2026 Policy Magazine
Legal and Governance
NCAI’s legal and governance work is centered on defending Tribal sovereignty, protecting the inherent rights of Native peoples, and expanding Native peoples’ ability to exercise their own self-determination. NCAI’s efforts focus heavily on ensuring that the judicial branch is aware of Tribal Nations’ legal arguments and positions on a wide range of issues, such as sovereignty, jurisdiction, self-governance, and the United States’ duties under established trust and treaty responsibilities. NCAI’s work in this area includes supporting litigation throughout the country, promoting Native law practitioners for the bench and bar, and scrutinizing the records of federal judicial nominees.
Through NCAI’s partnership with the NARF on the Tribal Supreme Court Project (TSCP), NCAI has continued to supplement initiatives that protect and aid Native peoples and communities before the U.S. Supreme Court. Through the TSCP and other engagement with litigation around the country, NCAI contributes to substantive conversations about the law and works to enact strategies to change it.
Focus Areas and Goals:
Tribal Sovereignty and Jurisdiction
Advocating for the restoration and affirmation of Tribal jurisdiction over criminal matters, especially in cases involving non-Indian offenders on Tribal lands.
Supporting the implementation and expansion of Tribal civil and criminal jurisdiction in all aspects of Tribal governance.
Self-Governance and Autonomy
Supporting the expansion of self-governance agreements by Tribal Nations by expanding increasing Public Law 93-638 self-governance agreement authority beyond IHS, the DOI to encompass all Tribal programming, allowing Tribal Nations to fully direct resources themselves, thus reducing bureaucracy and federal burdens.
Supporting the expansion of Public Law 102-477 workforce training and development programs to allow Tribal Nations to include more funding sources in a single, consolidated stream for more effective administration and program delivery
Voting Access, Voting Rights, and Census Work
Working with coalition partners to promote equal access to voter registration and participation by raising awareness, providing educational tools, supporting grassroots registration efforts, and working with candidates to inform campaigns and relay unbiased, impartial information to voters.
Monitoring and supporting accurate census representation of Native Americans, including populations in underreported communities.
Consultations
Advocating for full and fair consultation between federal agencies and Tribal Nations as appropriate, including before and during any deregulatory process, and urging the United States to obtain FPIC of Tribal Nations before taking actions that affect their interests.
Judicial Selection Review
Monitoring Article III and state court judicial vacancies, in order to review the records of nominees or applicants, and to promote fair representation of candidates with demonstrated professionalrecords that uphold the principles of Tribal sovereignty and self-governance.
Supporting initiatives by the American Indian Law Center Pre-Law Summer Institute (PLSI) to encourage Native law students and attorneys at any career stage to consider clerking in state and federal courts.
TSCP
In coordination with the NARF, the TSCP reviews Supreme Court litigation that implicates Tribal legal issues. The TSCP coordinates amicus interventions and has seen a substantial shift in Supreme Court litigation — from an 80 percent failure rate for Tribal cases before the Supreme Court to a 70 percent victory rate since its inception in 2001.
Educating Tribal leaders to formulate positions on pending matters before the federal courts, and supporting amicus responses as deemed appropriate.
Lawyer / Lobbyist Calls
Hosting regular calls with lawyers and lobbyists working on Tribal issues to exchange information and coordinate efforts on topics such as self-governance expansion, restoration of Tribal criminal jurisdictional, and judicial nominee reviews.
Associated Organizations:
NARF
American Indian Law Center / PLSI
National American Indian Court Judges Association
UCLA Voting Rights Project
IGA
Native American Finance Officers Association
Associated Committees and Subcommittees:
Litigation and Governance Committee
Public Safety and Justice Subcommittee
Jurisdiction and Tribal Governance Subcommittee
Associated Task Forces:
Federal Recognition Task Force
Two Spirit Task Force
Tribal Border Caucus
Violence Against Women (VAW) Task Force
Associated Legislation:
The Indian Reorganization Act (1934): Signaling an end to the era of federal policies forcing the assimilation or extermination of Tribal members, the Indian Reorganization Act ushered in a period of relative political stability. Tribal Nations were encouraged to regroup into formal political units to represent themselves in dealings with the United States, adopted formal constitutions, and used the law to reassert their rights under abandoned trust and treaty obligations.
Public Law 83-280 (1953): Given the success of the Indian Reorganization Act, a new congressional shift sought to terminate the reestablished relationships and once more put an end to the United States’ ongoing responsibilities. This law shifted civil and criminal enforcement from federal purview to certain states. This law has contributed to the “patchwork of criminal jurisdiction” that plagues Tribal Nations’ ability to enforce their own laws to this day.
The Indian Civil Rights Act (1968): Reversing course from termination once more, the Indian Civil Rights Act reestablished many government-to-government relationships between the United States and Tribal Nations, this time moving from paternalistic oversight to supporting Tribal Nations in taking action to meet their own needs.
ISDEAA(1975): Building on the new federal policy of self-determination, this Act introduced self-governance compacts and contracts, by which the United States filled its trust and treaty responsibilities by funding programs that Tribal Nations administered themselves, rather than relying on centralized federal programming.
Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) (1978): Passed to address the historical mistreatment of Indian children by state and private actors – especially the practice of removing children to schools or to be raised by non-Tribal families – this law requires states to seek reunification of children with their Tribal parents, maintain their placements in Tribal communities, and defer to Tribal court jurisdiction where possible.
Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) (2022): First passed in 1994 to implement higher penalties for domestic and sexual violence against women, and to expand program resources for victims of such crimes, the original law included Tribal governments as recipients of program funds. Reauthorized versions of this law ultimately restored some criminal jurisdiction, allowing Tribal Nations to more effectively respond to the scourge of violence committed against their members by non-Tribal members, closing a significant and longstanding public safety gap.
Public Law 102-477 (1992): Building on the success of self-governance agreements, this law allows Tribal programs to consolidate multiple streams of funding across agencies and programming into a single stream to support training and workforce development. The law supports TSG, promotes the self-sufficient delivery of government services to Tribal membership, reduces administrative burdens, and expands job opportunities in Tribal communities.
E.O.13175: Issued in 2000, this E.O. outlined a comprehensive approach across the U.S. government to uphold its duty to consult with Tribal governments prior to taking certain actions. Still in effect, this order sets the minimum standards by which federal agencies engage and collaborate with Tribal governments.
Past Year Achievements:
Amicus Support:
Watson v. Republican National Committee, No. 24-1260 (2025) (voting) – Argued on March 23rd, this suit challenged a state law allowing counting of mail-in ballots. Given the extensive obstacles to voting that many Native voters face, NCAI, through the TSCP, filed an amicus brief explaining the practical challenges to voting, such as remote geography and inconsistent postal service, to urge expansive access for the full enfranchisement of Native voters.
Stroble v. Oklahoma Tax Commission, No. 25-382 (2025) (jurisdiction) — NCAI and other Tribal organizations filed an amicus brief through the TSCP, supporting the right of Tribal members who work and live within their reservation boundaries to be exempt from state income tax laws.
Native American Voting Rights Coalition:
Ongoing participation in efforts to support voter registration and participation in the 2026 midterm elections.
PLSI Support:
Participation in a PLSI federal clerkship workshop, strategizing ways to support law students in the field in obtaining clerkships.
Consultation:
Developed contact with the Administrative Conference of the United States, and supported its listening sessions during its research on state, local, and Tribal consultation practices, to inform recommendations on consultation best practices for distribution to agencies.
Next Year Goals:
TSCP:
Continue participation as an active amicus in relevant Supreme Court cases and in lower federal courts as appropriate.
Support and celebrate the TSCP’s 25th anniversary, at various events culminating in September 2026.
Expand the scope of the TSCP to include
Real-time tracking and analysis of state and federal litigation.
Monitoring and analyzing Supreme Court and appellate court jurisprudence to assess developments and anticipate potential implications for federal Indian law.
Connecting the TSCP with coalition efforts to increase judicial clerkship opportunities and federal bench representation of qualified federal Indian law practitioners.
Expanding outreach to Tribal Nations and non-Tribal organizations for educational purposes.
Clerkship and Bench Support:
Continue participation in efforts to review and comment on judicial nominees based on their professional records as they relate to federal Indian law.
Support efforts to help law students and career attorneys in the field of federal Indian law obtain federal clerkships.
Develop scorecards for judicial nominees in the area of federal Indian law, and advocate before the Senate Judiciary Committee for the inclusion of questions that will elicit a nominee’s understanding of this area of law.
Lawyer / Lobbyist Coordination:
Reinstate regular meetings of lawyers, lobbyists, and Tribal leaders working in federal Indian law to discuss shared priorities and strategize on joint projects, including:
The expansion of self-governance opportunities under Pub. L. 93-638 and Pub. L. 102-477
The expansion of civil and criminal jurisdiction for Tribal Nations
Responding to developments in pertinent litigation to discuss and prepare their effects to Indian law jurisprudence and practice
Civic Engagement Fellowship Program:
Provide a platform for fellows to support civic engagement work, including focused participation in voting rights coalitions, voter education and registration, and census research to build towards the 2030 Census.
Consultation Coordination:
Identify opportunities to partner with federal agencies as needed to coordinate consultations.
Host independent listening and strategy sessions on relevant topics to educate Tribal leaders and foster collaborative approaches to mutual challenges.
