Supreme Court Rules That Tribes Owed Contract Support Costs On Program Income
On June 6, 2024, the United States Supreme Court ruled that the Indian Health Service (IHS) must reimburse tribes under the Indian Self-Determination Act for contract support costs incurred in providing tribal health care services funded with Medicare, Medicaid, and...
Patterson Earnhart Real Bird & Wilson LLP Announces New Partner
Patterson Earnhart Real Bird & Wilson LLP is pleased to announce the newest addition to the team: Derril Jordan. Derril will be joining the DC office as a Partner. Mr. Jordan is a senior Indian law attorney and partner with the Native Law Group, with over 35 years...
Patterson Earnhart Real Bird & Wilson LLP Welcomes Equity Partner and Announces Opening of Midwest Office
Patterson Earnhart Real Bird & Wilson LLP is proud to announce the opening of its Midwest Office in Madison, WI. This is the firm’s fourth office with locations in Colorado, North Dakota, and Washington, D.C. The new office will be located at 811 East Washington...
Patterson Earnhart Real Bird & Wilson LLP Announces Two New Equity Partners
National Native American law firm, Patterson Earnhart Real Bird & Wilson LLP is proud to announce the addition of two new Equity Partners: Jeff Rasmussen and Samantha Skenandore. Long-time partner Jeff has been with Native Law Group since its inception, and he has...
Native Law Group Participates in Cheyenne River Youth Project Christmas Toy Drive
Attorneys and staff at Native Law Group were honored to be able to participate in the Cheyenne River Youth Project (CRYP) Wo Otúh’an Wi Toy Drive. CRYP has been bringing holiday joy to over 1,000 youth on the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation with their Wo Otúh’an Wi...
New NAGPRA Rule To Streamline Return of Ancestral Remains & Cultural Objects
On December 6, 2023, as a part of the White House Tribal Nations Summit, the U.S. Department of the Interior (Interior) announced a Final Rule (rule) which updates regulations for the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA). NAGPRA was enacted...
Land Buy-Back Program for Tribal Nations Restores Almost 3 Million Acres
On December 4, 2023, the Department of the Interior announced the conclusion of the Land Buy-Back Program (“Program”) for Tribal Nations. The Program was established in December 2012 as a part of the Cobell v. Salazar Settlement Agreement, which provided a $1.9...
Bureau of Indian Affairs Finalizes New Fee-to-Trust Regulations
On December 12, 2023, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) finalized new regulations for taking fee lands into trust. The Fee-to-Trust regulations implement a provision in the 1934 Indian Reorganization Act (IRA) that allows the Secretary of the Interior to take lands...
President Biden Hosts White House Tribal Nations Summit
On December 6th and 7th, 2023, President Joe Biden held his administration’s third annual White House Tribal Nations Summit in Washington, D.C. The Summit was attended by hundreds of Tribal leaders from across the United States. President Biden addressed Tribal...
Arizona State Court Refuses to Expand Holding in Strate v. A-1 Contractors
On October 5, 2023, the Arizona Court of Appeals issued a decision upholding tribal jurisdiction and refusing to expand U.S. Supreme Court’s holding in Strate v. A-1 Contractors, 520 U.S. 438 (1997). In Strate, the Supreme Court ruled that a tribal court lacked civil...