Indian Law

Our Practice - What We Do
Snell & Wilmer attorneys have been significantly involved in Indian law issues throughout the Western United States for more than 60 years. Our representation has involved both Indian and non-Indian clients in their affairs and transactions, along with Indian tribes throughout the country.We offer our clients an interdisciplinary mix of attorneys with experience not only in Indian law, but numerous other areas such as litigation, utility and water law, natural resources, finance, employment and general business law. Services offered by the Indian Law team include (but are not limited to) the following:

• Administrative matters involving, among other agencies, the Department of the Interior, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the National Indian Gaming Commission
• Consultation on legislation and regulations involving Indian tribes
• Environmental, agricultural, water, mineral and other natural resources matters
• General representation of persons and companies doing business with Indian tribes
• Litigation, negotiation and counseling in areas of federal Indian law dealing with tribal water rights, land and boundary claims, gaming, development of tribal business organizations
• Negotiating and preparing casino management contracts and collateral agreements under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act
• Operation and development of tribal utility organizations
• Pro bono representation of Indians and Indian interests, including support of Indian economic development and self-sufficiency programs
• Representation of tribes, tribal enterprise and individual Indians on a per-matter basis.

Our Attorneys - Who We Are
The Indian Law team has the experience of numerous years of legal service to and with tribal organizations and businesses throughout the United States. This experience is coupled with the ability to call upon the focused services provided by other Snell & Wilmer attorneys for complex matters involving tribal business and finance, environmental issues, government relations, and many more.

Our Clients - Who We Represent
Snell & Wilmer’s Indian Law attorneys have served a broad array of clients over the past 60 years. We have represented a variety of Indian tribes, tribal organizations, and Indian-owned enterprises. We also have represented casinos and gaming organizations, resorts and recreational businesses, development and management companies, financers, gaming vendors and others doing business on Indian lands.

Our Experience - What We've Done
Snell & Wilmer’s Indian Law Practice is an interdisciplinary mix of attorneys with experience in Indian law and in numerous other areas including litigation, gaming law, utility law, natural resources, water law, general business, agri business, real estate, condemnation, rights of way, legislation, regulatory agencies, construction, telecommunications, taxation, finance, employment law, gaming law, and environmental law. Examples include:

• Negotiation, and counseling in areas of Federal Indian Law dealing with economic development, private and public financing, acquisition of business entities, Tribal water rights, land and boundary claims, development of Tribal business organizations, gaming, commercial leasing, development of Tribal codes, ordinances, and regulations, Tribal courts, tax issues, and drafting and advocacy of federal and state legislation
• Administrative matters involving, among other agencies, the Department of the Interior, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the National Indian Gaming Commission, and state and Tribal regulatory authorities (including licensing and compliance issues)
• Negotiating and preparing casino management contracts and collateral agreements under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act
• Environmental, agricultural, water, mineral, and other natural resource matters
• Operation and development of Tribal utility organizations, and interface with public utilities on Indian lands
• Litigation in state, Tribal and federal courts
• Pro bono representation of Indians and Indian interests, including support of Indian economic development and self sufficiency programs
• Structuring and documenting credit facilities secured by gaming assets, natural resources or leasehold property
• Developing and documenting joint ventures and leases between Tribes, tribal enterprises and their developers
  
  

Projects handled by Snell & Wilmer’s Indian Law attorneys include, among others:

Four Corners Generating Station: Lead counsel in the negotiations of the original leases with the Navajo, Hopi, and Hualapai tribes, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the Department of the Interior.

Four Corners Labor Arbitrations: Represented the employer in labor arbitrations regarding Indian preference and performance issues.

Indian Gaming: Currently represent numerous entities, including several national enterprises, in the negotiation of casino management contracts and consultation on other Indian gaming issues pursuant to the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, including dealings with the National Indian Gaming Commission and state and tribal gaming agencies.

Representation of Tribes: Represent several tribes on general business, regulatory, federal recognition, gaming, environmental, water, and ERISA matters.

Past cases handled by the Indian Law team have included the following:

Warren Trading Post Co. v. Arizona State Tax Commission - 380 U.S. 685 (1965). We represented the non-Indian trader in this case, where the U.S. Supreme Court held that the state of Arizona could not impose a transaction privilege (sales) tax on on-reservation sales by non-Indian traders to Indians. It remains one of the leading cases on federal law preempting state taxing authority.

Arizona v. California - 373 U.S. 546 (1963). We represented Arizona in this landmark case, which established allocating rights to Colorado River water, including priority rights of Indian tribes.

Yavapai Prescott Indian Tribe v. Watt - 707 F.2d 1072 (9th Cir. 1983), cert. denied, 464 U.S. 1017 (1983). We represented the interests of a non-Indian in administrative review and litigation, which resulted in a decision that an Indian tribe could not unilaterally terminate a lease without the consent of the Secretary of the Interior.

Lomayaktewa v. Hathaway - 520 F.2d 1324 (9th Cir. 1975), cert. denied, 425 U.S. 903 (1976). We represented a public utility allied with the Hopi Tribe and the Navajo Nation in successfully asserting tribal sovereign immunity and the principle that the tribes were indispensable parties to the suit, an action by a dissident tribal faction seeking to void a coal-mining lease on reservation land.

External Links
U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Tribal Justice
U.S. Code Title 25 - Indians
Indian Reorganization Act Era Constitutions & Charters
U.S. Department of the Interior
Indian Trust Assets Management
Pechanga.net
Testimony of Thomas L. LeClaire before the Senate Indian Affairs Committee - 6/18/97