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- By Tribal Business News Staff
- Economic Development
Here are our top 10 most-read news stories of the year by Tribal Business News readers.
SCOTUS issues 8-1 ruling to strip tribal sovereign immunity from bankruptcy code
As Indian Country celebrated a major win for tribal sovereignty in Brackeen v. Haaland, the Supreme Court chipped away at a different aspect of tribes’ inherent right to govern themselves with another opinion issued Thursday morning. By an 8-1 margin, the high court nullified tribal sovereign immunity as it pertains to the federal bankruptcy code in the decision for Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians v. Coughlin.
SCOTUS hears arguments in bankruptcy case that has implications for doing business in Indian Country
A bankruptcy lawsuit involving an $1,100 payday loan could redefine a decades-long interpretation of tribal sovereign immunity and bleed into many aspects of doing business in Indian Country. That’s what’s at stake on Monday, April 24, when the Supreme Court hears oral arguments in Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians v. Coughlin, a case concerning the U.S. Bankruptcy Code and its effect on the sovereign immunity of tribes.
Former tribal attorney charged with embezzling $513k in casino funds
A special prosecutor charged a former tribal attorney with embezzling $513,000 in funds from an Arkansas casino owned by the Quapaw Nation. Former Quapaw Nation Attorney Jack N. Brill, II, a resident of Neosho, Missouri was charged with five criminal offenses in a complaint filed with the Quapaw Nation’s Tribal Court by special prosecutor Douglas Dry.
Native attorney, tribal advocate Nikki Ducheneaux walks on
A Lakota lawyer who fought for Indigenous rights and advocated for tribes has died from undisclosed causes. Nicole “Nikki” Elise Ducheneaux, 44, passed away on July 14.. A founding partner of the Omaha-based Big Fire Law and Policy Group, Ducheneaux was “a devoted advocate, mentor, friend, and mother, who worked tirelessly in the service of Indian Country to protect indigenous interests.”
Tlingit & Haida, Tanana Chiefs Conference latest to quit AFN
The largest federally recognized tribe in Alaska and a nonprofit representing 39 Alaska Native villages said they are withdrawing from the largest Native organization in the state. The Central Council of the Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska (Tlingit & Haida) and the Fairbanks-based Tanana Chiefs Conference (TCC), which represents 39 Alaska Native villages and 37 federally recognized tribes, said they would be leaving the Alaska Federation of Natives (AFN).
North Dakota tribe acquires Enbridge pipeline in $5M deal
The Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation of North Dakota announced on Friday that it purchased the Plaza/Wabek Pipeline from Calgary-based Enbridge Inc. for $5 million. The acquisition by the MHA Nation’s Thunder Butte Petroleum Inc. subsidiary will help it deliver oil from wells on its reservation to new markets.
California launches $100M program to help tribes reacquire ancestral lands
The California Natural Resources Agency (CNRA) said it is launching a $100 million program to help the state’s tribes advance nature-based solutions priorities for their communities, including the reacquisition of ancestral lands.
Tribal businesses anxious over federal court ruling that could affect 8(a) program
A federal court ruling created anxiety for some tribal businesses participating in a federal contracting program that generates billions of dollars in annual revenues for tribes and their enterprises.
SSBCI begins delivering $500M set aside to tribal government
The United States Treasury began distributing funds to tribal governments under the State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI), a fund established to support up-and-coming entrepreneurs with new avenues to credit. The first round of awards will deliver $73 million to a total of 39 tribal governments.
DOI tells Michigan tribe it doesn’t meet federal recognition criteria
The U.S. Department of the Interior notified a western Michigan tribe that its decades-long bid to obtain federal recognition has been denied for the moment. In a transmittal letter sent Feb. 23 to the Grand River Bands of Ottawa Indians, the DOI said it had issued a proposed finding rejecting the tribe’s petition for federal recognition.
Be sure to check out our top stories about Indigenous Entrepreneurs and Access to Capital in Indian Country, as well as our reporters' favorite stories from 2023.
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