September 30, 2009
Congratulations to the three Arizona Law students who completed Udall Internships this past summer – Sherri Mitchell, a member of the Penobscot Tribe of Maine; Mica Gilmore, a member of the Navajo Nation; and Torivio Fodder, a member of the Pueblo of Taos, were among 13 Udall Interns who successfully completed the Morris K. Udall Foundation Native American Congressional Internship in Washington, DC.
For more on this story, see http://www.law.arizona.edu/news/udallinterns2009.cfm
September 14, 2009
Professor Anaya’s press conference at the end of his official visit to Australia can be found at http://tinyurl.com/p2y3g8
August 19, 2009
No one can choose their heritage, just like no one can choose who their parents are, what eye color they are born with, or who their siblings are. Identity and membership in a racial group are complex issues, and involve much more than a claim of affiliation. It is not enough for someone to simply say they are a member of a particular group, that group must also accept and recognize them as a member.
The issue of so-called “check the box” Indians is a difficult issue in the U.S., and one with which many organizations have wrestled. It is clear that some people have checked the box “Native American” or “American Indian” simply to take advantage of scholarship or other opportunities. Calls have been made for Universities to require proof of membership in a tribal group and not just an assertion of membership. Australia, for example, requires those claiming aboriginal status to satisfy a three-point test and does not accept a simple assertion of ethnicity.
Membership in cultural and ethnic groups cannot and must not be judged simply on the basis of assertions or physical appearance. American history is rife with “one-drop laws” and the problems they create. They were abandoned for a reason – they were overbroad and did not serve a legitimate purpose. What is important is participation and membership in the group. More specifically, it is a fundamental aspect of who we are as human beings and how we define ourselves.
At its core, racism is about painting people with a broad brush and using stereotypes instead of asking the necessary questions to understand each person’s circumstances and background. Racism is about assuming you can evaluate a person’s character based on what they look like, rather than by taking the time to learn about who they are.
If we as a society are to progress toward better understanding and better relations, we must stop judging based on physical appearance.
August 11, 2009
Wizipan Garriott (‘08) has been named as the Policy Advisor to the Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs in the Department of the Interior. Read the press release here.
July 23, 2009
S. James Anaya, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous people, is visiting Colombia July 23-27 at the request of the Colombian government. As part of the visit, he will be meeting with various government officials, including the President and several Ministers.
July 22, 2009
The report details what IPLP faculty and students have been up to over the last academic year. You can download the pdf at http://www.law.arizona.edu/depts/iplp/annualReport/2009.pdf.
July 22, 2009
S. James Anaya UN Special Rapporteur has released his report on the recent events in Peru: http://tinyurl.com/ny225o
May 8, 2009
Arizona Law’s NALSA chapter has received additional recognition for its contributions to the community. The Student Bar Associate presented NALSA and LLSA with a joint Collaboration Award to recognize their outstanding collaboration on the Golf Tournament, as well as each club’s other collaborations in the University and Tucson community.
In addition, Arizona Illustrated aired a nice feature story that included information about Leah Lussier, the outgoing NALSA President and National NALSA’s 2L Student of the Year, and Professor Rob Williams, Director of IPLP
May 1, 2009
Episode Four – In this, the second of two podcasts recorded at the North Texas Irish Fest, we journey (at least metaphorically) to Ireland, courtesy of my four musician guests – Daire Bracken, Eamonn de Barra, Mairtin de Cogain, and Eithne Ni Chathain – all of whom also speak Irish. We discussed topics ranging from language to culture to music and the connections between all of them. Many of the issues we discuss, particularly about the preservation of language, are shared by cultures around the globe.
And as always, check out Injunuity, whose song “Indentation” is our theme music www.injunuity.net
April 16, 2009
Episode Three – On this installment of the Rountree Report, we venture far from both Rountree Hall and from the topic of law. As I’ve mentioned, the Rountree Report is focused not just on law, but on the protection and preservation of culture. Episode three takes us (at least metaphorically) to Scotland, which has three languages – English, Scots and Gaelic. For the interview portion of episode three, I spoke with Ed Miller, Scottish singer/songwriter, who also holds degrees in Folkore and Geography. We talk about Scottish culture, the Scots language, and the connection between place and culture.
For our From the Reviewer’s Corner installment, I take a look at two other Scottish singers – Jim Malcolm, who sings in both Scots and English and Julie Fowlis, who sings in Gaelic.
I hope you enjoy our foray into Scotland. In our next episode, we will journey (again, metaphorically to Ireland) before returning to the Americas in Episode 5 with a look at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.
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