Skenandore Wilson LLP

Our core mission is to promote and defend the sovereignty and jurisdiction of Tribal nations. These fundamental legal principles provide the foundation for every other area of Tribal law and federal Indian law. This includes the ability of a Tribal government to exercise its authority through law enforcement, education, natural resource management, economic development, and more. Tribal nations can face attacks on their sovereignty and jurisdiction from federal, state, and local governments. We monitor and defeat federal and state legislation threatening to limit Tribal sovereignty and jurisdiction, and we advocate for legislation to strengthen and restore Tribal sovereignty and jurisdiction. We also ensure that Tribal governments can engage in economic development projects while maintaining their sovereign authority and jurisdiction over their homelands.

Skenandore Wilson LLP has long-standing Tribal government and Tribal Council clients who rely on our advice to support their decision making. Our work includes researching and briefing issues for consideration by Tribal governments, presenting strategic plans, drafting Tribal resolutions and codes, and ensuring that Tribal leaders have the information they need on hand. We also work closely with a wide variety of Tribal departments, including natural resources, education, roads, water infrastructure, land management, wildlife and many more.

Our team has decades of experience and solid relationships within the United States Congress and federal agencies that get results for our clients. We have extensive experience obtaining targeted meetings with Congressional offices and preparing Tribal leaders for hearings before Congressional Committees. We know that being heard directly produces favorable policy and funding outcomes. We are also skilled in drafting and passing legislation, drafting impactful testimony, and when necessary, blocking legislation that would harm Tribal interests. We prepare Tribal leaders for government-to-government advocacy with federal agency leadership to advance and fund tribal programs and initiatives. No matter what administration is at the helm, we have deep connections within Congress and federal agencies to help our clients successfully navigate the federal bureaucracy and ensure their issues are heard and addressed by the proper decision makers.

From early stage to mature companies, we counsel Tribes, Tribal departments, Tribally-owned companies and Tribal member-owned businesses on corporate governance needed to secure revenue in industries that conduct business in and out of multi-jurisdictional settings. We host custom-tailored corporate executive retreats and analyze corporate portfolios and new ventures. We advise and stand-up new business entities, assist in finding corporate leaders, board members and executive teams, perform due diligence, and provide corporate clean up services. We have experience in gaining Small Business Administration 8(a) status, assist companies in reorganizations, joint-ventures, mentor-protégé agreements, capital raises and asset management. From brick-and-mortar operations to e-commerce industries, we help Tribes advance their economic development goals, seamlessly work with partners and stakeholders, strengthen Tribal codes and court processes, assist in owner/investor relations, and strive to grow Tribal economies.

Skenandore Wilson LLP has decades of experience protecting and restoring Tribal natural resources and working with Tribal, federal, and state environmental laws. Our work includes protecting and restoring timber, minerals, fish, game, plants, and traditional medicines as well as cultural resources and sacred sites. Our understanding and respect for the cultural importance of natural resources for our Tribal clients underpins our work on natural resource protection and restoration. We help our clients navigate the complex and continuously evolving Tribal, federal, and state laws and regulations, in order to both protect important natural and cultural resources and ensure their long-term sustainable and healthy use. We accomplish this through vigorous representation of our clients' interests both on and off their reservations and in the drafting, implementing, and enforcing laws to protect and manage Tribal natural resources and the environment.

Our team has years of experience quantifying, negotiating and pursuing settlements, and drafting legislation that secures water rights for our Tribal clients. We know that time is of the essence in the fight for Tribal water rights and are skilled at getting the attention and focus of water users, federal agencies, and the United States Congress. We bring creative and aggressive strategies to secure Indian water rights – indisputably the most critical need for sustaining tribal homelands, providing safe and accessible drinking water for tribal members, and supporting economic development, including forging a pathway towards Tribal food sovereignty. We work alongside water resources and water infrastructure experts and strategic allies to bolster real solutions in increasingly challenging times.

Our team provides strategic legal advice to Tribal governments to advance, expand and defend their gaming projects and enterprises.  From gaining successful federal approvals of new gaming facilities to providing legal counsel on the day-to-day operational needs of this highly regulated industry, our team has been at the table for our clients.  In support of gaming operations, we have secured intergovernmental agreements with county and local governments and ancillary commercial developments while asserting and preserving Tribal sovereignty at every juncture. We have helped favorably resolve gaming compact disputes and weigh in on federal policy and notice of violations involving federal government oversight and compliance. Our team has helped Tribes develop and streamline efficient administrative and regulatory processes to uphold gaming ordinances and applicable Tribal laws.

Our team has been instrumental in the development of the Tribal cannabis industry. We actively monitor the pulse of federal, state, and Tribal legislation that impacts Tribal opportunities and positions in the legal market. In close partnership with our clients, we provide legislative analysis, strategy development, and legal counsel on advancing or preserving Tribal sovereignty and governance over cannabis operations.  This includes compliance and regulation of plant medicines that touch Tribal territories and benefit Tribal membership.  We help Tribes navigate and achieve compliance with the ever-changing regulations and multijurisdictional hurdles to launch hemp, cannabidiol (CBD) and cannabis operations in their jurisdiction.  From the USDA approved Tribal hemp plans to medicinal licensure, we stand ready to help Tribes affirm governance over this plant medicine.

We work with Tribes and Cultural Resources Officers to protect Tribal cultural and historic resources and ensure these fundamental resources are protected under Tribes’ inherent jurisdiction and federal laws, including the National Historic Preservation Act, Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, National Environmental Policy Act, Archaeological Resources Protection Act and various Executive Orders. We have also obtained Tribal Historic Preservation Officer status for our clients which provides additional authority and funding for Tribal Cultural Resource Officers.

Skenandore Wilson LLP assists Tribes, Tribally controlled schools and Tribal communities in fully exercising their education sovereignty and re-building and innovating their education systems to reflect culturally-relevant curriculum, improving staff/administration management, increasing parental engagement, and developing greater education opportunities and resources.  Our team has revised and drafted new education codes to put Tribal governments in charge of the education of their youth.

Skenandore Wilson LLP works in all areas of energy resource management and development.  We have experience in oil and gas permitting, as well as hydropower, wind, biomass, and solar development.  We work with our Tribal clients to develop strategic plans for energy development and secure the business structures, funding, and investments needed for projects large and small. We also work on the legislative and administrative level to secure tax credits, grant funding, and favorable policies supporting Tribal energy development.

Our experienced litigators have represented Tribes, Tribal interests, and individual Tribal members in Tribal, Federal, and State courts.  We have also represented Tribes in administrative forums including the Interior Board of Indian Appeals, Interior Board of Land Appeals, and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. We have handled a wide range of cases from individual family law matters to some of the most complex cases in federal Indian law.

We have obtained the restoration of Tribals lands through donations, acquisitions, the fee-to-trust process, and legislation. In the fee-to-trust process, we work with teams that include Tribal staff and real estate professionals to develop and submit fee-to-trust applications to the Bureau of Indian Affairs. We then work closely with agency staff and officials to advance and obtain approval of our client’s application and the conveyance of land into trust. We have also drafted legislation to restore Tribal lands through exchange, consolidation, and acquisition.