On August 3, 2023, Senator Lisa Murkowski and Senator Dan Sullivan introduced S.2615, which would amend the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act to provide that Alaska Native Village Corporations will no longer be required to...more
On December 5, 2022, the Interior Department’s Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) published proposed revisions to 25 C.F.R. Part 151—the regulations governing the United States’ discretionary acquisition of land in trust for the...more
Alaskans should prepare for major changes to the unique legal framework governing tribal lands in Alaska. In mid-November, the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) announced that it can acquire lands in trust for Alaska’s...more
The Bureau of Indian Affairs has proposed revising the regulations governing the acquisition of land into trust for Indian tribes. The proposed revisions, if adopted, would streamline the fee-to-trust process and eliminate...more
In a recent span of thirty days, the U.S. Department of Interior (DOI) and the Biden Administration announced no fewer than seven key policy proposals with the potential to greatly benefit tribes, tribal organizations and...more
Fee-to-trust, sometimes also called land-into-trust, is the process by which tribes can have land taken into trust by the federal government. Congress authorized the Department of the Interior (DOI) to take land into trust...more
Last week, President Biden signed a Memorandum on Tribal Consultation and Strengthening Nation-to-Nation Relationships. In the memorandum, President Biden says “It is a priority of my Administration to make respect for Tribal...more
On July 17, 2020, a federal judge in Guam refused to vacate her ruling in U.S. v. Government of Guam, et al., Case No. 1:17-00113, which held that sovereign immunity prevented the U.S. government from seeking damages under...more
• With Democrats taking control of the U.S. House of Representatives, tax provisions affecting tribal governments and their members are once again on the table for discussion. • This notice provides an overview of seven...more
• President Donald Trump on Dec. 22, 2017, signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the first major overhaul of the U.S. tax system in over 30 years. • Although few of the enacted provisions are specific to Indian Country, several...more
• A decision by the Court of Federal Claims has important implications for breach of trust claims involving tribal trust funds. • Most claims for mismanagement of tribal trust resources are limited to the six-year period...more
Congress returned from the Thanksgiving holiday with an intense workload that must be completed by the end of the year. Tax reform remains a focus, and the Republican-controlled Congress is still committed to getting a final...more
Over the last few years, the Department of Interior Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) updated the federal regulations on leases and rights-of-way on Indian trust land. Important tax provisions were included in the new...more
Definitions and syntax. Not only on middle school quizzes, but also what determined the fate of the Mashpee Wampanoag and Cowlitz tribal casinos in Massachusetts and Washington, respectively. Two federal court decisions...more
The Native American Finance Officers Association (NAFOA) held its 34th annual conference on April 17-20, 2016, at the Gila River Indian Community's Sheraton Wild Horse Pass Resort in Phoenix. NAFOA is a national non-profit...more
The question of whether Alaska Natives may place land in the same federal trust status as Indian tribes in the lower 48 states was widely thought to have been resolved but is now before the Court of Appeals for the District...more
More than six years after the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Carcieri v. Salazar, Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyoming), the chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, has introduced the “Interior Improvement Act” to fix...more
On June 4, 2015, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued its en banc decision in Big Lagoon Rancheria v. California, a case in which Big Lagoon Rancheria, a federally recognized Indian tribe, sought to compel the State of...more
SHOULD THERE BE A “LEGISLATIVE SOLUTION” TO DISPUTED INDIAN TRUST APPLICATIONS? Recent actions in Arizona and Indiana suggest that there is a new approach to local government opposition to Indian tribal applications for...more
On December 19, 2014, the Bureau of Indian Affairs announced the promulgation of a final rule that will allow land to be taken into trust for federally-recognized tribes in Alaska. Allowing trust lands in Alaska is a seismic...more
In This Issue: - INDIAN COUNTRY AWAITS 9TH CIRCUIT’S EN BANC REHEARING IN BIG LAGOON CASE: In January, a split 9th Circuit panel shocked Indian Country with its holding in Big Lagoon Rancheria v. California that...more
In January, a split 9th Circuit panel shocked Indian Country with its holding in Big Lagoon Rancheria v. California that the State’s failure to negotiate in good faith for a tribal-state gaming compact with the Big Lagoon...more
Notice 2014-17 Is a Positive Development Because It Should Ultimately Result in Consistent IRS Treatment of Tribal Trust Resources, But Several Issues Remain Unresolved. The Notice provides that the IRS and Treasury...more
In response to last year’s United States Supreme Court case of Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians v. Patchak, 132 S. Ct. 2199 (2012) (“Patchak”), the Bureau of Indian Affairs (“BIA”) issued a final rule on...more
The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) published a proposed rule in the Federal Register that, if adopted, will substantially alter the rights of those who would challenge a decision by the BIA to acquire land in trust for an...more