Community
Michigan v. Bay Mills Indian Community, a dispute over a controversial off-reservation Indian casino, is the latest opportunity for the Supreme Court to address the doctrine of tribal sovereign immunity. The Court could hand Michigan a big win by broadly abrogating tribal immunity, and in turn wreak havoc on modern tribal governance. Alternately, the Court could hand Bay Mills a...