Working from the firm’s Washington DC office, the Native American Law group at Dentons boasts a complete advisory and contentious offering and routinely works on the side of tribes across the nation, recently including those in Missouri, Arizona, and Hawaii. Core areas of focus for the group includes representing tribes in claims of tribal sovereignty, land claim settlement issues, and securing full recognition from the federal government. On the advisory front, the team’s capabilities include advising on tribal energy projects, issues involving healthcare and education on reservations, and gaming mandates. Heather Sibbison steers the practice and specializes in matters relating to Native lands, including water rights, non-gaming economic development, and housing. Additional key contacts include Suzanne Schaeffer and Samuel Daughety, who focus on complex Indian lands and environmental compliance issues.

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Key clients

Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe of Massachusetts
The Prairie Island Indian Community
Tohono O’odham Nation
The National Congress of American Indians/Association on American Indian Affairs/National Indian Child Welfare Association
Mohegan Tribe of Indians of Connecticut
The Cowlitz Indian Tribe
SAGE Development Authority (Standing Rock Sioux)
The Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina
The California Tribal College
Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation
Cache Creek Casino Resort
Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians
The Haliwa-Saponi Indian Tribe
Office of Hawaiian Affairs
Pueblo of Jemez

Work highlights

Represented the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe in litigation, confirming the status of the tribe’s reservation.
Assisted the Cowlitz Indian Tribe with appropriations law advice, resulting in the tribe securing $1,765,000 in federal funding in the fiscal year 2023 appropriations law, allowing the tribe to expand substance abuse and other services at its Longview and Tukwila health clinics.
Represented three national non-profit Native American rights organizations as amicus curiae in multiple federal district courts to defend the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), a 1978 law designed to protect Indian children, families and tribes.