Indian Law Bulletins Updated August 27, 2025

Federal Courts Bulletin

• Shoshone-Bannock Tribes of Fort Hall Reservation v. U.S. Department of the Interior, et al. (Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (FLPMA); Tribal Land Cession Agreement)
• Halverson v. Burgum (Sovereign Immunity; Settlement Agreement; Allotment Lands)

Tribal Courts Bulletin

• Hazelton v. Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe Indians (Subject Matter Jurisdiction; Right of Way)
• Fort Peck Tribes v. Desiree Scheaffer (Indian Civil Rights Act; Probable Cause)
• In the Matter of: MH, TH, TD and Concerning Katrina Follet v. Ernesto Hernandez (Child Custody; Motion for Review; Failure to Appear)

U.S. Regulatory Bulletin

• Endangered and Threatened Species; Take of Anadromous Fish (Commerce)
• Endangered and Threatened Species; Take of Anadromous Fish (Commerce)
• Receipt of Request for Authorization To Re-Petition for Federal Acknowledgment as an American Indian Tribe (Interior)
• Rate Adjustments for Indian Irrigation Projects (Interior)

Law Review & Bar Journal Bulletin

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• Can the Roberts Court find federal Indian law?
• Federal Indian law in a time of judicial self-aggrandizement.
• Homelands not graveyards.
• Indigenous Peoples in international (treaty) diplomacy.
• Indigenous rights to culture: What’s next?
• "The seed is the law": Creating new governance frameworks for Indigenous heirloom seeds and traditional knowledge.
• Separation-of-powers formalism and federal Indian law: The question of executive order reservations.
• The Supreme Court’s old habits in a new era? Native Nations, statehood, and an Indigenous-led future for natural resources.
• Tribal law innovations in Native governance.
• Tribal revestiture.
• Tribal sovereignty, Justice Gorsuch, and the letter of the law.
• What we talk about when we talk about (Indian) sovereignty: Montana and the application of general statutes to Tribes.

News Bulletin

This week, in brief:

• Federal appeals court preserves Alaska’s two-tier system for subsistence fishing management
• Justice Gorsuch and what is owed to American Indians
• Courts, treaties, and power — A conversation with John Echohawk
• Oklahoma governor takes aim at Tulsa mayor’s decision to prosecute crimes in Tribal courts
• The Colorado River is this Tribe’s ‘lifeblood,’ now they want to give it the same legal rights as a person

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 August 20, 2025

U.S. Supreme Court Bulletin

One petition for certiorari was filed on 8/8/25:

• Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians v. Michigan (25-165) (Treaty Fishing Rights)

Federal Courts Bulletin

• United States, et al. v. The State of Alaska, et al. (Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act; Katie John) Trilogy
• Hill, et al. v. United States Department of Interior, et al. (Water Rights Settlement; Allottee Water Rights)
• Unnamed Mother v. United States (Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA); Coordination with Tribal Law Enforcement)
• Lopez, et al. v. United States, et al. (Religious Freedom; Free Exercise; Injuntion Pending Appeal)
• California v. Del Rosa, et al. (Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act (PACT Act); Sanctions)
• Welsh, et al. v. Loudbear, et al. (Tribal Sovereign Immunity)
• San Carlos Apache Tribe v. United States Forest Service, et al. Arizona Mining Reform Coalition, et al. v. United States Forest Service, et al. (Land Exchange; National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA); Preliminary Injunction)
• Birdbear et al. v. United States (Trust Relationship; Mineral Leasing)
• Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community v. Kennedy, et al. (Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (ISDEAA); Contract Support Costs)
• Perez v. City of San Antonio (Preliminary Injunction; Likelihood of Success)
• Eggers v. Healing Lodge of the Seven Nations, et al. (Employment Discrimination; Tribal Sovereign Immunity)
• Channing, et al. v. Seneca-Cayuga Nation, et al. (Administrative Procedures Act; Secretarial Election)
• Ultraclean Fuel (Transmix), LLC v. LDC Energy, LLC (Exhaustion of Tribal Remedies)
• Nansemond Indian Nation, et al. v. Commonwealth of Virginia, et al. (Tribal Health Program Compensation; Immunity)
• Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation v. Ure, et al. (Sale of Trust Lands; Civil Rights Acts; Sovereign Immunity)
• United States v. Town of Lac du Flambeau, et al. (Right-of-Way Easement; Administrative Procedures Act)

State Courts Bulletin

• Matter of T.A.G. (Indian Child Welfare Act; Tribal Jurisdiction)
• In re Disciplinary Action Against Martins (Tribal Jurisdiction)

U.S. Regulatory Bulletin

• Tribal Consultation for SBA's Office of Capital Access and Access to All Agency Financial Assistance, Contracting, Business Counseling and Technical Assistance Programs, Identifying Issues and Best Practices (SBA)

Law Review & Bar Journal Bulletin

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

• Against judicial generalists.
• Assimilation, continued: Mitigating Castro-Huerta in the context of Tribal air pollution regulation.
• Charitable donations: NAGPRA regulations prompt valuation questions for repatriated Native American cultural objects.
• Judicial imperialism: The Supreme Court’s assault on Tribal sovereignty and the rule of law.
• Mining association position statement on Indigenous Peoples: Respect for their rights advanced, with some shortcomings.
• The North American gap ungulates must migrate physically and legally: Elk as a case study.
• The right to protest in Indian Country.
• Tribes in the text: How state constitutions structure governmental relationships with Native Tribes.

News Bulletin

This week, in brief:

• Appeals court blocks Oak Flat land swap, giving copper mine opponents a late reprieve
• Tribes, NARF join legal fight to protect Chuckwalla National Monument
• Public hearings kick off over disputed Enbridge Line 5 reroute
• Lawsuit filed: county must update voting map so Chippewa Cree votes also count
• Some Oklahoma towns still ticket Tribal citizens, in violation of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling

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 August 6, 2025

Federal Courts Bulletin

• Fletcher, et al. v. United States (Breach of Trust; Prior Settlement Agreement; Tribal Sovereign Immunity)
• Ransom v. GreatPlains Finance, LLC, et al. (Tribal Lending; Tribal Sovereign Immunity; Tribal Entity)
• Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians v. United States Department of Health and Human Services (Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance (ISDEA); Healthcare Funds Compensation)
• United States v. Peshlakai (Treaty Rights; Navajo Nation Detainer Statute)
• United States, et al. v. Fourpoint Resources, LLC (Intervention; Environmental Enforcement Action; Tribal Consultation)
• Village of Dot Lake v. United States Army Corps of Engineers, et al. (Administrative Procedure Act; Tribal Consulation Policy)
• United States v. Hopson (Major Crimes Act (MCA); Subject Matter Jurisdiction; Lesser Offense)
• Cayuga Nation v. New York State Gaming Commission, et al. (Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA); Equity Jurisdiction)

Tribal Courts Bulletin

• In the matter of: application of candidacy for Birdtown Tribal Council of Patrick H. Lambert (Tribal Elections)

State Courts Bulletin

• Matter of J.B. (Indian Child Welfare Act; Tribal Jurisdiction)
• In re Ja.O. (Indian Child Welfare Act)

U.S. Legislation - 119th Congress Bulletin

• S.2554 - A bill to provide for the recognition of certain Alaska Native communities and the settlement of certain claims under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, and for other purposes.
• S.2564 - A bill to ensure all federally recognized Tribes that are eligible for gaming in the United States are regulated under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, and for other purposes.
• S.2577 - A bill to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act with respect to the right of members of a federally recognized Indian Tribe in the United States and First Nations individuals in Canada to cross the borders of the United States.

U.S. Regulatory Bulletin

• Endangered and Threatened Species; Take of Anadromous Fish (Commerce)
• Finding of Failure To Attain and Reclassification of Area in New York as Serious for the 2015 Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards-Shinnecock Indian Nation (EPA)

Law Review & Bar Journal Bulletin

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• Beyond bingo: How class II bingo-based "slot machines" are reshaping Tribal-state dynamics.
• Economic development for Native Nevada: How Indian gaming can further Tribal self-determination.
• Keynote speech from the 2025 Indian Nations Gaming & Governance Program Symposium.
• An old law with new tricks? The prospects and pitfalls of using the Antiquities Act of 1906 to shape climate policy on federal lands.
• Overcoming the barriers that Native Americans face in the voting process. (written by NARF Staff Attorney Jacqueline De Leon)
• Protecting Native knowledge systems? Implementing WIPO's GRATK Treaty.
• Returning Hawaiian land to Hawaiian hands.
• Should Tribes "ban the box"?
• Skilled nursing and assisted living in Indian Country.
• Tort claims in Indian Country.
• Tribal Nations and the use of AI.
• Tribal programs remain intact despite DEI orders.
• Tribal recognition and Rhode Island: Towards a recognition process for the Ocean State.

News Bulletin

This week, in brief:

• The importance of the Voting Rights Act for Indian Country (written by NARF Executive Director John Echohawk)
• With reforms in place, California’s Karuk Tribe works to reestablish cultural burning as 'common practice'
• Rural communities, Tribes sue EPA over $2.8 billion in canceled funding for flood mitigation and resilience projects
• 'It's insulting': Feds decline to review approval of drilling at planned copper mine
• Reopen Alcatraz? Indigenous People say it’s more than madness – it’s historical erasure

Announcements

• The Indian Law Bulletins are taking a short break next week. We'll be back with the next update on August 20th.
• The Native American Rights Fund is hiring a Staff Attorney in the Alaska office. Learn more about the vacancy on our website.