Supreme Court Miniseries: Tribal Rights in the 21st Century
DE Talk | Building Foundational Relationships in Native American & Tribal Communities
Proof in Trial: Appellate Edition: Stand Up for California et al. v. U.S. Department of the Interior et al.
Tribal Tax Exemption Under McGirt Gains Preliminary Victory
McGirt Uncertainty Extends to Federal Environmental Regulations in Indian Country
Revisiting McGirt: New Legal Developments Challenge Oklahoma’s Landmark Ruling
The Immediate and Lasting Impacts of McGirt: A Novel Ruling for Oklahoma
A Way Forward: Energy Industry Ready to Fuel Canada's Recovery
This series has surveyed a breadth of permitting reform issues, most recently regarding tribal consultation within the United States. International mineral development permitting in or near areas of indigenous cultural and...more
It’s been a difficult several days for the oil industry. First, the Biden administration revoked the border-crossing permit for the Keystone XL pipeline on January 20. Another executive order, among other things, directed the...more
As the 46th president of the United States, Joe Biden took significant steps on his first day in office to advance the energy and climate initiatives of his administration. This LawFlash provides a brief summary of several...more
It is rare for the holding in a single criminal case to have such far-reaching implications that it affects nearly every industry in a particular state. But that is what happened on July 9, 2020, when the United States...more
On July 9, 2020, the Supreme Court issued its opinion in McGirt v. Oklahoma, ruling that most of the eastern half of Oklahoma is an Indian reservation. While the decision ostensibly resolves a jurisdictional challenge to a...more
N. Plains Res. Council v. United States Army Corps of Eng’rs, No. 4:19-cv-00044-BMM, 2020 BL 35412 (9th Cir. May 14, 2020) - Oil and gas pipeline construction may no longer proceed under Nationwide Water Permit 12 (“NWP...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
People in the United States who wonder how far pipeline protests can go, and how disruptive they can be, need only look north to Canada. As this article is written, much of the national Canadian rail system has been shut down...more
Assistant Secretary Tara Sweeney joined the Department of the Interior a few weeks ago and inherited a tribal agenda that has sent shockwaves through tribal communities. In the first days of his administration, President...more
On March 8, 2018, the Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation (the "Tribe") filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia against the United States, the Department of the...more
In the summer of 2015, I stood along a rural highway in Caddo County, Oklahoma, with a young Kiowa allottee. He showed me the allotment that had been in his family for generations — ever since Congress, with the endorsement...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
At this point in the Obama administration eight years ago, Secretary Ken Salazar was clear on his commitment to restoring tribal homelands. Embracing his trust and treaty responsibilities, Secretary Salazar left no ambiguity...more
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), Office of Energy Projects, recently issued its Guidelines for Reporting on Cultural Resources Investigations for Natural Gas Projects (Guidelines)....more
Eddie Lampert’s Sears mega-gamble appears to finally be catching up with him. Or the store, at least. Mr. Lampert, it seems, will come out not as worse for the wear as one might have expected....more
In a demonstration that not all regulations solve the problems they were intended to, and a testament to the power of market conditions, owners of the controversial Navajo Generating Station (NGS) power plant near Lake Powell...more
In the initial week of the Trump Administration, a lot has happened and more changes are planned. Here are the highlights from Week One: Confirmation Hearings - Confirmation hearings were conducted for Scott Pruitt...more
On January 24, the Trump Administration issued one Executive Order and Three Presidential Memoranda that affect energy projects in the United States, including in particular two pipeline projects blocked by the Obama...more
U.S. District Court Judge Scott Skavdahl in State of Wyoming et al v. U.S. Department if Interior et al. struck down Bureau of Land Management regulations applying to hydraulic fracking on federal and Indian lands. He...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
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
The U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI), on Jan. 22, 2016, proposed a rule developed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) that would limit the flaring, leaking and venting of natural gas on public and tribal lands....more
Advances in oil and gas production technology, such as horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing, have dramatically increased the production of oil and gas in the United States by unlocking shale gas and other resources...more
In March 2015, the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) became the most prominent governmental entity to join in on the attempts to regulate hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. More specifically, the DOI’s sweeping...more
There has been recent action in Congress on issues important to the oil and gas industry. This post provides an overview of the major energy-related bills in Congress. H.R. 538, the Native American Energy Act – On...more