Indian Law Bulletins Updated 8/19/2026

Federal Courts Bulletin

• Bayles, et al. v. Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, et al. (Section 1983; Indian Civil Rights Act (ICRA))
• In re Edward v. Blackfeet Family Court, et al. (Tribal jurisdiction)
• Native Village of Hooper Bay, et al. v. Burgum, et al. (Administrative Procedure Act (APA); Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA))
• Tohono O'odham Nation v. Mullin, et al. (Tribal property - trespass; 25 U.S.C. § 398d)
• Walden v. The City of Duncan, Oklahoma, et al. (criminal jurisdiction; Section 1983)
• Tobacco v. Avera McKennan (civil rights - racial discrimination)
• United States v. Winters (law enforcement jurisdiction)

Tribal Courts Bulletin

• White Earth Division of Natural Resources v. David Vipond (jurisdiction over non-members)

State Courts Bulletin

• In re the parenting and adoption of A.M.S., a minor child (Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA))
• DOT Lake Village v. Dená Nená Henash (Tribal sovereign immunity)
• Mallette v. Adams (Tribal jurisdiction; Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA))

U.S. Legislation - 119th Congress Bulletin

• S.5247 - Defense Community Infrastructure Program Tribal Eligibility Act of 2026 / A bill to amend title 10, United States Code, to include Indian Tribes in the defense community infrastructure program, and for other purposes.
• S.5282 - Chama Basin Watershed Protection Act / A bill to withdraw certain Federal land in the Rio Chama Watershed area of the State of New Mexico from mineral entry, and for other purposes.
• S.5299 - Native Language Educators in Classrooms Act / A bill to amend the Head Start Act to establish Tribal certification standards for Indian Head Start programs, and for other purposes.
• S.5354 - A bill to reauthorize the Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act of 1996.
• H.R.10054 - Chama Basin Watershed Protection Act / To withdraw certain Federal land in the Rio Chama Watershed area of the State of New Mexico from mineral entry, and for other purposes.

U.S. Regulatory Bulletin

• Submission for Office of Management and Budget Review; ACF-700 Tribal Annual Report (HHS)
• Proposed Modification of NPDES General Permit for Federal Aquaculture Facilities and Aquaculture Facilities Located in Indian Country in Washington (WAG130000) (EPA)

Law Review & Bar Journal Bulletin

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• Aloha, and mahalo.
• He aliʻi ka ʻāina: The Recktenwald court's engagement with Native Hawaiian rights.
• Indian law countercanons.
• Reservation realities: Oklahoma taxation of Tribal members post-McGirt under Stroble and new challenges to Tribal sovereignty including hunting and fishing regulation.
• Tribal consultation in environmental regulation and land use decision-making.
• Unbound: Actualizing social healing through justice for Native survivors of federal Indian boarding schools.

News Bulletin

This week, in brief:

• Appeals court sides with Winnebago Tribe on NAGPRA
• US Army Corps approves a pipeline project it knows harms Indigenous lands
• Tribal governance news: Sault Tribe citizens to vote on new constitution establishing 3-branch government
• New mining claims crop up on land cut from Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante
• Federal judge rejects Tohono O’odham Nation’s bid to halt border wall construction

Announcements

• The Native American Rights Fund has partnered with ZRG Aspen Leadership Group in the search for a Chief Operating Officer. You may view the position prospectus or submit an application at Aspen Leadership Group's website.

Indian Law Bulletins Updated 8/5/2026

U.S. Supreme Court Bulletin

One petition for certiorari was filed 7/24/26:

• Teck Metals Ltd. v. Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation (26-130) (Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA); cultural resources)

The Tribal Supreme Court Project published an Update Memorandum on August 1, 2026.

Federal Courts Bulletin

• United States v. Beard (criminal jurisdiction - Indian status)
• Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation v. United States, et al. (Tribal property; reservation diminishment)
• Bad River Band of the Lake Superior Tribe of Chippewa Indians of the Bad River Reservation v. Enbridge Energy Company, Inc., et al. (resource management; Tribal property - trespass)
• Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation v. United States Department of Interior, et al. (water rights; Administrative Procedure Act (APA))
• Bayles, et al. v. Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, et al. (Tribal sovereign immunity; Tribal jurisdiction; Indian Civil Rights Act (ICRA))

State Courts Bulletin

• Michael Hornbostel v. Town of Lac Du Flambeau (indispensable party; Tribal sovereign immunity; Tribal jurisdiction)
• In re Enbridge Energy (treaty rights; cultural resources; Michigan Environmental Protection Act (MEPA))

U.S. Legislation - 119th Congress Bulletin

• S.5240 - A bill to amend the Federal Crop Insurance Reform and Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 to establish a budgetary Tribal Government consultation process at the Department of Agriculture, and for other purposes.

U.S. Regulatory Bulletin

• Rate Adjustments for Indian Irrigation Projects (Interior)

Law Review & Bar Journal Bulletin

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

• Death, culture and a system in transition.
• The future is taking bets.
• Rights of nature, reconciliatory justice, and national parks: Evaluating the Te Urewera model for Redwood National and State Parks.
• Testing McGirt.
• Time is of the essence.
• Tribal banishment and disenrollment in Arizona's Indian Country.
• When sacred land is not enough.

News Bulletin

This week, in brief:

• Michigan Supreme Court rejects permit for Enbridge oil pipeline under Great Lakes
• Federal appeals court affirms Enbridge trespassed on Bad River Reservation, orders Line 5 reroute
• How a Utah Republican’s quiet battle for hunting access undercut the Ute Indian Tribe’s land back hopes
• 3 things to know about federal lawsuits and local law enforcement on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation
• Colorado River Indian Tribes pushes back on federal water plan

Announcements

• The Indian Law Bulletins are taking a short break - we will be back in your inbox on Wednesday, August 19.
• The Native American Rights Fund has partnered with ZRG Aspen Leadership Group in the search for a Chief Operating Officer. You may view the position prospectus or submit an application at Aspen Leadership Group's website.
• The Native American Rights Fund is hiring a Legal Practice Manager in the Boulder office. Learn more at our Career Center.

Indian Law Bulletins Updated 7/29/2026

U.S. Supreme Court Bulletin

One petition for certiorari was filed 7/20/26:

• Department of Interior v. Shoshone-Bannock Tribes of the Fort Hall Reservation (26-96) (Federal Land Policy and Management Act)

Federal Courts Bulletin

• The Northern Cheyenne Tribe v. The United States of America, et al. (Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (ISDEAA))

Tribal Courts Bulletin

• Gina Louise Lambert v. Mads Gjesdal (jurisdiction over non-members)
• In the Interest of Minor Child: [Redacted], DOB [Redacted] (Tribal law; Hocąk Nation Children & Family Act)
• Annie Cantrell v. Fort Peck Tribes (Tribal jurisdiction)

State Courts Bulletin

• In re X.A. (Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA))
• In the Interest of K.B. (Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA))

U.S. Legislation - 119th Congress Bulletin

• S.5056 - CDC Tribal Public Health Security and Preparedness Act / A bill to improve State, local, and Tribal public health security.
• S.5132 - A bill to amend the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to allow for dual enrollment in the supplemental nutrition assistance program and the food distribution program on Indian reservations.
• H.R.9820 - CDC Tribal Public Health Security and Preparedness Act / To improve State, local, and Tribal public health security.
• H.R.9935 - To improve the Indian School Equalization Formula of the Bureau of Indian Education, and for other purposes.
• H.R.9973 - To improve the Indian School Equalization Formula and Indian School Equalization Program of the Bureau of Indian Education, and for other purposes.

U.S. Regulatory Bulletin

• Notice of Final Issuance on the Adoption of Administration for Native Americans Program Policies and Procedures (HHS)
• Final Waivers and Extensions of the Project Periods With Funding for the Native American Career and Technical Education Program (NACTEP) (Education)

Law Review & Bar Journal Bulletin

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

• The federal trust responsibility in an era of coastal retreat: Climate relocation, fiduciary governance, and the future of Tribal self-determination.
• Four decades, no progress: Time for a Columbia River Basin compact.
• A guide along the spirit road: NAGPRA, culturally unidentifiable human remains, and deference to oral tradition.
• High stakes and holy land: Mormonism, IGRA, and the gamble on Tribal gaming in Utah.
• Land forward: Planning for legal reforms to facilitate land back and community-driven relocation in response to climate change.
• Rethinking Lyng: Applying the Equal Liberty Approach to sacred sites.
• Settler retrenchment.
• Transnational Indigenous advocacy networks and the implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

News Bulletin

This week, in brief:

• Environmentalists, Tribes sue feds over renewed approval of Mojave Desert pipeline
• Lawsuits seek to overturn permit for road construction through Alaska wildlife refuge
• Data sharing agreements must be led by Tribal voices, according to Pew report
• Lummi Nation granted small win in sacred burial site lawsuit
• Indigenous leaders give the UN a roadmap for protecting their peoples

Announcements

• The Native American Rights Fund has partnered with ZRG Aspen Leadership Group in the search for a Chief Operating Officer. You may view the position prospectus or submit an application at Aspen Leadership Group's website.
• The Native American Rights Fund is hiring a Legal Practice Manager in the Boulder office. Learn more at our Career Center.