- Berkey Williams LLP Welcomes Indian Law Fellow Siena Kalina
Berkey Williams LLP is delighted to announce that Siena Kalina, a member of the Osage Nation, is the Firm’s 2023-2024 Indian Law Fellow. Berkey Williams is pleased to announce that Siena Kalina, a member of the Osage Nation, is the Firm’s 2023-2024 Indian Law Fellow. Siena earned her J.D. in 2023 from the University of […]
- Berkey Williams LLP Welcomes Senior Associate Michele Fahley
Berkey Williams LLP is delighted to announce that Michele Fahley has joined the Firm as Senior Associate. Ms. Fahley brings 20 years of Indian law experience to the firm. Her practice is dedicated to the preservation of tribal sovereignty, including cultural and natural resources, NAGPRA, NEPA, NHPA, ICWA, tribal court development, code drafting and representing […]
- Onondaga Nation Prevails in Inter-American Commission on Human Rights Proceeding; Secures Admissibility Decision on Land Rights Petition
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights recently informed the Onondaga Nation of its decision affirming the viability of the Nation’s international legal claims against the United States related to land unlawfully taken from the Nation in the 18th and 19th centuries. In a Report on Admissibility in the case, the Commission noted that “indigenous peoples […]
- Restoring the Klamath River: The Largest Dam Removal Project in the U.S. is Underway
The Klamath River Renewal Corporation Board of Directors, including Scott, met in Ashland, Oregon on June 26. Following the meeting, the Board toured the three dam sites in California slated for removal. The Board observed and celebrated the partial removal of the first of the three dams, Copco 2 – the Board watched as excavators […]
- Attorney Jenna Macaulay Appointed to First New York State Burial Site Review Committee
Firm Attorney Jenna Macaulay (Tuscarora Nation) has been appointed to serve on the New York State Committee newly established to review pending threats to unmarked burials. For decades, Firm clients the Haudenosaunee (comprised of the Tonawanda Seneca, Tuscarora, Onondaga, Cayuga and Mohawk Nations) have advocated for better safeguards against the desecration of their ancestors, whose […]
- Curtis Berkey, Erica Costa and Aviva Simon author “Revitalizing Stewardship and Use of Tribal Traditional Properties: Options for Improving California Policy and Law in State-Managed Lands and Waters.”
Publication forthcoming in Volume 7 of the Indigenous Peoples’ Journal of Law, Culture & Resistance, 2023-2024. Click here to view the article.
- Indian Law Fellow Dillon Dobson co-authors article: IDSov and the silent data revolution: Indigenous Peoples and the decentralized building blocks of web3
This article explores the technology underpinning the decentralized data revolution and encourages Indigenous Peoples (IPs) to secure their Indigenous Data Sovereignty (IDSov) over the Metaverse and Web3. More specifically, this article will survey blockchain technologies, exploring some disturbing colonial uses and providing an international legal framework that IPs can use to advance their IDSov internationally […]
- Associate Aviva Simon Pens Letter to Editor about Contemporary California Tribal Governments
Click here to view, Letter: Our Patwin neighbors are still here today.
- Legal Challenges Regarding Native Land Ownership
On July 9, 2013, Partner Curtis Berkey presented a webinar lecture as part of the continuing legal education series on the Native Land Law program sponsored by the Indian Land Tenure Foundation. Mr. Berkey discussed the aboriginal title doctrine, constitutional protection for Indian land rights and the availability of legal remedies for violations of Indian […]
- National Indian Child Welfare Association (NICWA) article regarding Berkey Williams Associate Rovianne Leigh
As an undergraduate, Rovianne Leigh discovered a passion for Indian law. “I became interested in Indian law as a vehicle for social change,” Leigh said.
