Tribal Lands & Resources

For a century, Davis Graham & Stubbs LLP has served clients in the Rocky Mountain West – this history has given us a wealth of experience in the field of Indian law. Today, our attorneys represent companies operating on Tribal lands or doing business with Tribes.

We routinely represent companies operating on Tribal lands or within reservation boundaries concerning rights-of-way, access, and other surface use disputes; royalties, severance, and other taxes; tribal regulation; cultural resources; permitting; and Department of Interior approvals for agreements with Tribes. We also represent companies in a wide variety of matters that raise Indian law issues including commercial, real estate investment, governmental housing, and regulatory concerns. We advise on Tribal jurisdictional issues and have litigated jurisdictional disputes in both federal and Tribal court.

Additionally, we work with a range of energy companies operating on Tribal lands or within reservation boundaries. We assist clients throughout the due diligence and negotiation process, including complex tribal jurisdictional issues, agreements under the Indian Mineral Leasing Act and the Indian Mineral Development Act, the HEARTH Act and obtaining the necessary approvals from the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA).

We work with oil and gas companies in obtaining permits for seismic operations, obtaining and defending oil and gas leases, posting bonds, obtaining approval of permits to drill, and acquiring necessary permits for, among other things, produced water and air emissions. We extensively counsel clients on payment of royalty associated with Indian oil and gas leases. We advise clients in obtaining approval for federal oil and gas units and frequently represent clients in unit disputes. For mature oil and gas properties we assist clients in issues such as lease termination, plugging and abandoning wells, and reclamation.