Agenda after the jump:
Continue reading →Tohono O’Odham Nation Sues Border Wall Contractor for Trespass
Here is the complaint in Tohono O’Odham Nation v. SLS Federal Services LLC (D. Ariz.):
Job Postings 10/30/26
Legal Internship (Summer 2027)
Morongo Band of Mission Indians; Banning, CA
The Morongo Legal Department provides legal services and representation to the Tribe, including elected Tribal officials, Tribal administrative departments, Tribal committees, the Morongo Casino Resort & Spa, and other Tribal enterprises. The Legal Department is regularly involved in a diverse set of legal issues including taxation, gaming, ICWA, employment, code development, energy, business development, health, education, litigation, and more. The Legal Department seeks one qualified Legal Intern to join the office for Summer 2027. The Legal Intern will work closely with the Morongo Legal Department in several clearly defined projects to be completed over the course of Summer 2027. The position is temporary and will last eight to ten weeks. The Department desires a commitment of 40 hours per week. It is the goal of the Morongo Legal Department to provide a tailored Intern program that responds to the interests and goals of the Legal Intern. The Intern program includes the opportunity to get to know the Morongo Tribal community, lands, and enterprises. By interning with the Morongo Legal Department, we are confident you will improve your lawyering skills, learn first-hand the demands of in-house legal counsel, and gain meaningful exposure to substantive Indian law projects.
EXPERIENCE & EDUCATION:
- Experience drafting legal memoranda
- Excellent written/oral skills
- Excellent research and analytical abilities
- Native American law coursework (must be 2L or 3L in Fall 2026)
Provide:
- Cover letter
- Resume
- Legal Writing Sample
- Unofficial law school transcript
- Two references
Pay: $40.00 per hour Open Until Filled https://morongonation.org/employment/
Special District Court Judge
The Chickasaw Nation; Ada, Oklahoma
We are currently looking for a Full-Time Special District Court Judge to join our Chief Justice team located at the Tribal Court in Ada, Oklahoma.
Responsibilities:
* Conduct all court proceedings, as assigned on a case-by-case basis as assigned by the District Court Judge
* Issue all orders and paper incidents thereto, in order to administer justice in all matters withing the jurisdiction of the court
* Be responsible for creating and maintaining the rules of the court
* Hold court regularly at a designated time and place
* To administer oaths, conduct hearings, and otherwise undertake all duties and exercise all authority of a judicial officer under the law
* Maintain knowledge of current case law
* Good communication skills, both orally and in writing, with attorneys, litigants, judges, staff, and the public
* Ability to manage/schedule court docket and possess good supervisory skills
* Attends meetings and training as required
* Acts as master, mediator, and arbitrator
* Must demonstrate willingness and ability to follow Chickasaw Nation Judicial Branch policy and procedures
* Be Familiar with alternative sentencing and restorative justice
* Demonstrated moral integrity and fairness in his/her business
Must have a Juris Doctorate from an accredited law school
Must have a minimum of five years combined experience in law practices
Must be a member of the Chickasaw Bar Association
Must live within the Chickasaw Nation boundaries
Must be a citizen of the Chickasaw Nation
Open until 01/01/2027 https://gen-chickasawnation-prd.inforcloudsuite.com/hcm/xmlhttp/shorturl.do?key=IC
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON
COURT OPERATIONS SUPERVISOR: See job description here.
COURTROOM DEPUTY CLERK: See job description here.
Congress could override a court ruling for the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes, and ratify Simplot’s waste-stack expansion
In 2020, BLM transferred about 713 acres of ceded lands of the former Fort Hall Reservation to Simplot. The Ninth Circuit held that the 1900 law ratifying the Tribes’ 1898 land agreement barred the transfer under FLPMA. If the exchange stands, treaty-protected rights to hunt, fish, graze, and cut timber would end on those parcels. The district court has not yet decided a remedy. The government and Simplot are asking the Supreme Court to review the ruling.
The exchange gives Simplot more land to expand its gypstack, the pile of toxic phosphogypsum waste from the phosphate fertilizer plant it’s operated next to the Fort Hall Reservation since the 1940s. According to the Tribes’ brief, the expansion would let the plant keep operating beside the Reservation for about another 65 years. Simplot’s Don Plant is part of the Eastern Michaud Flats Superfund site. The EPA says cleanup is ongoing, and groundwater from the Simplot portion still carries about 200 pounds of phosphorus a day into the Portneuf River. The Don Plant and its gypstack has contaminated the Tribes’ air, land, and water for over 80 years.
Now § 1091(b) of the Senate FY2027 defense bill would provide that, “notwithstanding any other provision of law,” the Secretary’s approval and issuance of the patent for these lands under FLPMA “are reaffirmed and ratified.” Donna Thompson, Chairwoman of the Fort Hall Business Council of the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes, states that Idaho’s Senator Jim Risch made a deal with Senator Mike Lee to add the provision into the defense bill with no hearing, no vote, and no consultation. The Senate hasn’t passed the bill. The Tribes’ brief in opposition to cert argues that review is premature, in part because Congress could moot the case. The Tribes are asking the public to urge Idaho’s delegation to remove § 1091(b).
Resources
- Shoshone-Bannock Tribes v. U.S. Dep’t of the Interior, No. 23-35543 (9th Cir. Aug. 22, 2025)
- Order denying rehearing en banc (9th Cir. Apr. 21, 2026)
- Petition for certiorari, Dep’t of the Interior v. Shoshone-Bannock Tribes, No. 26-96
- Petition for certiorari, J.R. Simplot Co. v. Shoshone-Bannock Tribes, No. 26-109
- Shoshone-Bannock Tribes’ brief in opposition, Nos. 26-96, 26-109 (Oct. 21, 2026)
- S. 4784, National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2027 (reported in Senate), § 1091(b)
- BLM, Blackrock Land Exchange FEIS Vol. 1 (May 2020)
- BLM, Blackrock Land Exchange Final Environmental Impact Statement Vol. 2 (May 2020)
- EPA, Eastern Michaud Flats Superfund Site: Cleanup Activities
- Shoshone-Bannock Tribes, Protect Public Land from Simplot’s Toxic Waste Dump Expansion (Oct. 15)
- NARF Tribal Supreme Court Project: case docket
“Form, Function, and Federal Indian Law” Thursday Afternoon Keynote + Panel(s)
“Form, Function, and Federal Indian Law” Thursday Morning Panels
New Mexico Federal Court Enjoins Eagle Harvest
Here are the materials in Pueblo of Santa Clara Pueblo v. National Park Service (D.N.M.):
Indian Law Articles in Michigan Bar Journal, Sept. 2026
American Indian Law Review, Vol. 50, Issue 2
Here:
Current Issue: Volume 50, Number 2 (2026)
Comments
When Tribal Sovereign Immunity and the Americans with Disabilities Act Collide, Who Wins?
Baylee M. Ogle
Native Gifts in an Electric Universe: Exploring Tribal Sovereignty Through Digital Data, Spectrum, and Technological Imaginings
Michael Johnson
In Pursuit of Federal Recognition: A Legal and Historical Analysis of the Duwamish Tribe’s Fight for Federal Tribal Recognition
Gabrielle Gollihar
Notes
Tribal Civil Jurisdiction: Lexington v. Smith and the Evolution of the Montana Framework
Will Speed
Navajo Nation is the first Tribe eligible for Clean Water Act NPDES permitting. What comes next?
On October 21, EPA Region 9 announced approval of the Navajo Nation’s application for “treatment in a similar manner as a state” (TAS) under the Clean Water Act’s National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) and sludge management programs. The Navajo Nation is the first Tribe in the U.S. to obtain TAS status for these programs.
The approval doesn’t transfer permitting authority immediately. EPA currently issues NPDES permits for discharges on the Nation. The Navajo Nation Environmental Protection Agency (NNEPA) published proposed regulations in April 2026 to replace its 1996 rules. The proposed rule would require permits for
- discharging pollutants from any point source into waters of the Navajo Nation, and
- constructing, installing, modifying, or operating a treatment works, or any extension or addition to any treatment works, the operation of which would likely result in a discharge into waters of the Navajo Nation due to runoff, flow, or usage.
Once the regulations are final, NNEPA says it will apply to EPA for approval to implement its NPDES regulations in lieu of the U.S. EPA implementing federal NPDES regulations. If approved, the Nation could issue permits, regulate sewage sludge, and carry out enforcement functions.
NNEPA says the program will require adequate resources and continued federal support, and that Tribal administration should strengthen water protections without replacing federal responsibility.
See the NNEPA notice and proposed rules. The next milestones are final Tribal regulations, then EPA program authorization.
Resources
- EPA, Navajo Nation Becomes First Tribe Eligible to Administer Clean Water Act Permitting Programs (Oct. 21, 2026)
- NNEPA, Water Quality/NNPDES Program page
- NNEPA, Public Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (Apr. 23, 2026)
- EPA list of Tribes approved for TAS authority under federal environmental statutes
Logo of the Navajo Nation Environmental Protection Agency
Election Resources: Voter Hotline and Poll Watchers
On Election Day, Tuesday, November 3, 2026, 300 law student and attorney volunteers, trained by the Native American Rights Fund, will arrive at polling sites on or near reservations and pueblos across nine states to provide election protection support for Native voters.
NARF’s nonpartisan Native Vote Election Protection Project is the first and only election protection program to cover Indian Country at-large and coordinate the organizations, individuals, and Tribal Nations working to protect the Native vote.
Volunteers will serve as poll watchers and election observers at polling sites in Alaska, Maine, Michigan, Montana, New Mexico, Nevada, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. With the support of NARF staff attorneys and local counsel connections, the team will ensure that Native voters are able to cast their ballots and make sure they are counted.
Voters in any state who have questions or encounter challenges while voting can call the Election Protection Hotline at 1-866-OUR-VOTE (866-687-8683). Mention that you are calling from Indian Country or that you are a Native voter to be connected to NARF.
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