26th Annual Coming Together of Peoples Conference

ILSA hosted its 26th Annual Coming Together of Peoples Conference March 22-24, 2012.

We would like to thank the Conference’s co-sponsors: the UW Law School, Associated Students of Madison, Wisconsin Experience, the State Bar of Wisconsin Indian Law Section, Godfrey & Kahn, the Intellectual Property Students Organization, and Wunk Sheek.

ILSA welcomed its speakers on Thursday, March 22nd, with a welcome reception at Brocach Irish Pub from 7:30 to 9:30 pm.

The conference was held at Union South, on the University of Wisconsin campus, March 23-24, 2012.

Those who attended all the conference panels and keynote earned 9.5 CLE credits.

FRIDAY:

Welcome, Drum Ceremony and Traditional Prayer
9:30 am, Northwoods Room, 3rd floor

Drum provided by Wunk Sheek.

Domestic Violence on Tribal Lands and the Proposed Act to SAVE Women
9:45-11:15 am, Northwoods Room, 3rd floor

M. Brent Leonhard
Danica Zawieja

Native women experience the highest rate of violence of any group in the United States. Some studies suggest that the jurisdictional mazes they may face when reporting violence serve to exacerbate the problem. Is that a responsible allocation of blame? How can the problem be alleviated? Panelists will discuss the problem of domestic violence broadly, analyze the proposed partial Oliphant fix (the SAVE Act), and suggest other ways to address the issue.

Tribal Juvenile Justice Systems
11:15 am-12:30 pm, Northwoods Room, 3rd floor

David Armstrong (staff attorney at Wisconsin Judicare’s Indian Law Office)
Nicole Homer

Some Indian communities have recently begun implementing systems of juvenile justice that apply a Peacemaking framework which allows the underlying causes of criminality to be addressed in a holistic matter. Practical problems revolving around these systems–including necessary stakeholders, self-evaluation, and external forces (such as school systems and state courts)–which effect the creation of a Peacemaking based juvenile justice system will be discussed. Other tribes, in the beginning stages of developing Juvenile Justice programs, will discuss the challenges they face in getting programs off the ground and fully implemented.

Keynote
by Judge Amanda Rockman, Associate Chief Judge of the Ho-Chunk Nation Trial Court
2:00-3:00 pm, Northwoods room, 3rd floor

New Approaches to Protecting Traditional Knowledge
3:15 am-4:45 pm, Northwoods Room, 3rd floor
John Cross
Pilar Ossorio
Becky Webster (former Vice Chairperson of the Indian Arts and Crafts Board)

How can tribes not only preserve their traditional knowledge for themselves but also protect it from cooptation? Can the law of intellectual property rights be used in a way for tribes to assert their sovereignty and protect their cultural identity? Panelists will speak to Congress’ incentives to protect traditional knowledge and how patents and other IP laws may be used to protect the knowledge of groups rather than individuals.

State Bar Association, Indian Law Section Annual Meeting and Reception
5:00-8:00 pm, Industry Room, 3rd floor

Hors d’oeuvres will be served, and a cash bar will be available.

SATURDAY:

Tribal Membership: Bases, Challenges and New Approaches
10:30 am – 12:00 pm, Northwoods Room, 3rd floor
Carl Artman
Kevin Maillard
Jon Velie

Setting tribal membership requirements is an essential part of tribal sovereignty. In recent years, increasing numbers of tribes have been disenrolling individuals who consider themselves members. Why does this happen? How can the requirements appear to change (by resulting in someone’s changed status)? Where do they come from in the first place? And who should be the final arbiters?

International Human Rights Principles and Indigenous Rights
1:30 -3:00 pm, Northwoods Room, 3rd floor
Sumudu Atapattu
G. William Rice
Wenona Singel

The panelists will discuss human rights policies within tribes, at the federal level, and internationally. The legal focus will be on the UN Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous People and doctrines developed from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, but we will also consider the Indian Civil Rights Act (ICRA) and limits to its enforcement. How can we see that indigenous rights are protected with the full force of the law? Can we expect rights to be enforced externally when there are few internal human rights standards for tribes?