Indigenous, Indian, and Aboriginal Law Commons^™

State Of Nevada V. Rocky Stanley Salazar, 123 Nev. Adv. Op. 45 (May 28, 2026), Bowen Fuller

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

When second-degree murder by a controlled substance starts on tribal land but consummates on nontribal land, the state has jurisdiction to prosecute the crime.

Making Sense Of The State's Duty To Negotiate In Good Faith Under Igra: The "Permits Such Gaming" Requirement And Legitimate State Interests In Gaming Compact Negotiations, Kathryn R.L. Rand, Steven Andrew Light

UNLV Gaming Law Journal

Under the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA), a tribe may conduct Class III or casino-style gaming only in a state that “permits such gaming” and in accordance with an approved compact between the tribe and the state. But the appropriate interpretation of IGRA’s “permits such gaming” requirement and how it relates to the state’s duty to negotiate gaming compacts in good faith remain murky more than 35 years after IGRA was enacted, hindering both compact negotiations between individual states and tribes and the entire tribal gaming industry. In this Article, we clarify and develop legal standards to apply to …

Loper Bright And The Future Of Indian Gaming: Navigating Igra's Ambiguities, William Smithers

UNLV Gaming Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Keynote Speech From The 2025 Indian Nations Gaming & Governance Program Symposium, Patrice Kunesh

UNLV Gaming Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Editor's Note, Valerie Andalibi-Alvarenga

UNLV Gaming Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Introduction, Danielle Finn

UNLV Gaming Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Beyond Bingo: How Class Ii Bingo-Based "Slot Machines" Are Reshaping Tribal-State Dynamics, Kelsey Henderson

UNLV Gaming Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Economic Development For Native Nevada: How Indian Gaming Can Further Tribal Self-Determination, Makai Zuniga

UNLV Gaming Law Journal

No abstract provided.

"A Plain Denial”: Reclaiming Equal Protection In American Juvenile Law, Addie C. Rolnick, David S. Tanenhaus, Justin Iverson, Danielle L. Silvestri

Scholarly Works

Juvenile courts are based on the premise that children are different from adults and should therefore be treated differently. Children may be treated more informally by courts, punished for different purposes, and brought before the court for different behaviors. Since In re Gault, the Supreme Court has been clear that there are limits to how different juvenile courts can be. Juveniles are entitled to many of the same procedural protections as adult criminal defendants, although the Court has preserved some procedural differences where it has determined that their benefit is outweighed by the need to preserve the informality, flexibility, …

Truth. Regardless Of Reconciliation?, Michael Moffitt

Nevada Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Post-Terrestrial Indian Gaming, Aryeh Price

UNLV Gaming Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Myth-Busting Restorative Justice: Uncovering The Past And Finding Lessons In Community, Aparna Polavarapu

Scholarly Works

A common narrative about modern restorative justice is that it is a revival of historic and indigenous justice practices that have been practiced around the world. Critics of this narrative call it a myth, arguing that the claim is overbroad and unsupported by existing evidence. Embedded in this conversation are questions about how to respect the contributions of indigenous traditions and avoid whitewashing. Such an overwhelmingly broad claim tends to lead to romanticization and whitewashing of indigenous traditions, serving the needs of largely white, Western advocates in yet another colonial endeavor. But ignoring the indigenous contribution to restorative justice altogether …

Indigenous Subjects, Addie C. Rolnick

Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

Sovereignty Threat: Loreal Tsingine, Policing, And The Intersectionality Of Indigenous Death, Theresa Rocha Beardall

Nevada Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Assimilation, Removal, Discipline, And Confinement: Native Girls And Government Intervention, Addie C. Rolnick

Scholarly Works

A full understanding of the roots of child separation must begin with Native children. This Article demonstrates how modern child welfare, delinquency, and education systems are rooted in the social control of indigenous children. It examines the experiences of Native girls in federal and state systems from the late 1800s to the mid-1900s to show that, despite their ostensibly benevolent and separate purposes, these institutions were indistinguishable and interchangeable. They were simply differently styled mechanisms of forced assimilation, removal, discipline, and confinement. As the repeating nature of government intervention into the lives of Native children makes clear, renaming a system …

A Framework For Tribal Public Health Law, Aila Hoss

Nevada Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The Professional And Amateur Sports Protection Act: How Its Invalidation Will Impact Indian Gaming's Legal And Regulatory Framework, Francisco Olea

UNLV Gaming Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Sports Betting And Indian Gaming: Should Tribal Casinos Get In The Game?, Kathryn R.L. Rand, Steven Andrew Light

UNLV Gaming Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The Dark Side Of Tribal Sovereign Immunity: The Gap Between Law And Remedy, Alma Orozco

Nevada Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The Negative Effects Of Confusion Over Collateral Agreements Under The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act: Which Agreements Need Review?, Matthew D. Craig

UNLV Gaming Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Resilience And Native Girls: A Critique, Addie C. Rolnick

Scholarly Works

The term resilience is often used with reference to Indigenous women and Indigenous youth. Native girls are included in each of these categories but are rarely the main focus of a campaign. Their triple vulnerability (gender, indigeneity, and age), however, means that the focus on resilience is often greatest when applied to them. This Article centers them. It traces the development of resilience in the (non-Native) ecological and psychological literature. Although resilience is used across many different disciplines, it is especially prominent in ecological literature about resilient institutions, such as communities and cities, and in psychological literature about resilient individuals. …

Native Youth & Juvenile Injustice In South Dakota, Addie C. Rolnick

Scholarly Works

In this essay, Professor Rolnick uses the three themes of racism, jurisdiction, and tribal sovereignty to provide a snapshot of the juvenile justice system in South Dakota as it impacts Native youth. First, she describes the tribal juvenile justice systems in the state. She argues tribal systems should rightfully play a central role handling Native youth offenders, but they are underfunded and may not therefore be sufficiently responsive to young offenders' needs. Second, she examines the impact of federal power over youth on reservations in South Dakota. Specifically, federal juvenile jurisdiction, as well as federal financial and administrative power, can …

Racial Anxieties In Adoption: Reflections On Adoptive Couple, White Parenthood, And Constitutional Challenges To The Icwa, Addie C. Rolnick

Scholarly Works

The Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) is under fire from people who argue that it interferes with adoptions and violates the constitution by doing so. The current crop of lawsuits is an outgrowth of a 2012 case in which the Supreme Court heard its second-ever challenge to the law. While the Court sidestepped the most far-reaching anti-ICWA arguments, the majority opinion evidenced a deep skepticism about the law. This skepticism led the Court to narrow the law’s application so that it didn’t apply to the family involved, and it seemed to invite further challenges to the law.

Untangling The Web: Juvenile Justice In Indian Country, Addie C. Rolnick

Scholarly Works

The juvenile justice system in Indian country is broken. Native youth are vulnerable and traumatized. They become involved in the system at high rates, and they are more likely than other youth to be incarcerated and less likely to receive necessary health, mental-health, and education services. Congressional leaders and the Obama administration have made the needs of Indian country, especially improvement of tribal justice systems, an area of focus in recent years. The release of two major reports—one from a task force convened by the Attorney General to study violence and trauma among Native youth and the other from a …

Locked Up: Fear, Racism, Prison Economics, And The Incarceration Of Native Youth, Addie C. Rolnick

Scholarly Works

Native youth are disproportionately incarcerated, often for relatively minor offenses. One potential solution is to move more Native youth out of federal and state courts and invest in tribal juvenile justice systems. Tribal systems are assumed to be less punitive than nontribal ones, so greater tribal control should mean less incarceration. Little is known, however, about the role of incarceration in tribally run systems. This article examines available information on Native youth in tribal juvenile justice systems from 1998 to 2013. At least sixteen new secure juvenile facilities were built to house youth under tribal court jurisdiction, with federal investment …

Recentering Tribal Criminal Jurisdiction, Addie C. Rolnick

Scholarly Works

The boundaries of modern tribal criminal jurisdiction are defined by a handful of clear rules—such as a limit on sentence length and a categorical prohibition against prosecuting most non-Indians—and many grey areas in which neither Congress nor the Supreme Court has specifically addressed a particular question. This Article discusses five of the grey areas: whether tribes retain concurrent jurisdiction to prosecute major crimes, whether tribes affected by Public Law 280 retain concurrent jurisdiction to prosecute a full range of crimes, whether tribes may prosecute Indians who are not citizens of any tribe, whether tribes may prosecute their own citizens for …

Oversight Hearing On Juvenile Justice In Indian Country: Challenges And Promising Strategies, Addie C. Rolnick

Congressional Testimony

In her testimony before the United States Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, Prof. Rolnick describes her research and recommendations concerning how to improve juvenile justice for American Indian and Alaska Native youth.

Fencing The Buffalo: Off-Reservation Gaming And Possible Amendments To Section 20 Of The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, Tess Johnson

UNLV Gaming Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Reconciling Indigenous And Women’S Rights To Land In Sub-Saharan Africa, Aparna Polavarapu

Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

Not Out Of The (Fox)Woods Yet: Indian Gaming And The Bankruptcy Code, Emir Aly Crowne, Andrew Black, S. Alex Constantin

UNLV Gaming Law Journal

The recent economic downturn has caused Foxwoods Resort Casino, one of the largest casinos in the world, to seek a restructuring of nearly $1.5 billion in debt. Ordinarily, bankruptcy proceedings are triggered when a typical commercial enterprise defaults on its debt. Under these proceedings, creditors step in and collect monies owed to them before any residual equity is dispersed amongst owners. The rub here is that Foxwoods is owned and operated by the Mashantucket Western Pequot Tribal Nation, a sovereign nation under U.S. federal law. This triggers questions of paramountcy; namely, whether tribunal sovereignty can trump federal bankruptcy law.

These …