Announcements
- Berkey Williams welcomes Indian Law Fellow Lior KrancerBerkey Williams LLP is pleased to announce that Lior Krancer is the Firm’s 2024-2025 Indian Law Fellow. Lior graduated from Oberlin College in 2019, earning B.A.s in both Environmental Studies and Political Science and receiving High Honors for their thesis on Supreme Court jurisprudence on Indian treaty interpretation. Following college, Lior moved to Virginia and… Read more: Berkey Williams welcomes Indian Law Fellow Lior Krancer
- The Round Valley Tribes Take a Major Step Towards Eel River RestorationThe Round Valley Indian Tribes, a firm client, took a major step toward regaining control of the Eel River necessary to advance restoration work they have led for decades. On February 13, 2025, Tribal Council President Joesph Parker signed a memorandum of understanding at a ceremony at the California Natural Resources Headquarters that lays the… Read more: The Round Valley Tribes Take a Major Step Towards Eel River Restoration
- KRRC Newsletter regarding Klamath Dam RemovalDam Removal on Schedule with Copco No. 2 Nearing Completion – The Klamath River renewal project shifted into high gear in June 2023, following final permit approvals by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) that allowed construction crews to get to work on the deconstruction of Copco No. 2 dam. The deconstruction of Copco No.… Read more: KRRC Newsletter regarding Klamath Dam Removal
- Berkey Williams LLP Welcomes Senior Associate Michele FahleyBerkey Williams LLP is delighted to announce that Michele Fahley has joined the Firm as Senior Associate. Ms. Fahley brings 20 years of Indian law experience to the firm. Her practice is dedicated to the preservation of tribal sovereignty, including cultural and natural resources, NAGPRA, NEPA, NHPA, ICWA, tribal court development, code drafting and representing… Read more: Berkey Williams LLP Welcomes Senior Associate Michele Fahley
- Onondaga Nation Prevails in Inter-American Commission on Human Rights Proceeding; Secures Admissibility Decision on Land Rights PetitionThe Inter-American Commission on Human Rights recently informed the Onondaga Nation of its decision affirming the viability of the Nation’s international legal claims against the United States related to land unlawfully taken from the Nation in the 18th and 19th centuries. In a Report on Admissibility in the case, the Commission noted that “indigenous peoples… Read more: Onondaga Nation Prevails in Inter-American Commission on Human Rights Proceeding; Secures Admissibility Decision on Land Rights Petition
Latest Publications
- KRRC Newsletter regarding Klamath Dam RemovalDam Removal on Schedule with Copco No. 2 Nearing Completion – The Klamath River renewal project shifted into high gear in June 2023, following final permit approvals by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) that allowed construction crews to get to work on the deconstruction of Copco No. 2 dam. The deconstruction of Copco No.… Read more: KRRC Newsletter regarding Klamath Dam Removal
- Curtis Berkey, Erica Costa and Aviva Simon author “Revitalizing Stewardship and Use of Tribal Traditional Properties: Options for Improving California Policy and Law in State-Managed Lands and Waters.”Publication forthcoming in Volume 7 of the Indigenous Peoples’ Journal of Law, Culture & Resistance, 2023-2024. Click here to view the article.
- Indian Law Fellow Dillon Dobson co-authors article: IDSov and the silent data revolution: Indigenous Peoples and the decentralized building blocks of web3This article explores the technology underpinning the decentralized data revolution and encourages Indigenous Peoples (IPs) to secure their Indigenous Data Sovereignty (IDSov) over the Metaverse and Web3. More specifically, this article will survey blockchain technologies, exploring some disturbing colonial uses and providing an international legal framework that IPs can use to advance their IDSov internationally… Read more: Indian Law Fellow Dillon Dobson co-authors article: IDSov and the silent data revolution: Indigenous Peoples and the decentralized building blocks of web3
- Associate Aviva Simon Pens Letter to Editor about Contemporary California Tribal GovernmentsClick here to view, Letter: Our Patwin neighbors are still here today.
- Legal Challenges Regarding Native Land OwnershipOn July 9, 2013, Partner Curtis Berkey presented a webinar lecture as part of the continuing legal education series on the Native Land Law program sponsored by the Indian Land Tenure Foundation. Mr. Berkey discussed the aboriginal title doctrine, constitutional protection for Indian land rights and the availability of legal remedies for violations of Indian… Read more: Legal Challenges Regarding Native Land Ownership