Last week, in West Flagler v. Haaland, the U.S. Supreme Court dealt a major blow to opponents of online tribal sports betting, effectively affirming the D.C. Circuit’s rejection of a challenge to a compact between 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 Oct. 12, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court ordered a stay on the District of Columbia Circuit’s ruling in West Flagler Associates, Ltd. v. Haaland. This stay will prevent, for now, the Seminole Tribe of Florida from accepting...more
On June 30, 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit reversed the district court’s ruling in West Flagler Associates, Ltd. v. Haaland. This will allow, at least for the present, the Seminole Tribe...more
7/6/2023
/ Casinos ,
Florida ,
Gambling ,
Gaming ,
Indian Gaming ,
Online Gaming ,
Sports Betting ,
State and Local Government ,
Tribal Corporations ,
Tribal Governments ,
Tribal Lands
On June 15, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down a significant victory to supporters of the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) in Haaland v. Brackeen....more
Last week, the U.S. Department of the Treasury announced the availability of $500 million in funding through the Local Assistance and Tribal Consistency Fund (LATCF) for eligible tribal governments. The LATCF, which was...more
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has established a new program, the Enhanced Competition Incentive Program (ECIP), designed to further help close the digital divide by fostering increased access to wireless...more
U.S. SUPREME COURT RULING DEALS BLOW TO TRIBAL SOVEREIGNTY -
In stunning disregard of over 200 years of precedent (dating back to the 1823 landmark case Worcester v. Georgia), on June 29, 2022, via Oklahoma v....more
On Feb. 23, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) published a draft Notice of Inquiry (NOI) that would seek comment on how to prevent and eliminate discrimination of broadband access as directed by Congress in the...more
Earlier this week the Senate began consideration of the bipartisan infrastructure bill. Energy and environment, water and tribal provisions included in the bipartisan package are outlined below.
This week, the Senate...more
On Wednesday, June 30, the Department of the Treasury announced it will open up the second phase of distributions to tribal governments from the $20 billion tribal portion of the State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund. This...more
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (“NTIA”) has published a Notice of Funding Opportunity (“NOFO”) for the $1 billion tribal connectivity grant program. Applications are due by Sept. 1, 2021. Of...more
As of Nov. 7, 2020, former Vice President Joe Biden became the presumptive president-elect of the United States according to projections made by the Associated Press and various other media outlets. The change in...more
With former Vice President Joe Biden winning the 2020 presidential election and Republicans poised to maintain control of the Senate, the American Indian Law & Policy Group looks ahead to 2021 and beyond to see how this...more
On Sept. 3, the Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development, Division of Energy and Mineral Development (DEMD) issued a solicitation for grant proposals for technical assistance funding to identify, evaluate or assess...more
On June 1, 2020, the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) finalized a new rule implementing the Clean Water Act’s (“CWA”) Section 401. Under Section 401, no federal permit or license can be issued that may result in a...more
On March 26, the Senate approved the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act (H.R. 748) by a vote of 96-0. The $2 trillion measure is the largest economic rescue package in American history. The bill will...more
We have previously issued several alerts regarding the ability of eligible tribal entities to apply for certain airwave licenses that can be used for wireless internet access and other services. The window for applying for...more
As we previously reported, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will provide rural tribes with an opportunity to apply for free wireless airwaves in the 2.5 GHz band. The FCC has now set the window during which...more
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is seeking comment on ways to improve the dialogue between tribes and carriers that provide subsidized telephone and broadband services to tribal areas using federal universal...more
On Sept. 18, 2019, the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs held a hearing on tribal access to spectrum. Spectrum are slices of airwaves used to send signals to wireless devices like smartphones. One of the key messages was...more
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has released an order making available certain airwaves for broadband wireless services on rural tribal lands. These airwaves, in the 2.5 GHz spectrum band, were previously set...more
The Federal Communications Commission has made closing the “digital divide” a top priority, particularly on tribal lands. Despite this lofty goal, and millions of federal dollars theoretically available to subsidize building...more