Indian Law Bulletins Updated 9/2/2026

U.S. Supreme Court Bulletin

One petition for certiorari was filed 8/26/26:

• Wahpekeche v. Rogers (26-5447) (criminal jurisdiction; reservation diminishment)

Federal Courts Bulletin

• Rourke-Rodriguez, et al. v. United States Department of Education, et al. (treaty rights - Jay Treaty; Administrative Procedure Act (APA))
• Sharits, et al. v. Dernier, et al. (Tribal lending; Tribal sovereign immunity)
• Sauk-Suiattle Indian Tribe, et al. v. Tulalip Tribes of Washington, et al. (hunting and fishing rights)
• White Sand Lake Association Inc., et al. v. Johnson, et al. (Tribal jurisdiction; resource management)
• KalshiEX, LLC v. Assad, et al. (Commodity Exchange Act (CEA); Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA))
• Ysleta Del Sur Pueblo v. City Of El Paso (Tribal property; subject matter jurisdiction)
• Saiz v. Rincon Band of Luiseno Mission Indians of the Rincon Reservation, et al. (Tribal sovereign immunity; subject matter jurisdiction)
• Picayune Rancheria of the Chukchansi Indians v. Newsom, et al. (Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA); subject matter jurisdiction)
• Pueblo of San Felipe v. Haaland, et al. (Tribal property; subject matter jurisdiction)

State Courts Bulletin

• In re A.H. (Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA))
• Tanuk S. v. Department of Family & Community Services, Office of Children's Services (Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA))

U.S. Legislation - 119th Congress Bulletin

• H.R.10205 - 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.

Law Review & Bar Journal Bulletin

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

• Indian Nations' economic development and the SBA 8(a) program.
• Oklahoma v. Castro-Huerta leaves a dangerous wake: What the added layer of state criminal jurisdiction means for Tribal sovereignty and public safety in Indian Country.
• Restoring the full waterway bundle (part I): A reckoning for Indigenous title to submerged lands.
• Tribal law interpretations of justice and justiciability.

News Bulletin

This week, in brief:

• Tribes challenge transfer of Native education programs
• Feds suspend permit for road construction through Alaska wildlife refuge, amid legal questions
• ‘We will get it done’: 175 years in, Chinook Indian Nation is still fighting for federal recognition
• National Congress of American Indians urges Tribes to advocate against proposed changes to National Historic Preservation Act regulations
• Tribes forced to re-argue successful challenge of discriminatory North Dakota legislative map

Announcements

• Join the Tribal Supreme Court Project for the TSCP 25th Anniversary Colloquium on Indian Law Supreme Court Jurisprudence and Practice on Friday, September 18, 2026, 8am-3pm in Washington D.C. at the Eaton DC hotel. Come together with esteemed professors, judges, and practitioners to discuss the current state of Indian law jurisprudence, emerging legal issues, and Supreme Court practice and strategy. Visit the Tribal Supreme Court Project website for tickets and more information.
• 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 8/26/2026

U.S. Supreme Court Bulletin

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

• J.R. Simplot Company, LLC v. Shoshone-Bannock Tribes of the Fort Hall Reservation (26-109) (Federal Land Policy and Management Act)

Federal Courts Bulletin

• Guidiville Rancheria of California v. Ginsburg, et al. (waiver of sovereign immunity)
• State of Alaska v. Newland, et al. (Tribal property; Administrative Procedure Act (APA))

State Courts Bulletin

• Stillaguamish Tribe of Indians v. D.D. (Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA))
• In re W.A. (Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA))

U.S. Regulatory Bulletin

• Receipt of Documented Petition for Federal Acknowledgment as an American Indian Tribe (Interior)

Law Review & Bar Journal Bulletin

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

• The absent floor: The Dietary ACE, nutritional substrate suppression, and the population attributable cost of healing capacity failure in high-ACE Alaska Native communities.
• Bison management in the U.S.: You're right to be confused.
• Chapter I: Indigenous law.
• Keystone people: Indigenous treaty rights and the reconsideration of Yellowstone National Park.
• Violence against Indigenous women: How a jurisdictional maze is hindering criminal prosecution and preventing justice.

News Bulletin

This week, in brief:

• Montana agrees to accountability for Indigenous education
• Minnesota Governor Tim Walz signs executive order banning nonferrous mining near Boundary Waters
• California Tribal leaders rally at state capitol for religious freedom protections
• Some rural Alaska polling stations opened late on election day, a sign of continuing problems
• Tribes push back on federal plan for Colorado River water cuts

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 8/19/2026

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

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

• 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.