NATIVE LAW United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (2025) Adam Yaggy In United States v. Alaska, 151 F.4th 1124 (9th Cir. 2025), the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that “public lands” under Title VIII of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) includes navigable waters where Continue Reading »
NATIVE LAW Supreme Court of Alaska (2024) Ryan Ciemny In O’Brien v Delaplain, 2024 WL 4312649 (Alaska Sept. 27, 2024), the supreme court held that the superior court can exercise its discretion in conducting custody interviews with children via videoconference and that the court properly determined the custody action was a “foster care placement” under Continue Reading »
NATIVE LAW Supreme Court of Alaska (2024) Brendan Genaw The Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) allows Alaskan indigenous tribes to petition to transfer child custody proceedings from superior court to the tribe’s jurisdiction, and in Rosalind M. v. Dep’t of Fam. & Cmty. Servs., Off. of Children’s Servs., 555 P.3d 505 (Alaska 2024), the supreme Continue Reading »
NATIVE LAW Supreme Court of Alaska (2024) Rosa Gibson In Ito v. Copper River Native Ass’n., 547 P.3d 1003 (Alaska 2024), the supreme court overturned Runyon ex rel. B.R. v. Ass’n. of Village Council Presidents, 84 P.3d 437 (Alaska 2004), and held that the Copper River Native Association (CRNA) was entitled to sovereign immunity because, Continue Reading »
NATIVE LAW Supreme Court of Alaska (2024) Melinda Xiong In Anton K. v. Department of Family & Community Services, Office of Children’s Services, 554 P.3d 456 (Alaska 2024), the supreme court upheld the termination of parental rights under the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), after finding that the Office of Children’s Services (OCS) had made Continue Reading »
NATIVE LAW Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit (2023) Allyson Barkley In Metlakatla Indian Community v. Dunleavy, 58 F.4th 1034 (9th Cir. 2023), the Ninth Circuit affirmed the non-exclusive right of the Metlakatla Indian Community to fish in its traditional off-reservation fishing waters. (Id. at 1037). The Metlakatlans have lived and fished in and Continue Reading »
NATIVE LAW Supreme Court of Alaska (2023) Catherine Cole In Taryn M. v. Department of Family & Community Services, Office of Children’s Services, 529 P.3d 523 (Alaska 2023), the supreme court held that (1) under the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), the Office of Children’s Services (OCS) must prove a caretaker’s unsuitability by clear and Continue Reading »
NATIVE LAWSupreme Court of Alaska (2022)Sarah CouillardIn Native Village of Chignik Lagoon v. State, Department of Health & Social Services, 518 P.3d708 (Alaska 2022), the supreme court held that a child’s tribe for the purposes of the IndianChild Welfare Act (ICWA) is either a tribe of which the child is a member, or a tribe Continue Reading »
NATIVE LAWUnited States District Court, District of Alaska (2022)Kristiana OlsonIn Southcentral Foundation v. Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium, 2022 WL 2834283 (D.Alaska 2022), the district court held that a tribal healthcare organization was entitled to privilegeddocuments relating to its governance and participation rights in Alaska Native Tribal HealthConsortium (ANTHC). (Id. at *14). ANTHC is a Continue Reading »
NATIVE LAWSupreme Court of Alaska (2022)Sam MacDuffieIn State, Department of Health & Social Services v. Cissy A., 513 P.3d 999 (Alaska 2022), thesupreme court found that although the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) does not require culturalexpert testimony in every case, the lower court did not err by finding specific cultural testimonyinsufficient in two cases. Continue Reading »
