Rebecca Mehra Helps Provide Local Indigenous Girls Access to Sports

Last weekend Rebecca Mehra volunteered at a Bras for Girls event in Seattle where over 700 sports bras and over 1,000 pieces of other athletic gear were given to girls in need.

One of more than ten recipient organizations was Seattle Public Schools’ Native American Education Program, which is managed by Gail Morris.  Rebecca and Gail collaborated to have 100 sports bras donated to Indigenous girls in that program.

Only 20% of US girls engage in at least 60 minutes of physical activity daily, and that number is significantly lower for Indigenous populations.  Bras for Girls is hoping to help change these trends.

 Bras for Girls believes every girl deserves access to sports and lack of access to a sports bra should never be a barrier. They work with organizations across the US to provide girls with sports bras as well as breast development education. Since 2017, the organization has donated over 15,000 sports bras, and plans to donate another 15,000 in 2022 alone.

 Aside from her part-time work with Galanda Broadman, Rebecca is a professional athlete for Oiselle, a women’s athletic brand based in Seattle. She is training to make Team USA for the World Championships this summer, and enjoys finding opportunities to give back to her community through sport.

Gabe Galanda Lectures at Harvard on Tribal Neocolonialism

Gabe Galanda joined a class of Harvard University students last Wednesday to deliver a lecture titled, “Tribal Neocolonialism & the Transmutation of Indigenous Kinship Societies.”

Gabe addressed Professor Eric Henson’s class, “Native Americans in the Twenty-First Century.” His presentation provided a history of Indigenous kinship dictates, federal Indian per-capita law and policy, and tribal disenrollment and enrollment moratoria.

His conclusion: “Indigenous kinship dictates have eroded. Venal exclusion has supplanted Indigenous belonging.”  Download his slides here.

Gabe Galanda is an Indigenous rights attorney and the managing lawyer at Galanda Broadman in Seattle. He belongs to the Round Valley Indian Tribes of California, descending from the Nomlaki and Concow Peoples.

Ryan Dreveskracht Pens “Junk Science & How Government Avoids Truth in Excessive Force Cases”

Last month, Ryan Dreveskracht wrote an article for Trial News regarding what we learned in Lacy v. Snohomish County trial, specifically about the well-known dangers of prone position restraint technique that lead to restraint asphyxia in victims.

He claims that a "small group of academics have permeated vital components of how we train our police in the United States [and how] their opinions—which are not based in reality—have metastasized."  The studies cited by these “experts”—written by the same “experts,” in a feedback loop of bad science—conclude that prone position restraint is safe in “healthy adults males.”  Be that as it may, the studies do not account for real world conditions, or those who are experiencing delirium, exhaustion, or substance use, or have underlying conditions. 

Although this restraint position has led to death “at least 107” times since 2010, according to the article, major police training organizations, including Lexipool’s Police One, continue to perpetuate the dangerous myth that restraint asphyxia has been "debunked."   

Ryan Dreveskracht is a partner at Galanda Broadman. Ryan’s practice focuses defending individuals’ constitutional rights and bringing police misconduct and wrongful death cases on local and national levels. Ryan also represents businesses and tribal governments in public affairs, gaming, taxation, and energy development.

Three Galanda Broadman Indigenous Rights Lawyers Honored by Super Lawyers

Indigenous rights lawyers Gabe Galanda (Round Valley), Anthony Broadman, and Amber Penn-Roco (Chehalis) were each honored by Super Lawyers magazine for 2022.

Gabe and Anthony were named “Super Lawyers” and Amber a “Rising Star,” all in the field of Native American Law.

Galanda Broadman, PLLC, was also recently named a “Best Law Firm” by U.S. News - Best Lawyers in the arena of Native American Law and Gaming Law, for the 10th year in a row. 

With eight lawyers and offices in Seattle and Yakima, Washington and Bend, Oregon, the firm is dedicated to advancing and protecting Indigenous rights.