February 12, 2025

Indian Law Bulletins Updated 2/12/2025

Federal Courts Bulletin
https://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/federal/2025.html

  • Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation v. Morse, et al. (Civil Jurisdiction; Article III Standing)

Tribal Courts Bulletin
https://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/tribal/2025.html

  • Spirit v. Fort Peck Tribes (Indian Civil Rights Act; Confrontation; Due Process)

State Courts Bulletin
https://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/state/2025.html

  • In the Matter of the Guardianship of K.D.B. (Indian Child Welfare Act)

U.S. Legislation - 119th Congress Bulletin
http://narf.org/nill/bulletins/legislation/119_uslegislation.html

  • S.443 - A bill to amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to allow Indian tribal governments to directly request fire management assistance declarations and grants, and for other purposes.
  • H.R.1010 - To require Federal law enforcement agencies to report on cases of missing or murdered Indians, and for other purposes.
  • S.Res.60 - An original resolution authorizing expenditures by the Committee on Indian Affairs.
  • H.Res.97 - Expressing support for the designation of the week beginning February 3, 2025, as "National Tribal Colleges and Universities Week."

U.S. Regulatory Bulletin
http://narf.org/nill/bulletins/regulatory/2025.html

  • Presidential Memorandum; Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina (Interior)

Law Review & Bar Journal Bulletin (contact us if you need help finding a copy of an article)
https://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/lawreviews/currentlr.html

  • Abdication of power: Arizona v. Navajo Nation and judicial refusal to enforce the federal trust relationship.
  • Beyond statutory tango: Native American Tribe's access to bankruptcy relief after Lac Du Flambeau.
  • The erosion of trust: Arizona v. Navajo, climate change, and the potential abrogation of tribal water rights.
  • Green and proud: Protecting the Antiquities Act as a means of fighting climate change and promoting American patriotism.
  • Indigenizing legal republicanism.
  • Native reproductive self-determination.
  • Opportunities for reconciliation: The legal history of the Leech Lake Indian Reservation and the Chippewa National Forest.
  • The parallels in the repatriation of cultural property: How the Holocaust Expropriated Art Recovery Act provides a framework for a more effective Native American Grave Protection and Repatriation Act.
  • Teaching at the intersection of federal Indian law and environmental law courses.
  • Where do we go from here? Navajo Nation's fight for water.

News Bulletin
https://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/news/currentnews.html

This week, in brief:

  • Amid wave of executive orders, Native communities worry about ‘collateral damage’ to U.S. treaty obligations
  • Billy Kirkland (Navajo) nominated to be Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs by Trump
  • ‘Our data is our stories’ | Q+A: Abigail Echo-Hawk on data sovereignty
  • Arizona Republicans lose bid to block Grand Canyon monument protections
  • Native Americans and immigration enforcement - know your rights

February 5, 2025

Indian Law Bulletins Updated 2/5/2025

Federal Courts Bulletin
https://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/federal/2025.html

  • United States, et al. v. State of Washington, et al. (Treaty Fishing Rights; Usual and Accustomed Fishing Places; Skagit River)
  • Duwamish Tribe, et al. v. Haaland, et al. (Federal Recognition; Voluntary Remand)
  • Schmasow v. Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa of Montana (Habeas Corpus; Membership; Exhaustion of Tribal Remedies)

Tribal Courts Bulletin
https://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/tribal/2025.html

  • Porporino v. Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority (Discovery; Protective Order)

State Courts Bulletin
https://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/state/2025.html

  • In re Taylor M. (Indian Child Welfare Act)
  • Frankel v. Board of Land and Natural Resources (Trust Breach)

U.S. Legislation - 119th Congress Bulletin
http://narf.org/nill/bulletins/legislation/119_uslegislation.html

  • S.390 - A bill to require Federal law enforcement agencies to report on cases of missing or murdered Indians, and for other purposes.
  • H.R.907 - To provide for the settlement of the water rights claims of the Fort Belknap Indian Community, and for other purposes.
  • S.Res.49 - A resolution designating the week beginning February 3, 2025, as "National Tribal Colleges and Universities Week."

U.S. Regulatory Bulletin
http://narf.org/nill/bulletins/regulatory/2025.html

  • Federal Recognition of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina (Presidential Memorandum)

News Bulletin
https://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/news/currentnews.html

This week, in brief:

  • Native leaders press Trump Admin, Congress to preserve Tribal Nations' political status amid federal changes
  • Although flow of federal money is fine for now, Tribes brace for cuts and plan to protect treaty rights
  • Uranium ore shipments will resume after Navajo Nation, Energy Fuels reach agreement
  • Duwamish Tribe gets another chance at federal recognition
  • #LandBack offers common ground for Native Tribes, Trump Administration

January 29, 2025

Indian Law Bulletins Updated 1/29/2025

U.S. Supreme Court Bulletin
https://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/sct/2024-2025update.html

One petition for certiorari was filed on 1/24/25:

  • Bibeau v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue (24-804) (Federal Taxation of On-Reservation Income)

Federal Courts Bulletin
https://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/federal/2025.html

  • Temple v. Mercier, et al. (Tribal Exhaustion Doctrine; Livestock Grazing Permits)
  • Unkechaug Indian Nation v. Seggos (State Sovereign Immunity; Article VI Debts and Engagements Clause; Supremacy Clause)
  • Village of Hobart, WI v. United States Department of The Interior (Land Into Trust; Discovery)
  • Chinook Indian Nation, et al. v. Haaland, et al. (Federal Recognition; Attorneys' Fees)
  • Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria v. Haaland, et al. (Land Into Trust; National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA))

State Courts Bulletin
https://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/state/2025.html

  • Waukegan Potawatomi Casino, LLC v. Illinois Gaming Board (Illinois Gambling Act; Mootness)
  • Johnson v. Board of Education for Albuquerque Public Schools (New Mexico Human Rights Act; Religious and Cultural Rights)
  • Cherokee Nation v. United States Department of the Interior (Indian Gaming Regulatory Act; State Interest)

U.S. Legislation - 119th Congress Bulletin
http://narf.org/nill/bulletins/legislation/119_uslegislation.html

  • S.236 - A bill to amend the Act of August 9, 1955 (commonly known as the "Long-Term Leasing Act"), to authorize leases of up to 99 years for land in the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe Reservation and land held in trust for the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah), and for other purposes.
  • S.239 - A bill to take certain mineral interests into trust for the benefit of the Crow Tribe of Montana, and for other purposes.
  • S.240 - A bill to amend the Crow Tribe Water Rights Settlement Act of 2010 to make improvements to that Act, and for other purposes.
  • S.241 - A bill to provide for the settlement of the water rights claims of the Fort Belknap Indian Community, and for other purposes.
  • S.254 - A bill to amend the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 to protect the cultural practices and livelihoods of producers of Alaska Native handicrafts and marine mammal ivory products, and for other purposes.
  • S.255 - A bill to amend the Migratory Bird Treaty Act to clarify the treatment of authentic Alaska Native articles of handicraft containing nonedible migratory bird parts, and for other purposes.
  • H.R.635 - To amend the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 to increase Tribal access to water conservation and efficiency grants, and for other purposes.
  • H.R.681 - To amend the Act of August 9, 1955 (commonly known as the "Long-Term Leasing Act"), to authorize leases of up to 99 years for land held in trust for the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe and the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah), and for other purposes.
  • H.R.725 - To take certain mineral interests into trust for the benefit of the Crow Tribe of Montana, and for other purposes.
  • H.R.726 - To amend the Crow Tribe Water Rights Settlement Act of 2010 to make improvements to that Act, and for other purposes.
  • H.R.741 - To elevate the position of Director of the Indian Health Service within the Department of Health and Human Services to Assistant Secretary for Indian Health, and for other purposes.

Law Review & Bar Journal Bulletin (contact us if you need help finding a copy of an article)
https://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/lawreviews/currentlr.html

  • Arizona v. Navajo Nation: Leaving a trickle of hope for water security on the Navajo reservation.
  • Live, work, govern using DinĂ© fundamental law.
  • Sovereign immunity: from policy to practice.
  • The way back home: the Indian Land Tenure Foundation's survey of tribal land-back projects across the United States.

News Bulletin
https://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/news/currentnews.html

This week, in brief:

  • The Winnebago Tribe appeals lower court decision; seeks the remains of two Winnebago back from Carlisle Cemetery
  • Donald Trump starts federal recognition process for North Carolina Lumbee Tribe
  • Alaskans don’t have a right to correct errors on absentee ballots, state judge rules
  • "Excluding Indians": Trump admin questions Native Americans' birthright citizenship in court
  • Navajo Nation leaders raise alarm over reports of Indigenous people being questioned and detained during immigration sweeps