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Features

The author provides an overview of the 11 federally recognized tribes in Wisconsin and their relationships to and with the federal and state governments and laws.

By Paul William Stenzel

Menominee Termination and Restoration

This article focuses on the Menominee Indian Tribe's termination and restoration against the backdrop of federal governmental policy toward all tribes in the United States.

By Kris M. Goodwill

The Space Between Birthright and Blood Quantum

Until 1974, the father's name was not included on birth certificates of children born in Wisconsin to unwed parents. This practice has particularly serious ramifications for Indigenous children.

By Jerri L. Cook

Wisconsin's Tribal Gaming Compacts and Their Effects on Sovereign Immunity

The gaming compacts by which Indian tribes obtained sole and exclusive right to conduct specific gaming enterprises in Wisconsin require tribes to secure liability insurance and a carrier endorsement that limit the carrier from asserting a sovereign immunity defense.

By Daniel Joseph Finerty

How Tribes Respond to Changing Environments

The earth's changing climate has significant ramifications for Indian tribes' subsistence needs, public health, economic stability, sovereignty, and traditional ways of life. Learn how tribes are addressing environmental harms.

By Anya Teresa Janssen & Robert Lundberg

Be a Good Friend: Tips for Effective Amicus Briefing

Amicus practice is particularly common in federal Indian law cases. Here are examples that demonstrate some of the more nuanced elements of strategic amicus practice.

By Daniel D. Lewerenz

Opinions, Voices & Ideas

President's Message
Moving the Profession Forward – Every Member, Every Year
With the assistance of all State Bar members, Dean Dietrich says the Wisconsin Law Foundation supports programs that benefit the legal profession, the public, and communities statewide.

Your State Bar
Bringing the World, the Law, and Our Members Together
Larry Martin's recent visit to Italy reinforced Mark Twain's observation that "travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness."

Reflections
Ada Deer: Champion of Social Justice
Martina Gast explains that Ada Deer (1935-2023) allowed nothing to get in the way of her pursuit of social and economic justice for tribal members, in Wisconsin and nationwide.

On Balance
Keeping Lawyers Alive
Everyone can help keep people alive by learning more about the problem, showing kindness, and reaching out to one another. Amber Ault explains.

Ethical Dilemma
Minimizing Imputed Prospective-Client Conflicts
Sarah Peterson says a new ABA Formal Opinion offers a framework for categorizing information gathered to determine whether to accept a representation and strategies for preventing imputed prospective client conflicts.

Rotunda Report
State Bar Achieves Much in the 2023-24 Legislative Session
The State Bar's advocacy team reports on the achievements of the Government Relations Program and the State Bar's lobbying sections during the 2023-24 legislative session.

Women History Makers
Kathryn Tierney Argued Landmark Tribal Cases
Kathryn Tierney has practiced tribal law for 50 years. Along the way, she's argued two landmark federal cases and mentored many female tribal attorneys.

Women History Makers
Judge Jo Deen Lowe – A Long Line of Strong Women
Jo Deen Lowe, chief judge of the Ho-Chunk Nation Trial Court, was first in her family to graduate from law school. She shares in the legacy of colleagues in Indian law while working to leave a better justice system for those to come.

Final Thought
Lavinia Goodell's Eternal Legacy
Chief Justice Annette Kingsland Ziegler says Lavinia Goodell's spirit and persistence paved the way for Wisconsin women to enter the legal profession to become lawyers, judges, and supreme court justices.