CILA reached an agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to bring an end to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) suit filed in April of this year. This lawsuit, and its resolution, was the topic of Dan Rey-Bear's keynote address given at our Conference in October. Please click here to view Law360's coverage of the settlement.
As explained in the complaint, CILA first submitted a FOIA request to the Department of Justice in 2011 seeking information on how the Office of Solicitor General and then-Acting Solicitor General Neal Katyal decided to articulate that the Office, in Mr. Katyal's words, "had not always played an optimal role in the development of Indian law."
In a speech to the Federal Bar Association, the Solicitor General acknowledged that the United States had made misrepresentations to the Supreme Court in briefing and argument in United States v. Sandoval, 231 U.S. 28 (1913), and Tee-Hit-Ton Indians v. United States, 348 U.S. 272 (1955). These are pivotal decisions in the history of Indian law, notable for their use and reliance on racist tropes and stereotypical ideas of Native people as "savage" or "inferior." This may be the only time that the United States has acknowledged such misrepresentations in Indian law cases before the Supreme Court.
CILA's Board of Directors feel that it is important for practitioners of Indian law to reflect on the role the U.S. Government has played in the development of our field, and to include a full picture of that history--including words and deeds that are both harmful and helpful--as we consider Indian law today. While we are disappointed it took such efforts to get the Department of Justice to release the text of the Solicitor General's speech, we are gratified the Government has engaged in the critical effort to examine its own legacy and, as work on reconciliation continues, we hope the U.S. continues to do so.
The Justice Department has released a transcript of Mr. Katyal's remarks, which is attached to the stipulation of dismissal as an exhibit. You may click here to view a copy of the transcript. We encourage practitioners to cite to the remarks as appropriate. We suggest the following citation:
Neal Katyal, Acting Solicitor Gen., Address to the 36th Annual Federal Bar Ass'n Indian Law Conference (April 8, 2011), in Stipulation
of Dismissal at Ex. 1, California Indian Law Ass'n v. Department of Justice, No. 15-cv-0539 (D.C. Cir. Nov. 20, 2015), ECF No. 18-1.
On behalf of CILA, we would like to express our sincere gratitude to former CILA President Dan Rey-Bear, Don Grove, and Michelle Chavez of the Nordhaus Law Firm for representing CILA pro bono in this matter.
As explained in the complaint, CILA first submitted a FOIA request to the Department of Justice in 2011 seeking information on how the Office of Solicitor General and then-Acting Solicitor General Neal Katyal decided to articulate that the Office, in Mr. Katyal's words, "had not always played an optimal role in the development of Indian law."
In a speech to the Federal Bar Association, the Solicitor General acknowledged that the United States had made misrepresentations to the Supreme Court in briefing and argument in United States v. Sandoval, 231 U.S. 28 (1913), and Tee-Hit-Ton Indians v. United States, 348 U.S. 272 (1955). These are pivotal decisions in the history of Indian law, notable for their use and reliance on racist tropes and stereotypical ideas of Native people as "savage" or "inferior." This may be the only time that the United States has acknowledged such misrepresentations in Indian law cases before the Supreme Court.
CILA's Board of Directors feel that it is important for practitioners of Indian law to reflect on the role the U.S. Government has played in the development of our field, and to include a full picture of that history--including words and deeds that are both harmful and helpful--as we consider Indian law today. While we are disappointed it took such efforts to get the Department of Justice to release the text of the Solicitor General's speech, we are gratified the Government has engaged in the critical effort to examine its own legacy and, as work on reconciliation continues, we hope the U.S. continues to do so.
The Justice Department has released a transcript of Mr. Katyal's remarks, which is attached to the stipulation of dismissal as an exhibit. You may click here to view a copy of the transcript. We encourage practitioners to cite to the remarks as appropriate. We suggest the following citation:
Neal Katyal, Acting Solicitor Gen., Address to the 36th Annual Federal Bar Ass'n Indian Law Conference (April 8, 2011), in Stipulation
of Dismissal at Ex. 1, California Indian Law Ass'n v. Department of Justice, No. 15-cv-0539 (D.C. Cir. Nov. 20, 2015), ECF No. 18-1.
On behalf of CILA, we would like to express our sincere gratitude to former CILA President Dan Rey-Bear, Don Grove, and Michelle Chavez of the Nordhaus Law Firm for representing CILA pro bono in this matter.