Indian Law Bulletins Updated 3/18/2026

U.S. Supreme Court Bulletin

One application for injunction was filed 3/14/26:

• Lopez v. United States (25A1008) (religious freedom)

Federal Courts Bulletin

• Perank v. United States (sovereign immunity - discretionary function; water rights)
• Kozlowicz-Gardner v. Ute Tribal Council Members (Tribal sovereign immunity)
• Muscogee (Creek) Nation v. City of Tulsa, et al. (criminal jurisdiction; law enforcement jurisdiction)
• Arizona Mining Reform Coalition, et al. v. United States Forest Service, et al. (cultural property; Southeast Arizona Land Exchange and Conservation Act)
• In re Ex Parte Search Warrant Application in the Matter of:
  Environmental Protection Agency Administrative Inspection on Ute Tribal Land (Tribal property - access permit; Clean Air Act)
• Peterson v. Harrah's NC Casino Company, LLC, et al. (civil jurisdiction - necessary party)
• Alegre, et al. v. United States of America, et al. (Tribal membership)
• Wahpekeche v. Pettigrew (reservation diminishment; criminal jurisdiction)
• Myers v. The Tulalip Tribes (Tribal jurisdiction - exhaustion; Indian Civil Rights Act)

State Courts Bulletin

• Matter of L.K. (Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA))
• Matter of S.A.N. (Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA))
• State v. Winckler (jurisdiction)

U.S. Legislation - 119th Congress Bulletin

• S.4053 - A bill to take certain land in the State of California into trust for the benefit of the Pechanga Band of Indians, and for other purposes.
• H.R.7954 - To assist Tribal governments in the management of buffalo and buffalo habitat and the reestablishment of buffalo on Indian land.

U.S. Regulatory Bulletin

• Alaska; Hunting and Trapping in National Preserves (Interior)

Law Review & Bar Journal Bulletin

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• Federal gatekeeping and hollow sovereignty: A historical statutory analysis of Tribal access to legal representation.
• The need for special Tribal criminal jurisdiction over drug crimes.
• Pursuing restorative justice for the legacy of federal Indian boarding schools.
• Rivers of sovereignty: The EPA’s new water quality standards rule as a potential channel for revitalizing Tribal reserved water rights.

News Bulletin

This week, in brief:

• US transfers sacred Oak Flat site to Resolution Copper, dealing blow to Tribal opponents
• Apache women seek court intervention as federal land is turned over for copper mining
• Minnesota’s highest court rejects latest challenge to the Indian Child Welfare Act
• As violent crimes spike on the Ute Mountain Ute Reservation, support from the federal government is lacking
• Native Americans could be among the hardest hit by SAVE America Act

Announcements

• The Native American Rights Fund is hiring a Staff Attorney in the Alaska office. Learn more about the vacancy on our website.

Indian Law Bulletins Updated 3/11/2026

U.S. Supreme Court Bulletin

One petition for certiorari was filed 3/3/26:

• United States v. Hopson (25-1039) (Major Crimes Act (MCA))

Federal Courts Bulletin

• Farrer v. Cornpeach (civil jurisdiction; law enforcement jurisdiction)
• Torongo, et al. v. United States Department of Interior, Secretary of, et al. (Antiquities Act; cultural property)

U.S. Legislation - 119th Congress Bulletin

• S.3994 - A bill to amend the Federal Meat Inspection Act to authorize Tribal meat inspection under that Act by Tribal personnel, and for other purposes.
• S.4014 - A bill to direct the Secretary of the Interior to convey to the Nisqually Indian Tribe the Clear Creek Hatchery infrastructure, and for other purposes.
• H.Res.1089 - Expressing support for the designation of February 2026 as "Hawaiian Language Month" or "'Olelo Hawai'i Month".

U.S. Regulatory Bulletin

• Amendment of Notice of Funds Availability for Native American CDFI Assistance Program; Revised Application Submission Deadline (Treasury)
• Notice of Deadline for Submitting Completed Requests To Begin Participation in the Tribal Self-Governance Program in Fiscal Year 2027 or Calendar Year 2027 (Interior)
• 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)

Law Review & Bar Journal Bulletin

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• Filling the Tribal court attorney need through Tribes licensing their own attorneys.
• Fractionation by design: Remedy without repair in Indigenous-owned trust allotments.
• "In keeping with the constitution's original design": History and tradition in federal Indian law.
• Indigenous water governance and the Clean Water Act.
• A seat at the table: How Texas v. New Mexico provides Tribes a potential route to assert outstanding water rights claims in water compact disputes.

News Bulletin

This week, in brief:

• Michigan Supreme Court to hear Line 5 cases
• Seattle spent years misleading the public about Skagit River salmon. Now it will pay $1 billion for fish passage
• Chuckwalla National Monument’s defenders rally to save it
• Utah lawmakers ask Congress to undo Grand Staircase-Escalante management plan
• How Montana Tribes are using sovereignty to restore their waterways

Announcements

• The Native American Rights Fund is hiring a Staff Attorney in the Alaska office. Learn more about the vacancy on our website.

Indian Law Bulletins Updated 3/4/2026

Federal Courts Bulletin

• United States v. Wilkinson (criminal jurisdiction; Tribal consultation)
• National Wildlife Federation, et al. v. National Marine Fisheries Service, et al. (resource management - water rights; fishing rights)
• Osage Nation v. Wood, et al. (taxation - McGirt v. Oklahoma)
• United States v. Brice, et al. (federal criminal jurisdiction)
• Bad River Band of the Lake Superior Tribe of Chippewa Indians of the Bad River Reservation v. Enbridge Energy Company, Inc. and Enbridge Energy, L.P. (resource management; Tribal property - trespass)
• Mathias v. Baldwin (Tribal jurisdiction; custodial agreements)

Tribal Courts Bulletin

• Fort Peck Tribes v. Jennifer Jones (Indian Civil Rights Act (ICRA); Tribal law)
• Fort Peck Tribes v. Douglas Grandchamp (Indian Civil Rights Act (ICRA); Tribal law)
• Fort Peck Tribes v. Holly Toavs (Indian Civil Rights Act (ICRA); Tribal law)
• Fort Peck Tribes v. Harold Ralph Hamilton (Indian Civil Rights Act (ICRA); Tribal law)

State Courts Bulletin

• Matter of K.S. (Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA))

U.S. Legislation - 119th Congress Bulletin

• S.3945 - A bill to ensure that Federal laws that enable Federal, State, and local law enforcement agencies to access firearms apply equally to Tribal law enforcement agencies.
• S.3946 - A bill to allow members of federally recognized Tribes to use their Tribal government identification documents in obtaining a firearm from a federally licensed firearms dealer.
• H.R.7698 - To allow members of federally recognized Tribes to use their Tribal government identification documents in obtaining a firearm from a federally licensed firearms dealer.
• H.R.7699 - To ensure that Federal laws that enable Federal, State, and local law enforcement agencies to access firearms apply equally to Tribal law enforcement agencies.
• H.R.7705 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to treat Indian Tribal Governments in the same manner as State governments for certain Federal tax purposes, and for other purposes.
• H.R.7710 - To amend title 10, United States Code, to include Indian tribes in the defense community infrastructure program, and for other purposes.
• H.R.7781 - To provide that employees of tribally controlled schools are eligible to receive a pension under the Federal Employees Retirement System and to participate in the Thrift Savings Plan, and for other purposes.
• S.Res.625 - A resolution designating February 2026 as "Hawaiian Language Month" or "Olelo Hawai'i Month".

U.S. Regulatory Bulletin

• New Mexico and Oklahoma Statewide Tribal Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) General Permit Proposal (EPA)
• Proposed Information Collection Activity; Next Steps for Tribal TANF Research and Data (New Collection) (HHS)
• Alaska Native Claims Selection (Interior)

Law Review & Bar Journal Bulletin

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• Breaking the cycle: New ideas to solve old problems in Colorado River Tribal water access.
• Correcting Nevada v. Hicks: Recognizing Tribal courts as courts of general subject-matter jurisdiction.
• An equitable high: Indigenous People must have a seat at the table for the future business of psychedelics, how affirmative patent rights can ensure Indigenous inclusion.
• Healing East Hawai‘i: The broken promise of Act 117 and the transformative potential of the pu‘uhonua.
• Indians and citizenship: Territorial birth & parental status in contemporaneous caselaw.
• Reproducing citizenship.

News Bulletin

This week, in brief:

• Interior Department fights to dismiss Oklahoma Tribe's Indian boarding school lawsuit
• Trump fast-tracked permitting a Utah uranium mine in record 11 days. Tribes call it a rubber stamp
• Judge orders protective measures for Columbia River salmon after Trump canceled historic deal
• Fort Belknap sues U.S. government over Tribal law enforcement funding
• Tribal voting advocates cite harms in federal election bill

Announcements

• The Native American Rights Fund is hiring a Staff Attorney in the Alaska office. Learn more about the vacancy on our website.