Indigenous Heritage

What We Do

We respect the human rights of indigenous people and believe that their cultural heritage is worthy of preservation. Our work with indigenous peoples is driven by our commitment to:

• Empowering indigenous peoples to have a meaningful say in projects that affect them and to interpret their own heritage.
• Respecting tribes’ inherent sovereignty and acknowledging their distinct identities and histories.
• Working towards correcting society’s past wrongs, including through restitution and protection of cultural objects.
  
  
  

Section 106 & NEPA Consultation

Tribes have rights to be consulted on projects and policies that affect their interests, including impacts to their cultural and environmental resources. We advocate for our clients throughout those processes. 

Learn more about our Historic Preservation work.

Cultural Heritage Repatriation

We advise tribes, museums, and collectors on Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) claims and international cultural property repatriation. 

Tribal Governance

Our firm works with tribes to develop governance structures and business enterprises that balance today’s opportunities with the preservation of their cultures for the future.

Notable Engagements

• We partnered with the Winneabago Tribe and the Native American Rights Fund to support the legal fight to repatriate the remains of two Winnebago boys who died at Carlisle Boarding School.
• We brought suits in federal and state courts against a state’s Attorney General for violations of an American Indian tribe’s civil rights and due process when the state withdrew prior recognition of the tribe–securing the full restoration of recognition and a financial settlement. Read about our civil rights litigation on behalf of the Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape Tribal Nation against the Attorney General of New Jersey.
• We helped save Rassawek, the historic capital of the Monacan Indian Nation, by securing the change of location of a planned water pump station that would have destroyed the site and disturbed the burials of the tribe’s ancestors.
• We provide general counsel services and recommendations on consultation and cultural resources reviews for multiple tribes, ensuring the tribes have a voice in federal permitting decisions that affect their cultural resources, environment, and tribal citizens.
  
  

Questions? 

Please contact Jessie Barrington.