Michigan Federal Court Rejects Saginaw Chippewa Claims in Suit against Insurance Company over Medicare-Like Rates

Here are new materials in Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe v. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan (E.D. Mich.):

306 BCBS Brief

308 SCIT Brief

310 BCBS Reply

317 DCT Order

This is a lengthy case, so here is the case tag (link to all the posts).

D.C. Federal Court Rejects Salt River Health Care Funding Claims against Feds

Here are the materials in Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community v. Kennedy (D. D.C.):

42 Amended Complaint

71 Salt River Motion for Summary J

74 Federal Motion for Summary J

78 Salt River Reply

80 Federal Reply

83 DCT Order

Virginia Federal Court Dismisses Nansemond Health Care Funding Suit against Virginia

Here are the materials in Nansemond Indian Nation v. Commonwealth of Virginia (E.D. Va.):

27 Motion to Dismiss

34 Opposition to 27

36 Reply ISO 27

39 DCT Order

Complaint here.

D.C. Circuit Decides Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians v. HHS

Here is the opinion in Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians v. Dept. of Health and Human Services.

Briefs:

Red Lake Brief

US Answer Brief

Reply

Lower court materials here.

Fletcher and Wenger on Indian Country Health Care Policy for 2S/IQ/TGD Communities

Matthew Fletcher and Dr. Hannah Wenger have posted “Issues of Contemporary Health Policy and Law for Two-Spirit, Indigiqueer, Transgender and Gender-Diverse Communities in Indian Country” on SSRN.

Here is the abstract:

This policy brief asks a hypothetical question in a political environment in which the U.S. federal government and many states disfavor the delivery of gender-affirming medical care (GAMC) to 2S/IQ/TGD persons, even to the point of criminalizing such care. It further assumes that a tribal nation is willing and capable of delivering GAMC. The answer to the hypothetical question depends on many factors, including (1) whether the state law is authorized by an Act of Congress such as Public Law 280, (2) whether the state law is a criminal law or a civil-regulatory law, and (3) whether the patient or health care professional is a tribal citizen, a nonmember Indian person, or a non-Indian person. The answer here also assumes that the relevant state law does affirmatively criminalize the provision of GAMC and, further, that federal law prohibits the use of federal money by tribal nations to provide GAMC. 

California Appellate Court Holds Tribal Health Org is Immune from State Agency Proceedings

Here is the unpublished opinion in United Indian Health Services Inc./Tribal First v. Workers’ Compensation Appeal Board:

Aila Hoss on Indigeneity, Data Genocide, and Public Health

Aila Hoss has posted “Indigeneity, Data Genocide, and Public Health” in the Iowa Law Review. PDF

Here is the abstract:

Public health datasets will often tell us nothing about Indigenous people. This type of data suppression has been described as data genocide and data terrorism, because it demonstrates the effort to erase Indigenous people. Even when data is available, Tribes and their partners are regularly denied access to public health data from other jurisdictions. The seemingly simple call for more accurate, comprehensive public health data regarding Indigenous communities butts up against complicated issues. Who is considered Native and thus captured in Indigenous data? Why is Indigenous data regularly excluded from datasets? Who gets access to Indigenous data? These questions implicate federal Indian law, colonization, and Tribal sovereignty. So, while better quality data and improved data access are important goals, there is no way to bifurcate the need for public health data with the systematic racism embedded into the laws that impact the analyzing, collecting, and disseminating of this data. This Article aims to outline how Indigeneity interfaces with public health surveillance systems, in the context of both the collection of accurate data and the access to such data. It summarizes existing law and policy that define “Indian” under various frameworks and explores the challenges and limitations of defining Indian, particularly for the purposes of public health surveillance. This Article ends with a series of considerations regarding public health surveillance reform to better support Indian country.

Nansemond Indian Nation’s Lawsuit against Govenor Youngkin and the Commonwealth of Virginia

Update:

Complaint in Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium v. Kennedy

Here:

DOGE Plans to Close 41 Offices of the BIA, IHS, NIGC, and DOI Office of Hearing and Appeals – Probate Hearings Division

Below is a list of planned lease terminations pulled from the DOGE website on March 10, 2025. The list is likely incomplete and inaccurate, since DOGE’s “wall of receipts” has notoriously overstated its savings impact for federal taxpayers, requiring numerous corrections since it began posting details of its work.

The list below also includes plans for the closure of seven additional BIA offices. These additional closures were pulled from a table published by the Democrats on the House Natural Resources Committee.

“The impact on Bureau of Indian Affairs offices will be especially devastating. These offices are already underfunded, understaffed, and stretched beyond capacity, struggling to meet the needs of Tribal communities who face systemic barriers to federal resources. Closing these offices will further erode services like public safety, economic development, education, and housing assistance—services that Tribal Nations rely on for their well-being and self-determination.” – Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), Ranking Member of the House Natural Resources Committee

Mark Macarro, President of NCAI, explained to the A.P. that funding for the BIA, IHS, and the BIE represents the lion’s share of the government’s obligations to tribes, and last year those departments made up less than a quarter of 1% of the federal budget. “They’re looking in the wrong place to be doing this,” said Macarro. “And what’s frustrating is that we know that DOGE couldn’t be a more uninformed group of people behind the switch. They need to know, come up to speed real quick, on what treaty rights and trust responsibility means.”

AGENCYLOCATIONSQ FTANNUAL LEASE
BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRSCARNEGIE, OK0$2,798
BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRSST. GEORGE, UT750$50,400
BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRSFREDONIA, AZ1,500$22,860
INDIAN HEALTH SERVICE-CALIFORNIAARCATA, CA1,492$37,012
INDIAN HEALTH SERVICE NAVAJOFARMINGTON, NM2,000$62,677
BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRSPAWNEE, OK7,549$156,171
BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRSSEMINOLE, OK9,825$184,770
INDIAN HEALTH SERVICE-BEMIDJIBEMIDJI, MN4,896$133,916
INDIAN HEALTH SERVICE -OKLAHOMAOKLAHOMA CITY, OK5,000$119,951
BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRSWATONGA, OK2,850$38,573
BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRSPABLO, MT620$10,418
BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRSRAPID CITY, SD1,825$53,911
BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRSFORT THOMPSON, SD4,870$58,976
BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRSSISSETON, SD4,911$180,008
INDIAN HEALTH SERVICE-BEMIDJITRAVERSE CITY, MI798$28,638
BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRSZUNI, NM2,117$39,819
INDIAN HEALTH SERVICE NAVAJOGALLUP, NM20,287$322,529
BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRSELKO, NV4,760$134,297
BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRSASHLAND, WI34,970$649,408
BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRSSHAWANO, WI1,990$36,395
INDIAN HEALTH SERVICE NAVAJOSAINT MICHAELS, AZ40,924$1,074,931
BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRSPHOENIX, AZ71,591$1,784,239
BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRSREDDING, CA5,307$154,103
BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRSHOLLYWOOD, FL3,000$79,365
INDIAN HEALTH SERVICE-PHOENIXELKO, NV853$22,240
INDIAN HEALTH SERVICE-NASHVILLEMANLIUS, NY2,105$37,648
INDIAN HEALTH SERVICE-NASHVILLEOPELOUSAS, LA1,029$25,015
INDIAN HEALTH SERVICE-BEMIDJISAULT STE MARIE, MI1,100$34,375
INDIAN HEALTH SERVICE-CALIFORNIAUKIAH, CA1,848$45,857
BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRSPAWHUSKA, OK10,335$166,134
NATIONAL INDIAN GAMING COMMISSIONRAPID CITY, SD1,518$43,938
BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRSTOPPENISH, WA17,107$533,985
BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRSBARAGA, MI1,200$14,400
OFFICE OF HEARING AND APPEALS
(PROBATE HEARINGS DIVISION)
RAPID CITY, SD2,252$53,198
TOTALS270927$6,339,757
Additional Office Closures – House Natural Resources Committee List
BUREAULOCATIONPLANNED TERM. DATE
1409: BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRSSHOW LOW, AZ1/26/2026
1409: BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRSTOWAOC,  COTBD
1409: BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRSLAPWAI, ID9/30/2025
1409: BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRSSAULT SAINT MARIE, MITBD
1409: BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRSPOPLAR, MTTBD
1409: BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS FT TOTTEN, NDTBD
1409: BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRSEAGLE BUTTE, SDTBD