Supreme Court Hears Oral Arguments in Case Challenging Tribal Water Rights
On Monday, March 20, 2023, the Supreme Court of the United States heard arguments in a case threatening the ability of Indian tribes to protect and enforce their water rights. Last year, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Navajo Nation can pursue its...
President Biden Releases Fiscal Year 2024 Budget Request
On March 9, 2023, President Biden released his $6.9 trillion funding request for Fiscal Year (FY) 2024, known as his "Budget Request." The Budget Request serves as the President's proposal for federal agency funding for the upcoming FY and reflects his policy...
Haaland Secretarial Order to Restore American Bison and Prairie Grasslands
By Logan Big Eagle, Contributing Attorney On March 3, 2023, Deb Haaland issued Secretarial Order No. 3410 on the “Restoration of American Bison and the Prairie Grasslands.” The purpose of the Order is “to enhance the Department of the Interior’s work to restore wild...
U.S. Forest Service Releases Tribal Action Plan
On February 3, 2023, the United States Department of Agriculture’s U.S. Forest Service (USFS) released a new Tribal Action Plan titled "Strengthening Tribal Consultation and Nation-to-Nation Relationships." The Plan aims to strengthen Tribal consultation through...
Congress Introduces Carcieri-fix and 99-Year Leasing Bills
The 118th Congress has gotten off to a busy start. In addition to hearings on funding for the Federal government, identifying tribal priorities, and bills on energy issues, in late February, Members of Congress introduced two bills that would address long-standing...
Over 100 Tribes File Amicus Briefs in Supreme Court Case Challenging Tribal Water Rights
On Monday, March 20, 2023, the United States Supreme Court will hear arguments in a case threatening the ability of Indian tribes to protect and enforce their water rights. Last year, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Navajo Nation can pursue its water...
Indian Affairs Congressional Committees Organize for 118th Congress
Committees in the United States Congress, both the Senate and the House of Representatives, convened recently to hold organizational meetings, welcome new members, and vote on their rules for the 118th Congress. The committees involved include the Senate Committee on...
House Subcommittee on Interior Appropriations Taking Testimony
The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Interior, Environment and Related Agencies announced it will take in-person testimony from Indian tribes and Alaska Natives on March 8 and 9, 2023. This is the first time since the...
Native Law Group Delivers Christmas Gifts for Toy Drive
Right before Christmas, Native Law Group attorneys and staff helped spread joy through their effort to deliver hundreds of toys for the Cheyenne River Youth Project (CRYP) Wo Otúh’an Wi Toy Drive on the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation. Native Law Group helped...
Supreme Court Maintains Crow Tribe’s Control Over Electric Cooperative
On December 12, 2022, the U.S Supreme Court refused an electric utility’s request to hear a long-disputed case about tribal jurisdiction. The Supreme Court’s refusal to hear the case leaves in place a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision that the Crow Tribe has...