Indian Law Bulletins Updated 4/15/2026

Federal Courts Bulletin

• Arizona Mining Reform Coalition v. United States Forest Service (cultural resources/property, Southeast Arizona Land Exchange and Conservation Act (SALECA), National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), Free Exercise Clause)
• Douglas v. Wisner (law enforcement jurisdiction; Indian Civil Rights Act (ICRA))
• Arizona v. Biden (cultural resources/property)

Tribal Courts Bulletin

• In the matter of A.L. (criminal jurisdiction)

Law Review & Bar Journal Bulletin

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

• Buried burdens: Contaminated lands and the unfinished business of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act.
• Indigenous constitutionalism.
• The intangible NAGPRA.
• The challenge of Indian Child Welfare Act enforcement in the modern age of child dependency.
• Recovering scale for climate action: Indigenous Peoples, nonanthropocentric ethics, and caretaking institutions.
• A right, not a request: International human rights law and the repatriation of remains from former Indigenous boarding schools in the United States.
• Subsistence as resistance: Reconceptualizing the theory of progressive property to incubate resistance to consumerism.

News Bulletin

This week, in brief:

• Eco jurisprudence – international momentum is growing
• Plans to withdraw protections from oil and gas development around Chaco prompt 70,000 public comments to federal agency in one week
• Lawsuit challenges prison ban on Indigenous faith practices
• New Wisconsin law allows Indigenous students to wear regalia at graduations
• What you need to know about Tribal sovereignty and birthright citizenship

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.

Indian Law Bulletins Updated 4/8/2026

U.S. Supreme Court Bulletin

Two petitions for certiorari were denied:

• Flying T Ranch, Inc. v. Stillaguamish Tribe of Indians (25-987) (Tribal sovereign immunity)
• Stroble v. Oklahoma Tax Commission (25-382) (state taxation in Indian Country)

Federal Courts Bulletin

• Frank's Landing Indian Community, et al. v. Enlow (civil jurisdiction; Tribal sovereign immunity)
• Sepulveda v. Payer, et al. (Tribal law; custodial orders)
• United States of America v. 20,855.90 Acres of Land, et al. (Tribal property - land into trust)
• United States v. Goodlow (criminal jurisdiction - Major Crimes Act (MCA))
• State of Montana, et al. v. Burgum, et al. (treaty rights - standing)
• Harris, et al. v. W6LS, Inc., et al. (Tribal law; civil jurisdiction - arbitation)
• Gastanaga v. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (Federal recognition; Freedom of Information Act (FOIA))
• Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe v. United States, et al. (Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (ISDEAA))
• Corrales v. United States of America, et al. (Federal recognition - Tribal leadership dispute)
• Poemoceah v. Swenson (sovereign immunity - qualified immunity)
• Yurok Tribe v. Dowd, et al. (hunting and fishing rights)
• Farrer v. Cornpeach (civil jurisdiction; Tribal sovereign immunity)

Tribal Courts Bulletin

• Carey v. Woodall (Tribal jurisdiction; jurisdiction over non-members; Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA))

U.S. Legislation - 119th Congress Bulletin

• S.4276 - A bill to reauthorize the Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act of 1996.
• H.R.7957 - Preserve the Traditional Cultural Place Chí’chil Biłdagoteel Historic District Act / To preserve the Traditional Cultural Place of Chi'chil Bildagoteel Historic District listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and for other purposes.
• H.R.8092 - To reauthorize the Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act of 1996, and for other purposes.
• H.R.8188 - To remove certain limitations with respect to road grading under Tribal transportation programs and study the impacts of such removal, and for other purposes.

U.S. Regulatory Bulletin

• Reversal of Land Acquisition; Koi Nation of Northern California, Shiloh Site, Sonoma County, California (Interior)
• Reducing Bureaucracy and Burden for Native American Programs (HHS)
• Alaska Native Claims Selection (Interior)

Law Review & Bar Journal Bulletin

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• Beyond Tribal exhaustion: Restoring Tribal courts' civil jurisdiction over nonmembers.
• "In my defense, I have none:" Taylor Swift, Indian law, and a re-examination of custom's inapplicability in the United States.
• Taxing Indigenous cultural property.
• The Tribal Energy Act: A necessary step toward the electrification of the Navajo Nation.
• When you're just not "Indian" enough: The erosion of Tribal sovereignty in State v. Nobles and the case for deference to Tribes on questions of Indian status.
• White-collar crime in Indian Country: Teaching and researching familiar issues in a unique context.

News Bulletin

This week, in brief:

• The Buffalo’s return: new partnerships boost Indigenous-led conservation in Tribal lands
• Opinion: Syracuse University men’s lacrosse’s ‘burn the boats’ glorifies Indigenous genocide
• Tribes object as Trump administration moves to reopen Chaco Canyon to drilling
• Tribal Nations urge appeals court to uphold ICWA in Arizona foster care case
• Indian Peaks Band appeals federal approval of Utah water project

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.

Indian Law Bulletins Updated 3/25/2026

U.S. Supreme Court Bulletin

One application for injunction was denied 3/19/26:

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

Two petitions for certiorari were denied 3/23/26:

• Chinook Indian Nation v. Burgum (25-313) (federal recognition)
• Jacobs v. Oregon Department of Human Services (25-6586) (Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA))

Federal Courts Bulletin

• Gardner, et al. v. Ute Tribal Court of the Uintah and Ouray, et al. (criminal jurisdiction; Indian Civil Rights Act (ICRA))
• Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation, Utah v. State of Utah, et al. (Tribal property; jurisdiction - Indian Country)
• Hamilton v. Sharp (criminal jurisdiction - Tribal membership)
• Villebrun v. Nienaber (Tribal sovereign immunity - Section 1983)
• Shade v. United States Department of the Interior, et al. (Tribal property; Administrative Procedure Act (APA))
• Porrazzo v. State of Nevada, et al. (trust breach - standing)
• Ormat Nevada Inc. v. United States Department of the Interior, et al. (religious practices; resource management)

State Courts Bulletin

• Kewadin Casinos Gaming Authority v. Patterson Earnhart Real Bird & Wilson LLP (Tribal sovereign immunity)
• In re L. A. Ledee, Minor. (Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA); Michigan Indian Family Preservation Act (MIFPA); federal recognition)

U.S. Legislation - 119th Congress Bulletin

• S.4179 - A bill to amend the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act to require that equitable distribution of assistance include equitable distribution to Indian Tribes and Tribal organizations, and for other purposes.
• H.R.8048 - To amend the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act to require that equitable distribution of assistance include equitable distribution to Indian Tribes and Tribal organizations, and for other purposes.
• S.Res.650 - A resolution recognizing the heritage, culture, and contributions of American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian women in the United States.

U.S. Regulatory Bulletin

• Alaska Native Claims Selection (Interior)
• Rate Adjustments for Indian Irrigation Projects (Interior)

Law Review & Bar Journal Bulletin

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

• Oh Deer: The Elk court’s misunderstanding of the Citizenship Clause.

News Bulletin

This week, in brief:

• Chinook Indian Nation denied recognition in Supreme Court case, vows to ‘continue fight’
• Oklahoma Supreme Court weighs in on Tribal hunting, fishing rights dispute
• Last hope to save Apache sacred site Oak Flat fizzles out at Supreme Court
• Maine Gov. Mills, Wabanaki Nations shelve sovereignty overhaul in compromise measures
• Native American Rights Fund on the SAVE America Act

Announcements

• The Indian Law Bulletins are taking a short break - we will be back in your inbox on Wednesday, April 8.
• The Native American Rights Fund is hiring a Staff Attorney in the Alaska office. Learn more about the vacancy on our website.