Interior Proposes Rule to Improve Fee-to-Trust Process
On December 5, 2022, the Department of the Interior (Interior) published in the federal register a notice of proposed rulemaking to revise the fee-to-trust regulations at 25 C.F.R. Part 151. The federal register notice is available here. Interior is proposing the...
Energy Efficiency Funding Available for Tribes
The Department of Energy announced the availability of Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) funding for Indian tribes. Congress authorized a total of $550 million for states and tribes. Of this amount, 2 percent or $8 million was allocated to tribes....
Native Law Group Recognized in “Denver’s Top Lawyers 2023”
Patterson Earnhart Real Bird & Wilson LLP – also known as the Native Law Group – is honored to be recognized in “Denver’s Top Lawyers 2023” by 5280 Magazine. Five hundred of Denver Metro’s most skilled attorneys were selected through peer surveys and editorial...
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
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 legislation in 2019 as a draft bill. In the years...
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 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 States, 207 U.S. 564...
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...