Tribal legal experts warn of precedent risks, budget cuts, and voting rights challenges

At Tuesday’s joint panel of the Native American Rights Fund and the National Congress of American Indians, held during the NCAI Mid Year Conference, legal and policy leaders outlined urgent threats facing Indian Country in the courts and in federal policy.

“We’re all bound by precedent — even if it starts with a single tribe,” said NCAI’s Geoffrey Blackwell, underscoring how litigation losses affect all Native nations. He called the Tribal Supreme Court Project a model for coordination, aimed at avoiding destructive court outcomes.

Matt Campbell of NARF warned of recent Supreme Court decisions that undercut protections for sacred sites and environmental review. “The courts aren’t always our friend,” he said,

Speakers warned that litigation remains a necessary but imperfect tool for defending tribal sovereignty — especially as federal courts issue rulings that may undermine long-standing protections.

Campbell cited two recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions: Apache Stronghold v. United States, in which the Court declined to hear a case challenging the transfer of sacred land at Oak Flat, and Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County, which narrowed the scope of required environmental review under the National Environmental Policy Act. Both decisions, panelists said, represent broader threats to tribal rights and environmental protections.

“Litigation is part of the toolbox,” Blackwell concluded, “but strategy starts with listening to tribal leadership — and making sure your voices shape the response.”