George Bush Went Viral | Tribal Sovereignty, Treaties & The Truth with Mark Trahant

Sad News: Terrence Stamp Walks On

Here.

One of my favorite actors. Loved him in The Limey with Luis Guzman. Would have made a kick-ass Sith (if he wasn’t cast as a sad little chancellor).

Kneel before Zod:

This Guardian article is amazing.

Mike Taylor Obit — One of the Nicest People I’ve Ever Met

Here.

I first heard about Mike Taylor from John Petoskey, who had known him a long time and marveled at his audacity (Indigenacity(?), with apologies to the Dead Pioneers) in the Stock West cases and in masterminding the Quil Cede economic development project at Tulalip). If the Tribal In-House Counsel Association existed back in those days, he would be far better known.

In recent years, after his retirement, Mike started emailing me with hot tips to post on Turtle Talk. Later on, Mike explained to me that he repped Quinault in the US v. Washington trial that led to the Boldt decision. For whatever reason, Q was unwilling to intervene in the case at first, but when they did (Mike likely carried the laboring oar on that issue), they arrived as kind of a deus ex machina, being the only tribe with experience in regulating treaty fishing rights exercise at a time in the trial when Judge Boldt was asking if tribes could do so.

Mike was writing an autobiography. I sincerely hope that someone will be able to find those documents and put them together for publication. He shared a few snippets with me and all I can say is . . . LEGEND.

NARF Launches The Headwaters Report

The Headwaters Report – is a new digital blog site, bulletin, and source for Tribal water law information and resources. The Headwaters Report presents accessible information on foundational Tribal water law concepts and practices as well as current and emerging water-related issues.

    The first article focuses on the Clean Water Act, a 50-year-old law that, among other things, allows Tribes to assert regulatory jurisdiction over water quality and activities that impact water quality within reservation boundaries. In our next Report update, we plan to address the changes the Trump Administration is attempting to make to the Clean Water Act and how that may affect Tribal Nations.

    In the Report you will also find several slide decks on Tribal water rights information, including one on the basics of Tribal water rights, general stream adjudications, and Indian water rights settlements. We intend The Headwaters Report to act not only as a clearinghouse for Tribal water law and policy information, but as a place to bring questions and to get guidance.

    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

    Biden Commutes Leonard Peltier’s Sentence

    Statement from the White House [gone already]

    MPR

    AP

    PBS

    Blast from the Past: Governmental Attacks on Akwesasne News

    From The Nishnawbe News [Northern Michigan University], May 1972:

    Blast from the Past — American Indian Law Center Newsletters c. 1973, 1974

    Back before the internets, Indian law news traveled analog by snail mail in colorful newsletters. . . .

    There’s a bunch of these here you have the bandwidth to download large pdfs. . . .