The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 on June 22 that the federal government has no obligation to help the Navajo Nation gain access to water, finding that a 19th-century treaty with the government imposes no such duty. Oral arguments in the case, which took place on March 20, centered on the Navajo Nation’s desire to draw…

The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 on June 22 that the federal government has no obligation to help the Navajo Nation gain access to water, finding that a 19th-century treaty with the government imposes no such duty. Oral arguments in the case, which took place on March 20, centered on the Navajo Nation’s desire to draw…

The Supreme Court ruled 8-1 that federal bankruptcy law supersedes Indian tribes’ sovereign immunity. An Indian tribe in Wisconsin had argued it could not be sued and that bankruptcy protections, such as the law’s automatic stay of collection efforts when an individual files for bankruptcy, did not operate to block its efforts to seek repayment…

A defaulting borrower told the Supreme Court on April 24 that he should be able to sue an Indian tribe based in Wisconsin for allegedly aggressive collection efforts he claims drove him to attempt to take his own life. In the case, Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians v. Coughlin (court file…

A Native American tribe urged the Supreme Court to allow it to continue to offer bingo games on its land even though Texas maintains state law prohibits tribes from running gaming operations. If the Texas tribe were to win, there could be a ripple effect, spurring more tribe-controlled casinos and gaming operations. Gaming is an…

The Biden administration is siding with two Indian tribes and against Texas in a long-running dispute over the tribes’ right to run gaming operations on their tribal land in the state. The case before the Supreme Court is known as Ysleta Del Sur Pueblo v. State of Texas, court file 20-493. The U.S. Court of…