Torey Dolan

This is a new professional profile to engage with the digital legal community. 🥳 By way of introduction, my scholarly interest lies at the intersection of Federal Indian Law and Election Law.

The headlines surrounding this argument is why I firmly believe Constitutional Law courses should spend at least one day on Indian Law. The Constitution operates differently for those who are legally American Indians.

In the case of the children of immigrants, there is no sovereign akin to Tribal Nations to displace the U.S.’s jurisdiction, so at best it is a lazy legal argument. Such children would be born in a state of anarchy without any law extending to them.

The DOJ is not contesting the citizenship of Native children today, rather citing a case from 1884 that held Native children were born subject to the jurisdiction of their Tribe, not the U.S. and thus not citizens under the 14th Amendment. Hence the 1924 Indian Citizenship Act.

I really thought I was done talking about the history of Indian Citizenship after the 100 year anniversary of the Indian Citizenship Act last year. Whoops!

Some judges think they’re above criticism. They’re public servants— state actors— and should not be in positions of power if they cannot tolerate academic inquiries and critiques without lashing out at professors. It’s unbecoming and demonstrates poor judicial temperament.

Attend a free screening of "Bad River," a documentary that follows the Bad River Band on their fight for sovereignty, Nov. 18. The screening will be followed by a moderated Q&A with some of the voices featured in the film. Learn more: bit.ly/40TvRbZ. #UWNativeNovember

As a voting rights scholar, I professionally complain about the electoral systems in this country and the numerous barriers that people -mainly Native Americans- face when trying to cast a ballot. Election denialism is not a reasonable conclusion or critique of the systems.

Very proud of @AZNtvVoteEP for all the work supporting Native voters and the Navajo Nation’s effort yesterday. Also very proud of the @AZNtvVoteEP volunteers that gathered the evidence for these claims and helped protect Navajo voters’ rights during the poll hour extension.

Navajo Nation President: Voting machines down in Apache County, Arizona | Click on the image to read the full story koat.com/article/electi…

#BREAKING: Unsubstantiated bomb threats were reportedly made today toward four Navajo Nation voting sites, believed to have come from a Russian source. WHAT WE KNOW ⬇️ abc15.com/news/political…

Keeping these ties to practitioners, voters, and the voting rights landscape ensures that my scholarship touches on the issues manifest in law and in lived experiences. Those are stories I can share with my students to give them a colorful picture of what legal practice can be.

One thing I love about @WisconsinLaw is the tradition of law in action. For me and my scholarship, law in action means staying involved in the Native voting rights community and making an effort to learn the stories of Native voters navigating electoral systems each cycle.

Headed to Arizona to work with the non-partisan @AZNtvVoteEP and protect Native voting rights!

@daniel_b_rice Fee simple: such a magical form of title that when conveyed to Indians under the General Allotment Act it can abrogate tribal sovereignty in the area of on-reservation discrimination claims. 🤪

@ToreyKDolan "Thanks to the Indian General Allotment Act of 1887, . . ."

Good news for democracy: one of the campus polling locations is packed on the first day of early voting. I’ve been in line for an hour and half now to vote early and am still waiting because of the large turnout. Bad news for me: I wore heels today and these are standing lines.

State judicial retention elections in Oklahoma are a battleground for post-McGirt stare decisis issues. Tribal Sovereignty continues to be under attack in Oklahoma. tahlequahdailypress.com/tncms/asset/ed…

This year marks the 100 year anniversary of the Indian Citizenship Act. Join @ToreyKDolan Oct. 17, for a reflection on Indian citizenship and the role that Native Americans play as voters, candidates and organizers in our modern political landscape: bit.ly/4eUieNk.

A wonderful panel for all those interested in @WisconsinLaw and the Great Lakes Indigenous Law Center!

It is the scariest day of October: the first day of the Supreme Court term.