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.

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.