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Legal Battle Over Casino Development: Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians v. Debra A. Haaland

In a recent judicial decision involving the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, the Tribe has faced a setback in establishing a casino near Detroit, Michigan. The case of Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians v....more

Court Vacates Decision to Take Downtown Juneau Land Into Trust for Tlingit & Haida Tribe

In a momentous legal development, U.S. District Court Judge Sharon L. Gleason has vacated and remanded a decision by the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) to place a 787-square-foot parcel of land in downtown Juneau into...more

The Ninth Circuit Finds Tribal Nation Waived Sovereign Immunity Through Arbitration Provision

On June 10, 2024, the Ninth Circuit entered an opinion finding that the Choctaw Nation had expressly waived its sovereign immunity against arbitration, determining that the contractual provision between the Nation and...more

Supreme Court Ruling Supports Tribal Healthcare Funding and Self-Determination

By Heidi McNeil Staudenmaier and Kelsey Haake  In a momentous decision on June 6, 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court delivered a resounding victory for Native American tribes. The Court ruled that the Indian Health Service (IHS)...more

Navigating Sovereign Immunity in Employment Termination Case

In the recent Arizona federal court case, Xia v. Harrah’s Arizona Corp., five individuals, Jie Xia, Necy Sundquist, Mary Grace Abon, Susan Samons, and Maria Henry (Plaintiffs), brought wrongful termination, discrimination,...more

Alaska Supreme Court Extends Tribal Sovereign Immunity: A Landmark Decision with a Far-Reaching Impact

In a significant legal development, the Alaska Supreme Court recently expanded tribal sovereign immunity to include tribal consortiums, overturning a precedent set two decades ago. The groundbreaking decision of Ito v. Copper...more

Louisiana Bans Prop Bets for Betting Integrity and Athlete Safety

Just before the University of Connecticut’s and the University of South Carolina’s wins in March Madness, Louisiana issued a major change to college sports betting. Starting August 1, 2024, Louisiana’s Gaming Control Board...more

Property Owned by Non-Indians and Located on Tribal Land Is Subject to Property Tax

Generally, tribal lands held in trust by the federal government are exempt from state and local taxation under Section 5 of the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 (the Act). However, when non-Indians are involved in ownership...more

A New Solicitor Opinion Revisits Tribal Jurisdiction Over Alaska Native Allotments

In the complex landscape of Indigenous rights and jurisdiction, the question of tribal authority over Alaska Native allotments has long been a subject of legal debate. The recent Opinion known as Partial Withdrawal of...more

United States District Court Finds California Failed to Negotiate Gaming Compact in Good Faith

On February 27, 2024, the District Court for the Eastern District of California entered an order finding that California did not negotiate a Class III gaming compact in good faith with Plaintiff Alturas Indian Rancheria...more

The Ninth Circuit Affirms Tribal Court Jurisdiction Over Insurance Provider

On February 29, 2024, the Ninth Circuit issued its opinion in Lexington Insurance Co. v. Smith (Suquamish Tribe). The Court affirmed the tribal court’s subject-matter jurisdiction over Lexington pursuant to the Tribe’s...more

Department of the Interior Issues Final Rule for Review of Class III Tribal-State Gaming Compacts

On February 16, 2024, the United States Department of the Interior (“DOI”) issued revisions to its regulations for how it reviews Class III Tribal-State Gaming Compacts under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (“IGRA”). The...more

Secretary of the Interior Issues Class III Gaming Procedures for Five Tribes Without Role for State of California

On January 31, 2024, the United States Department of the Interior issued gaming procedures under the Federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (“IGRA”) for five tribes located in California: Blue Lake Rancheria, Chemehuevi Indian...more

Texas Federal Court Dismisses Tribal Business Contract Dispute

In a contract dispute between CHR Solutions Inc. and Gila River Telecommunications Inc., a business entity wholly owned and operated by the Gila River Indian Community (“GRIC”), the question of tribal sovereign immunity and...more

New Mexico Tribal Courts Have Jurisdiction Over Casino Patron Tort Claims

In a recent decision, the New Mexico Supreme Court ruled in the case of Sipp v. Buffalo Thunder Inc. that state courts do not have the authority to adjudicate tort claims filed by casino visitors. The unanimous decision...more

BIA Regulatory Changes Seek to Streamline Land-Into-Trust Process

The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), in an effort to improve and streamline the tribal land acquisition application process, recently announced changes to the pertinent federal regulations, 25 CFR Part 151. Prior to the...more

Arizona District Court Finds Tribally Co-Owned Wireless Provider Not Entitled to Sovereign Immunity

In an order filed on June 27, 2023, the Arizona District Court determined that a wireless provider co-owned by the Navajo Nation was not immune from suit in federal court. In Tsosie v. N.T.U.A. Wireless LLC, et al.,...more

Supreme Court Determines Section 106(a) of the Bankruptcy Code Waives Sovereign Immunity of Native American Tribes

On June 15, 2023, the United States Supreme Court held that “the Bankruptcy Code unambiguously abrogates the sovereign immunity of all governments, including federally recognized Indian tribes.”1 In other words, Native...more

Massachusetts District Court Judge Rules U.S. Department of Interior Acted Legally in Mashpee Wampanoag Decision

On February 10, 2023, the Honorable Judge Angel Kelley of the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts ruled that the U.S. Department of the Interior acted legally when it took into trust 321 acres of land (two noncontiguous...more

Rincon Band Withdraws From State Regulatory Oversight Under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act

The Rincon Band of Luiseño Indians (“Rincon”) in California has taken a historical step under its federally approved Class III Secretarial Gaming Procedures to withdraw from California’s state oversight of its tribal gaming...more

Arizona Taxation of Tribal Work Performed Under Federal Contracts Upheld by U.S. Supreme Court Precedent

A three-panel Arizona Court of Appeals ("the panel”) unanimously ruled on January 10, 2023, that, under U.S. Supreme Court precedent, the gross proceeds from work performed under federal contracts on Native American...more

Supreme Court Grants Certiorari to Determine Whether the Bankruptcy Code Waives Sovereign Immunity of Native American Tribes

On January 13, 2023, the Supreme Court granted the Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians’ Petition for a Writ of Certiorari to resolve the split of circuits on whether Section 106 of the Bankruptcy Code...more

U.S. Department of the Interior Announces Historic Land Acquisition in Alaska

On November 16, the Solicitor for the U.S. Department of the Interior issued Opinion M-37076, clarifying that the Secretary of the Interior does in fact have authority to acquire land in trust within the State of Alaska. The...more

Federal Court Holds That DOJ Cannot Prosecute Company for Non-Sports Betting Under Wire Act

On September 15, 2022, the United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island (“Court” or “District Court”) entered a significant declaratory judgment addressing the Department of Justice’s (“DOJ”) historically...more

Ninth Circuit Holds California Negotiated State-Tribal Gaming Compacts in Bad Faith

On July 28, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals (“Court” or “Ninth Circuit”) issued a significant decision addressing the Class III gaming compact negotiation process between a state and a tribe as required by the Federal...more

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