Indian Law Bulletins Updated 5/13/2026

Federal Courts Bulletin

• Ho-Chunk Nation v. Kalshi Inc., et al. (Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA); Tribal law)
• The Diocese of Monterey Parish & School Operating Corporation v. Garcia, et al. (Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA))
• Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation, Utah v. State of Utah, et al. (Tribal property; jurisdiction - Indian Country)
• Twenty-Nine Palms Band of Mission Indians v. Blanche, et al. (Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking (PACT); taxation)
• George v. Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, et al. (Indian Civil Rights Act (ICRA); Tribal law)
• Pechanga Band of Indians v. Kennedy, et al. (Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (ISDA))

U.S. Legislation - 119th Congress Bulletin

• H.R.8539 - Truth in National Parks Act / To amend title 54, United States Code, to ensure historically accurate exhibits at National Park Service sites, and for other purposes.
• S.Res.726 - A resolution expressing support for the designation of May 5, 2026, as "National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls".

Passed legislation:

• Tribal Trust Land Homeownership Act of 2025 / A bill to require the Bureau of Indian Affairs to process and complete all mortgage packages associated with residential and business mortgages on Indian land by certain deadlines, and for other purposes became Public Law No: 119-88 on 5/4/2026.

U.S. Regulatory Bulletin

• Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; Fisheries off West Coast States; Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery; 2026 Pacific Whiting Harvest Specifications, 2026 Tribal Allocation, and 2026 Incidental Set-Aside (Commerce)
• Submission for Office of Management and Budget Review; Next Steps for Tribal TANF Research and Data (New Collection) (HHS)

Law Review & Bar Journal Bulletin

Contact us if you need help finding a copy of an article.

• United States v. McBratney - revived in Oklahoma v. Castro-Huerta: A call for a legislative fix to repudiate Castro-Huerta.

News Bulletin

This week, in brief:

• Inside the Indigenous fight to save Alaska’s Bristol Bay
• ‘Failed experiment in human suffering’: Alligator Alcatraz immigration jail to close
• Mining company pulls out of controversial Pe’ Sla drilling project
• U.S. Interior Department announces Indian Country Violent Crime Task Force
• Montana district court blocks law restricting voter registration hours, allows voter ID law

Announcements

• The Native American Rights Fund is hiring a Staff Attorney in the Alaska office. Learn more about the vacancies at our Career Center.

Indian Law Bulletins Updated 5/6/2026

Federal Courts Bulletin

• United States v. Campbell (criminal jurisdiction; McGirt v. Oklahoma)
• NDN Collective, et al. v. U.S. Forest Service, et al., Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, et al. v. U.S. Forest Service, et al. (religious practices; trust breach)
• Guidiville Rancheria of California v. Ginsburg, et al. (waiver of sovereign immunity)
• State of Wisconsin v. Johnson, Sr., et al. (Tribal law; hunting and fishing rights)
• Heirs of Pope, et al. v. United States (resource management - oil and gas lease; Indian Tucker Act)

State Courts Bulletin

• In re Dependency of M.K. (Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA))

U.S. Legislation - 119th Congress Bulletin

• H.R.8658 - To amend the Indian Health Care Improvement Act to modify the notification requirement for emergency contract health services for certain beneficiaries, and for other purposes.
• H.Res.1257 - Expressing support for the designation of May 5, 2026, as the "National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls".

U.S. Regulatory Bulletin

• Major Portion Prices and Due Date for Additional Royalty Payments on Gas Produced From Indian Lands in Designated Areas That Are Not Associated With an Index Zone (Interior)
• Treatment of Income From Indian Fishing Rights-Related Activity as Compensation (Treasury)

Law Review & Bar Journal Bulletin

Contact us if you need help finding a copy of an article.

• The return to autochthonous law.
• Tribal court judgments.

News Bulletin

This week, in brief:

• Court clears path for “Alligator Alcatraz” on sacred Tribal land
• Federal court grants two-week mining reprieve at Pe’ Sla
• Indigenous people honor and raise awareness for relatives who are missing or have been killed
• North Dakota Tribal redistricting case still in limbo after Voting Rights Act decision
• Indian Country reacts to the US Supreme Court decision that dismantles the Voting Rights Act

Announcements

• The Native American Rights Fund is hiring an Annual Giving and Digital Fundraising Manager in the Boulder office and a Staff Attorney in the Alaska office. Learn more about the vacancies at our Career Center.

Indian Law Bulletins Updated 4/29/2026

U.S. Supreme Court Bulletin

The Tribal Supreme Court Project published an Update Memorandum on April 23, 2026.

Federal Courts Bulletin

• United States v. Holt (criminal jurisdiction; Tribal court)
• Jones, et al. v. United States (law enforcement jurisdiction; Tribal membership)
• McClamary v. D&L Real Estate Enterprises, LLC, et al. (Tribal jurisdiction; state jurisdiction)
• Gunter, et al. v. Contango ORE, Inc., et al. (jurisdiction; Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA))

State Courts Bulletin

• Petra J. v. Department of Family & Community Services, Office of Children's Services (Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA))

U.S. Legislation - 119th Congress Bulletin

• S.4368 - Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians Water Rights Settlement Act / A bill to approve the settlement of the water rights claims of the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians, and for other purposes.
• S.4381 - Western Tribal Water Act of 2026 / A bill to amend the America's Water Infrastructure Act of 2018 to reauthorize the Indian Reservation Drinking Water Program, and for other purposes.
• S.4399 - A bill to provide for certain conveyances under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, and for other purposes.
• S.4417 - A bill to amend the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Mission Indians Water Rights Settlement Act to make technical corrections, and for other purposes.
• H.R.8461 - To amend the America's Water Infrastructure Act of 2018 to reauthorize the Indian Reservation Drinking Water Program, and for other purposes.
• H.R.8483 - To take certain land in the State of California into trust for the benefit of the Barona Group of Capitan Grande Band of Mission Indians of the Barona Reservation, California, and for other purposes.
• H.R.8546 - To amend the Pechanga Band of Luiseño Mission Indians Water Rights Settlement Act to make technical corrections, and for other purposes.

U.S. Regulatory Bulletin

• Utah; Uinta Basin; 2015 8-Hour Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard; Reconsideration and Repeal of Finding of Failure To Attain and Reclassification to a Moderate Nonattainment Area; Extension of the Attainment Date and Determination of Attainment by the Marginal Attainment Date (EPA)
• Finding of Failure To Attain and Reclassification of Tribal Portions of the Greater Connecticut Ozone Nonattainment Area as Serious for the 2015 Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (EPA)

Law Review & Bar Journal Bulletin

Contact us if you need help finding a copy of an article.

• Abrogation without mention: A note on Lac Du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians v. Coughlin.
• The bad man’s hourglass: Extending the clock on justice.
• Beyond dollars and dams: Reimagining cost-benefit analysis, flood control, and Indigenous rights in Hawaii.
• Chaco roads: Connecting cultural heritage and environmental justice.
• “The color question in the Supreme Court”: Black, white, and red in United States v. Perryman.
• “Discovered!”: Plaintiff’s brief to the United States Supreme Court in Johnson & Graham’s Lessee v. M‘Intosh (1823).
• The future of a melting Arctic: Implications for Indigenous rights.
• The Indian law aunties.
• Protecting cultural personality.
• Tribal rights of nature laws: Fulfilling sacred obligations.
• Tulsa v. O’Brien: A city adds to the battle over jurisdiction in Indian Country.
• Ward, trust, or sovereign: The impact of metaphor in Supreme Court Indian law jurisprudence.
• With religious freedom came religious authority: Apache Stronghold v. United States and the exclusion of Native American religion within the legal understanding of religious freedom.

News Bulletin

This week, in brief:

• Oregon lithium drilling faces legal challenge over habitat
• Michigan wins key legal battle over Line 5 pipeline
• Tribal advocates seek emergency court order to halt drilling at sacred Pe’ Sla site
• Apache Stronghold files updated lawsuit over Oak Flat land transfer
• More than 10,000 Oklahoma Native landowners may be owed oil and gas revenue, lawsuit says

Announcements

• The Native American Rights Fund is hiring a Director of Development, an Annual Giving and Digital Fundraising Manager, and a Law Fellow in the Boulder office and a Staff Attorney in the Alaska office. Learn more about the vacancies at our Career Center.