A Native American Rights Fund lawyer who argued the Venetie U.S. Supreme Court case fears the nomination of John G. Roberts could erode tribal rights.

Heather Kendall-Miller, a NARF attorney based in Alaska, came to know Roberts when he represented the state of Alaska in the Venetie case. She said he went out of his way to show that he personally supported states' rights.

''My worst fear is that he joins with the extreme conservative faction of the court like Scalia, Thomas, and Rehnquist in basically continuing to cut back on some of the issues that I care about -- like affirmative action -- in addition to tribal rights," Kendall-Miller told The Boston Globe.

Kendall-Miller faced Roberts in court on the Venetie case. He successfully argued that the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act terminated the existence of Indian Country in the state.

Roberts also worked on another Alaska Native case. He represented the state of Hawaii in its fight to deny Native subsistence rights. NARF represented Katie John, the Athabascan grandmother who won the case.

Get the Story:
To many, he is a quiet conservative (The Boston Globe 7/21)

Get the Alaska v. Venetie Case:
Syllabus | Opinion

Get the Rice v. Cayetano Case:
Syllabus | Opinion | Concurrence (Breyer) | Dissent (Stevens) | Dissent (Ginsburg)

Relevant Links:
Federal Judicial Nominees, DOJ - http://www.usdoj.gov/olp/nominations.htm
NARF-NCAI Tribal Supreme Court Project - http://www.narf.org/sct/index.html

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