Indian Law Bulletins Updated 6/11/2025

U.S. Supreme Court Bulletin
https://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/sct/2024-2025update.html

One petition for certiorari was filed 6/2/2025:

• Unkechaug Indian Nation v. Lefton (24-1240) (Treaty Rights)

Federal Courts Bulletin
https://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/federal/2025.html

• Scotts Valley Band of Pomo Indians, et al. v. Burgum, et al. (Land Into Trust; Indian Gaming)
• San Carlos Apache Tribe, et al. v. United States Forest Service, et al. (Land Exchange; National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA); Preliminary Injunction)
• United States v. Snake (Supervised Release; Sentencing)
• Gardner v. Ute Tribal Court of the Uintah and Ouray Reservavtion (Habeas corpus; Tribal Court Proceedings)

State Courts Bulletin
https://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/state/2025.html

• Atencio v. State of New Mexico (Environmental Protection; New Mexico Civil Rights Act)
• United Indian Health Services, Inc. / Tribal First v. Workers' Compensation Appeals Board and Deborah Hemstead (Tribal Sovereign Immunity)

U.S. Legislation - 119th Congress Bulletin
http://narf.org/nill/bulletins/legislation/119_uslegislation.html

• S.1967 - A bill to amend the Stored Communications Act to include Tribal courts as courts of competent jurisdiction, to amend the Indian Civil Rights Act of 1968 to confer Tribal jurisdiction over controlled substances, related offenses, and firearms, and for other purposes.
• S.2015 - A bill to direct the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture to encourage and expand the use of prescribed fire on land managed by the Department of the Interior or the Forest Service, with an emphasis on units of the National Forest System in the western and southeastern United States, to acknowledge and support the long-standing use of cultural burning by Indian Tribes and Indigenous practitioners, and for other purposes.
• H.R.3723 - Tribal Gaming Regulatory Compliance Act / To ensure all federally recognized Tribes that are eligible for gaming in the United States are regulated under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, and for other purposes.
• H.R.3773 - To amend the Stored Communications Act to include Tribal courts as courts of competent jurisdiction, to amend the Indian Civil Rights Act of 1968 to confer Tribal jurisdiction over controlled substances, related offenses, and firearms, and for other purposes.
• H.R.3889 - To direct the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture to encourage and expand the use of prescribed fire on land managed by the Department of the Interior or the Forest Service, with an emphasis on units of the National Forest System in the western and southeastern United States, to acknowledge and support the long-standing use of cultural burning by Indian Tribes and Indigenous practitioners, and for other purposes.

U.S. Regulatory Bulletin
http://narf.org/nill/bulletins/regulatory/2025.html

• Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustments; Annual Adjustments (Interior)

Law Review & Bar Journal Bulletin (contact us if you need help finding a copy of an article)
https://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/lawreviews/currentlr.html

• Becerra v. San Carlos Apache Tribe.
• Planning a new paradigm: Tribal co-stewardship and federal public lands planning.

News Bulletin
https://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/news/currentnews.html

This week, in brief:

• NY won’t rescind Native American mascot ban despite Trump threat, may broaden it
• US Justice Department says Trump can cancel national monuments that protect landscapes
• San Carlos Tribe celebrates temporary victory in federal court to save Oak Flat
• California's Yurok Tribe gets back ancestral lands that were taken over 120 years ago
• Settlements & stalemates: Tribal leaders steer Colorado River conversation

Indian Law Bulletins Updated 6/4/25

Federal Courts Bulletin
https://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/federal/2025.html

• Alaska Department of Fish and Game v. Federal Subsistence Board, et al. (Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA); Improper Delegation)
• Webber, et al. v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security, et al. (International Economic Powers Act (IEEPA); Indian Commerce Clause; Jay Treaty of 1794)
• Bird, et al. v. United States, et al. (Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA); Fiduciary Relationship)

Tribal Courts Bulletin
https://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/tribal/2025.html

• Stone, et al. & Romanelli v. Little River Band of Ottawa Indians Tribal Council, et al. (Tribal Council Budget Authority; Tribal Enterprise)

State Courts Bulletin
https://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/state/2025.html

• Matter of P.E.W. (Indian Child Welfare Act)

U.S. Legislation - 119th Congress Bulletin
http://narf.org/nill/bulletins/legislation/119_uslegislation.html

• H.R.3609 - Remove the Stain Act / To rescind each Medal of Honor awarded for acts at Wounded Knee Creek on December 29, 1890, and for other purposes.
• H.R.3654 - TERRA Act / Tribal Emergency Response Resources Act / To authorize the integration and administrative streamlining of Federal funding for Indian Tribes that have reservations, other Tribal lands, or ways of life at risk due to environmental impacts and natural disasters, and for other purposes.
• H.R.3670 - IHS Provider Expansion Act / To amend the Indian Health Care Improvement Act to establish within the Indian Health Service an Office of Graduate Medical Education Programs, and for other purposes.

U.S. Regulatory Bulletin
http://narf.org/nill/bulletins/regulatory/2025.html

• Proposed Re-Issuance of National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System General Permit for Wastewater Discharges Associated With Drinking Water Production Located in the EPA Region 8 Indian Country and Lands of Exclusive Federal Jurisdiction (EPA)
• Rescinding Regulations Regarding Management Systems Pertaining to the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Indian Reservation Roads Program (DOT)

Law Review & Bar Journal Bulletin (contact us if you need help finding a copy of an article)
https://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/lawreviews/currentlr.html

• Affording oral tradition evidence due weight before the International Court of Justice.
• Broken promises and unfulfilled obligations.
• Correcting the confidentiality catch-22 of Indigenous knowledge.
• The historic superfund listing of the Lukachukai Mountains mining district.
• Incorporating Indigenous stewardship in land management.
• Indigenous abolition and the third space of Indian child welfare.
• The landback movement.
• Protecting tribal interests in water.
• Reflections of a Wyoming-Navajo lawmaker.
• The Supreme Court's use of historical evidence in recent Indian law cases.

News Bulletin
https://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/news/currentnews.html

This week, in brief:

• Montana’s American Indian Caucus touts historic success in 2025 legislative session
• US Dept. of Education declares New York mascot ban discriminatory
• Federal court rules in favor of Tribes against SunZia
• An egregious backlog: Interior Department searches for ways to speed up Native American probate court
• North Dakota Tribes ask circuit judges for rehearing of voting rights case

Announcements

• The Native American Rights Fund is hiring a Staff Attorney in the Alaska office. Learn more about the vacancy at https://www.narf.org/contact-us/join-team.

Indian Law Bulletins Updated 05/28/2025

U.S. Supreme Court Bulletin
https://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/sct/2024-2025update.html

Two petitions for certiorari were denied on 5/27/25:

• Apache Stronghold v. United States (24-291) (Religious Freedom)
• Kanam v. Burgum (24-1019) (Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List Act of 1994)

Federal Courts Bulletin
https://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/federal/2025.html

• Tohono O'odham Nation, et al. v. United States Department of the Interior, et al. (Tribal Consultation; Traditional Cultural Place)
• California v. Del Rosa, et al. (Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act (PACT Act); Contempt of Court)
• Brown v. Rogers (Habeas Corpus; Oklahoma v. Castro-Huerta)

U.S. Legislation - 119th Congress Bulletin
http://narf.org/nill/bulletins/legislation/119_uslegislation.html

• S.1853 - A bill to amend title 38, United States Code, to improve the provision of direct housing loans and medical care from the Department of Veterans Affairs for Native Hawaiians.
• H.R.3610 - To amend title 38, United States Code, to improve the provision of direct housing loans and medical care from the Department of Veterans Affairs for Native Hawaiians.

U.S. Regulatory Bulletin
http://narf.org/nill/bulletins/regulatory/2025.html

• Alaska Native Claims Selection (Interior)
• Submission for Office of Management and Budget Review; Proposed Information Collection Activity; Tribal Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program: Implementation Plan Guidance and Community Needs and Readiness Assessment Guidance (HHS)

Law Review & Bar Journal Bulletin (contact us if you need help finding a copy of an article)
https://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/lawreviews/currentlr.html

• Coercion and control: The need to protect Native Hawaiian women and girls from sex trafficking.
• Drawing lines in the sea: Indigenous sovereignty through the coastal zone.
• Indigenizing international law education.
• Native American veterans: Acknowledging their service, recognizing their needs, and learning from their tribal restorative tradition.
• Robots and (Indian) reservations: A jurisdictional nightmare waiting to happen.
• Standing in the wrong line: Navajo Nation water rights after Arizona v. Navajo Nation.
• United States v. Sioux Nation of Indians revisited: Justice, repair, and land return.
• Unveiling the environmental impact of large language models on Indigenous communities: A call for action and liability.

News Bulletin
https://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/news/currentnews.html

This week, in brief:

• Tribes say the US misappropriated funds to pay for Native American boarding schools
• Diné woman confirmed as first Native federal judge in California
• Supreme Court turns down Apaches' bid to block copper mine on sacred site
• Class of 2025 leads the way for Indigenous graduation regalia
• New Oregon law allows Tribes to petition for removal of state control from tribal affairs