Aug 23, 2023 | News
On May 11, 2023, the Klamath Irrigation District (KID) filed a petition for a writ of certiorari that could potentially expand the authority of an Oregon state court to adjudicate settled tribal water rights belonging to the Klamath and Hoopa Valley Tribes (Tribes). ...
Aug 23, 2023 | News
On July 17, 2023, the Department of the Interior, Department of Health and Human Services, and the Department of Justice (the Administration) sent a letter to Tribal leaders asking for input on how the Administration can promote federal protections for Indian children...
Aug 23, 2023 | News
At its Annual Convention in October 2022 the Alaska Federation of Natives (AFN) passed a resolution recognizing that Alaskan Native Corporations are not sovereign governments. AFN took the action in response to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act...
Jun 30, 2023 | News
On June 22, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against the Navajo Nation’s breach of trust claim relating to its reserved water rights in the Arizona v. Navajo Nation and Department of the Interior v. Navajo Nation consolidated case. The decision significantly limits...
Jun 30, 2023 | News
On April 3, 2023, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) published a proposed rule in the Federal Register entitled “Conservation and Landscape Health” for the public lands managed by BLM. The proposed rule is intended to increase conservation efforts as a part of BLM’s...
Jun 30, 2023 | News
On June 15, 2023 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the United States Bankruptcy Code unambiguously abrogates the sovereign immunity of all governments, including federally recognized Indian tribes. In Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians v....
Jun 30, 2023 | News
In his first few months as Speaker of the House, Kevin McCarthy, used negotiations on a bill to increase the debt ceiling to rescind “unobligated” COVID-19 related funding—including some tribal funding. The bill also put limitations on future spending and included...
Jun 16, 2023 | News
Yesterday, June 15, 2023, the Supreme Court of the United States upheld the constitutionality of the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) in the Haaland v. Brackeen case. The decision affirms the political government-to-government relationship between Indian tribes and...
May 31, 2023 | Insights
On May 5, 2023, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a Proposed Rule to establish baseline federal water quality standards for Indian reservation waters that currently do not have standards in effect under the Clean Water Act (CWA). EPA says this rule...
May 31, 2023 | Insights
On April 27, 2023, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report entitled “Actions Needed to Improve Interior’s Management of Trust Services.” In this report, GAO assessed the Department of Interior’s evolving management of trust funds for Indian tribes...
