#carcieri

Judge upholds BIA decision on Oneida Nation land-into-trust bid

The Bureau of Indian Affairs can place more than 13,000 acres in trust for the Oneida Nation of New York, a federal judge ruled today.

The tribe filed its land-into-trust application in 2005 following the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Sherrill v. Oneida Nation. The ruling held that the tribe’s fee properties weren’t considered Indian Country.

After a lengthy review, the BIA published a record of…

California’s Attack on Big Lagoon Is Absurd

In a historical live streamed court hearing concerning the Big Lagoon Tribe’s gaming project, the 9th circuit court slammed the State of California over many points of law and procedure concerning their challenge to the federal governments acquisition of tribal lands. Before I discuss the Court drama, a bit of Big Lagoon history, that will reveal the irony with the State’s shifting positions and…

Indian Gaming > 9th Circuit sets oral arguments in Big Lagoon Rancheria dispute

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals will rehear Big Lagoon Rancheria v. California, an Indian gaming case that’s being closely watched throughout Indian Country, next month.

The Big Lagoon Rancheria accused the state of California of negotiating in bad faith for a Class III gaming compact. The state responded by attacking the status of land that was placed in trust for the tribe in 1994. By a vote…