2022 White House Tribal Nations Summit Recap
On November 30th and December 1st, 2022, President Joe Biden and Secretary Deb Haaland held the administration's second White House Tribal Nations Summit. After hosting a virtual summit in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2022 White House Tribal Nations Summit...
New Policies and Initiatives Announced at White House Tribal Nations Summit
President Joe Biden, Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, and other cabinet secretaries and federal officials stood alongside tribal leaders to announce new policies and initiatives to strengthen the nation-to-nation relationship between the United States and Indian...
Honoring Promises to Native Nations Act Introduced in Congress
Contributor: Jason Decker, Senior Associate On December 5, 2022, Senator Elizabeth Warren (MA) and Congressman Derek Kilmer (WA) introduced the Honoring Promises to Native Nations Act in Congress. Warren and then-Congresswoman Deb Haaland originally released the...
Congress Passes Safeguard Tribal Objects of Patrimony Act
On November 29, 2022, Congress passed the Safeguard Tribal Objects of Patrimony (STOP) Act of 2021, and the bill is on its way to being signed into law by President Biden. The Act intends to prevent the international export of cultural items prohibited from...
Native Law Group Recognized as “Best Law Firms” Two Years in a Row
For the second year in a row, Patterson Earnhart Real Bird & Wilson LLP earned a top-tier ranking in the U.S. News & World Report “Best Law Firms” list for 2023. In the practice area of Native American Law, the firm received a Tier 1 ranking for the Colorado...
Supreme Court to Hear Case Threatening Winters Indian Water Rights Doctrine
Contributors: Frances C. Bassett, Partner Barry Bartel, Partner The United States Supreme Court recently agreed to hear a case that could threaten the more than 100-year-old “Winters” doctrine, which upholds and protects Indian water rights. In Winters v. United...
Supreme Court Hears Arguments in Case Challenging ICWA
On November 9, 2022, the United States Supreme Court heard a challenge to the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) in the Haaland v. Brackeen case. The Supreme Court considered the constitutionality of ICWA, its validity under the Indian Commerce Clause, and claims that...
Interior Announces Improved 477 Program
By Donald Walton, Associate Attorney On October 7, 2022, the Department of the Interior and other federal departments announced a new Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) to implement the Indian Employment, Training, and Related Services Consolidation Act of 2017. Under the...
CRYP 2022 Wo Otúh’an Wi Toy Drive in Progress
The Cheyenne River Youth Project’s annual Wo Otúh’an Wi Toy Drive is now under way, and the nonprofit organization is reaching out to hundreds of families to ensure that their children’s holiday wishes come true. Wo Otúh’an Wi means “Moon of Giving Away Presents” in...
White House Announces 2022 Tribal Nations Summit
The White House announced that it will hold the 2022 White House Tribal Nations Summit on November 30th and December 1st, 2022 at the Department of the Interior in Washington, D.C. Registrations are due by Monday, November 14, 2022. The White House states that each...