Westminster: Indian Law and Natural Resources: The Basics and Beyond

Laws, policies, and practices affecting tribal lands have evolved significantly in recent years, while energy and mineral industry involvement on tribal lands has increased. Tribal participation in developing their resources is now the norm and has brought more companies and their legal counsel into Indian Country in the Rocky Mountain Region, Pacific Northwest, Southwest, Upper Midwest, and throughout the U.S.

Federal and some state agencies have been increasingly deferential to tribes and their participation in management of off-reservation federal lands and resources. The controversial Dakota Access Pipeline and opposition to Northwest coal terminals have brought new issues to the forefront, including treaty rights. The landscape has changed, the pace of development has quickened, and new entrants into tribal resource development are on the rise. This Special Institute will begin with a brief overview of the basics then move on to more advanced topics in Indian law that practitioners are seeing every day.