Cultural Resources Protection

The firm has protected archaeological and contemporary cultural resources through negotiations and agreements, developing tribal laws, and litigation. For example, we have counseled tribes and Tribal Historic Preservation Offices on their rights and responsibilities in the Section 106 process under the National Historic Preservation Act. We also are assisting a tribe objecting to cellular towers that harm cultural sites and practices, and we have negotiated a Programmatic Agreement between federal agencies and a tribe to address the effects of aircraft overflights on traditional cultural properties. We work closely with federal action agencies, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, and archaeologists and anthropologists to achieve compliance with the Act.

In addition, the firm has experience advising its tribal clients regarding the interpretation and application of the Archaeological Resources Protection Act. This includes the Act’s permitting program as well as its prohibitions and information disclosure protections. The Firm also has worked on several matters regarding the religious rights of Indians, including negotiating the return of eagle feathers seized by federal agents, submitting an amicus brief in several consolidated appeals regarding religious use of eagle feathers, and briefing a case involving the religious rights of a Native American inmate.