After years of concerns raised by Indian law practitioners and tribal leaders alike, the rules under which the Secretary of the Department of the Interior accepts lands in trust for federally recognized Indian tribes have...more
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
On Oct. 25, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court denied a request to extend the stay ordered in West Flagler Associates, Ltd. v. Haaland. It is unclear if any justice supported the request to extend the stay. This means that West...more
On January 18, 2023, the Province of British Columbia (Province) and the Blueberry River First Nation (BRFN) signed the Blueberry River First Nation Implementation Agreement (Implementation Agreement)....more
Recent proposed regulations seek to streamline and reduce costs for tribal land into trust applications and clarify parameters for negotiation and approval of tribal-state gaming compacts. The administrative process by...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
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
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
On April 26, 2022, the Arizona Supreme Court issued a significant unanimous decision addressing the applicability of a state ad valorem property tax on a power plant located on Indian land. The Arizona Supreme Court held that...more
On October 7, 2021, the Blueberry River First Nation (BRFN) and the Province of British Columbia (Province) reached an initial agreement in response to the recent court decision in Yahey v British Columbia [Yahey]. The...more
Earlier this week, President Joe Biden signed the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (H.R.3684) into law. On Nov. 5, the House passed the bill by a vote of 228-206. Thirteen Republicans joined most...more
On June 23, 2021, the Ninth Circuit in Deschutes River All. v. Portland Gen. Elec. became the first court in the country to hold that Congress did not clearly and unambiguously waive tribal sovereign immunity under the Clean...more
In a decision that impacts entities and individuals doing business in Indian Country, the Arizona Court of Appeals sided with the Taxpayer in its challenge to the state and county’s power to tax property on tribal land in the...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
With storage pressure and pandemic-reduced demand driving oil prices into freefall, lessees of federal and Indian lands may consider turning to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) procedures...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has upheld the approval of a utility-scale wind facility in California, rejecting claims that the Bureau of Indian Affairs violated the National Environmental Policy Act and the...more
Opportunities for economic growth in Indian country — including the development of retail space, hotels and resorts, energy projects, data farms, and more traditional farming activities, to name a few — are tied to several...more
Stakeholders interested in energy development on US tribal lands will welcome recent Department of Interior (DOI) efforts that identify a key burden to energy development on these lands — as well as the Bureau of Indian...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
On March 29, 2016, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California granted summary judgment in favor of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (“BIA”) in a lawsuit involving the grant of a lease to Tule Wind, LLC for...more
President Obama nominated Merrick Garland on March 16, 2016, to be an associate justice on the U.S. Supreme Court. Garland now serves as chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Despite...more
Indian country may be close to another victory against state and local taxes. On Feb. 8, 2016, a California district court issued an order that signals it is likely to invalidate Riverside County's imposition of a possessory...more
Every once in a while, infrastructure projects we’re working on involve traversing Indian lands. For those of you involved in such projects, you should take a look at the Final Rule published by the Department of the...more
On November 19, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) published a final rule that makes sweeping changes to the process for obtaining rights of way for proposed oil and gas pipelines, electric transmission lines, railroads,...more
With both Congress and the Administration focused on streamlining federal permitting and promoting Dig Once policies, the Department of Interior’s Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) published updated rules for access to...more