Indian Law Bulletins Updated 05/28/2025

U.S. Supreme Court Bulletin
https://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/sct/2024-2025update.html

Two petitions for certiorari were denied on 5/27/25:

• Apache Stronghold v. United States (24-291) (Religious Freedom)
• Kanam v. Burgum (24-1019) (Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List Act of 1994)

Federal Courts Bulletin
https://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/federal/2025.html

• Tohono O'odham Nation, et al. v. United States Department of the Interior, et al. (Tribal Consultation; Traditional Cultural Place)
• California v. Del Rosa, et al. (Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act (PACT Act); Contempt of Court)
• Brown v. Rogers (Habeas Corpus; Oklahoma v. Castro-Huerta)

U.S. Legislation - 119th Congress Bulletin
http://narf.org/nill/bulletins/legislation/119_uslegislation.html

• S.1853 - A bill to amend title 38, United States Code, to improve the provision of direct housing loans and medical care from the Department of Veterans Affairs for Native Hawaiians.
• H.R.3610 - To amend title 38, United States Code, to improve the provision of direct housing loans and medical care from the Department of Veterans Affairs for Native Hawaiians.

U.S. Regulatory Bulletin
http://narf.org/nill/bulletins/regulatory/2025.html

• Alaska Native Claims Selection (Interior)
• Submission for Office of Management and Budget Review; Proposed Information Collection Activity; Tribal Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program: Implementation Plan Guidance and Community Needs and Readiness Assessment Guidance (HHS)

Law Review & Bar Journal Bulletin (contact us if you need help finding a copy of an article)
https://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/lawreviews/currentlr.html

• Coercion and control: The need to protect Native Hawaiian women and girls from sex trafficking.
• Drawing lines in the sea: Indigenous sovereignty through the coastal zone.
• Indigenizing international law education.
• Native American veterans: Acknowledging their service, recognizing their needs, and learning from their tribal restorative tradition.
• Robots and (Indian) reservations: A jurisdictional nightmare waiting to happen.
• Standing in the wrong line: Navajo Nation water rights after Arizona v. Navajo Nation.
• United States v. Sioux Nation of Indians revisited: Justice, repair, and land return.
• Unveiling the environmental impact of large language models on Indigenous communities: A call for action and liability.

News Bulletin
https://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/news/currentnews.html

This week, in brief:

• Tribes say the US misappropriated funds to pay for Native American boarding schools
• Diné woman confirmed as first Native federal judge in California
• Supreme Court turns down Apaches' bid to block copper mine on sacred site
• Class of 2025 leads the way for Indigenous graduation regalia
• New Oregon law allows Tribes to petition for removal of state control from tribal affairs

Indian Law Bulletins Updated 5/2/2025

U.S. Supreme Court Bulletin
https://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/sct/2024-2025update.html

One petition for certiorari was filed on 5/9/25:

• Maverick Gaming LLC v. United States (24-1161) (Rule 19 and Administrative Procedure Act (APA))

Three petitions for certiorari were denied on 5/19/25:

• Lexington Insurance Co. v. Suquamish Tribe (24-884) (Tribal Court Jurisdiction Over Non-Members)
• Lexington Insurance Company v. Mueller (24-906) (Tribal Court Jurisdiction Over Non-Members)
• Cromwell v. United States (24-6364) (Hobbs Act)

Federal Courts Bulletin
https://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/federal/2025.html

• Kialegee Tribal Town v. United States Department of Interior, et al. (Land into Trust; Cause of Action)
• Donius v. Ramirez, et al. (Tribal Regulatory Jurisdiction; Search and Seizure; Due Process)
• Robinson v. Oglala Sioux Tribe, et al. (Tribal Sovereign Immunity)
• Shoshone Bannock Tribes of the Fort Hall Reservation v. United States, et al. (Breach of Trust; Settlement Agreement; Treaty Rights)
• Protect the Peninsula's Future, et al. v. Haaland, et al. (Required Party; Public Interest Exception to Joinder; Tribal Economic Development)
• Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians, et al. v. Howe, et al. (Voting Rights Act (VRA); Section 1983)

Tribal Courts Bulletin
https://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/tribal/2025.html

• Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation v. Couillard (Board of Review Authority; Termination of Employee)
• The Tulalip Tribes v. Flores (TTC 2.25.070(7) ("Speedy Trial Statute"))

U.S. Legislation - 119th Congress Bulletin
http://narf.org/nill/bulletins/legislation/119_uslegislation.html

• S.1750 - A bill to reaffirm the applicability of the Indian Reorganization Act to the Poarch Band of Creek Indians, and for other purposes.
• H.R.3444 - To direct Federal land management agencies of the Department of the Interior to establish Tribal Co-Management Plans and to authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to enter into agreements with Indian Tribes and Tribal organizations for the performance of certain activities of the Forest Service, and for other purposes.
• H.Res.431 - Recognizing the importance of the Arctic Council and reaffirming the commitment of the United States to the Arctic Council.

Law Review & Bar Journal Bulletin (contact us if you need help finding a copy of an article)
https://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/lawreviews/currentlr.html

• Abandoned mines, abandoned treaties: The federal government's failure to remediate abandoned uranium mines on the Navajo Nation.
• Addressing the gender wage gap for Native American women.
• AI and tribal court practice.
• The future of the discovery doctrine: One view from outside Indian Country.
• Indianness as property.
• Nanaboozhoo and Derrick Bell go for a walk.
• Rejecting the racialization of Indianness.
• Subject to the jurisdiction thereof: The Indian law context.

News Bulletin
https://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/news/currentnews.html

This week, in brief:

• NY governor apologizes for ‘atrocities’ at state boarding school for Native Americans
• Wichita Public Schools cut Native American education staff amid budget struggles
• Wabanaki Tribe reclaims seat in Maine House as relations improve
• Tribal IDs accepted during Real ID requirement
• A federal appeals panel has made enforcing the Voting Rights Act harder in 7 states

Indian Law Bulletins Updated 5/14/2025

Federal Courts Bulletin
https://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/federal/2025.html

• Lower Brule Sioux Tribe v. United States Department of Interior, et al. (Self-Determination Contract)
• Kadayso v. Mescalero Tribal Council, et al. (Appointment of Counsel; Habeas Petition; Banishment)
• Apache Stronghold v. United States, et al. (Injunction Pending Appeal)

State Courts Bulletin
https://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/state/2025.html

• In the Matter of: D.L.L. and J.T.L., Youths in Need of Care (Indian Child Welfare Act)

U.S. Legislation - 119th Congress Bulletin
http://narf.org/nill/bulletins/legislation/119_uslegislation.html

• H.R.3255 - To reaffirm and clarify the Federal relationships of the Grand River Bands of Ottawa Indians of Michigan as a federally recognized Indian tribe, and for other purposes.

Law Review & Bar Journal Bulletin (contact us if you need help finding a copy of an article)
https://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/lawreviews/currentlr.html

• Modern day colonialism through Hawai'i's quiet title and partition laws.
• An old world discovery for new world justice: The FSIA path to repatriate stolen Native American art.
• There would be food forever: Leveraging the Culvert Case to fight toxic fish contamination in the Columbia River.
• Tribal judicial power.

News Bulletin
https://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/news/currentnews.html

This week, in brief:

• EPA terminates $20 million Walker River Paiute Tribe water infrastructure grant
• Actions by Wyoming and the feds could have opposing effects on Indigenous rock art
• Federal judge pauses Oak Flat land swap until a SCOTUS decision
• Consultation doesn’t always equal consent
• NCAI releases landmark Minority & Missing Report highlighting disparities in missing persons cases

Indian Law Bulletins Updated 5/7/2025

Federal Courts Bulletin
https://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/federal/2025.html

• Webster v. Burgum (Racial Discrimination; Indian Preference)
• Englebright, et al. v. Buhl, et al. (Tribal Sovereign Immunity; Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA))

U.S. Legislation - 119th Congress Bulletin
http://narf.org/nill/bulletins/legislation/119_uslegislation.html

• S.1574 - A bill to amend the Stored Communications Act to include Tribal courts as courts of competent jurisdiction.
• S.Res.200 - A resolution expressing support for the designation of May 5, 2025, as the "National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls."
• H.Res.381 - Expressing support for the designation of May 5, 2025, as the "National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls."

U.S. Regulatory Bulletin
http://narf.org/nill/bulletins/regulatory/2025.html

• Notice of Documented Petition for Federal Acknowledgment as an American Indian Tribe (Interior)
• Land Acquisitions; Cherokee Nation, Bartlesville Site, City of Bartlesville, Unincorporated Washington County, Oklahoma (Interior)

Law Review & Bar Journal Bulletin (contact us if you need help finding a copy of an article)
https://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/lawreviews/currentlr.html

• Advancing tribal co-management: Lessons learned from international comparisons.
• It's about all relations: Indigenous feminist theory of relational freedom.
• Land-back to move forward? The measurable relationship between land-back movements and economic outcomes in Indigenous communities within the U.S.
• The potential intercontinental railway between Siberia and Alaska and its implications for Alaska Native corporations and federally recognized Tribes.
• Rosalind's refund: The woman, the lawyers, and the time that created McClanahan v. Arizona.
• Sexual assault in tribal appellate courts: Case studies of tribal jurisprudence.
• Strategic litigation in pursuit of Indigenous justice.

News Bulletin
https://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/news/currentnews.html

This week, in brief:

• Under settlement, Montana Board of Public Ed vows to improve how state teaches Native American history and culture
• How the feds abandoned reservations to burn
• Oregon lawmakers celebrate 50 years of Native American legislative commission
• Graduation regalia: more Native students get green light to wear tribal regalia this year
• Key reports addressing violence against Indigenous women are gone from federal sites