The COVID-19 pandemic has had devastating impact, particularly in Indian country. This webinar focuses on the economic impacts, the tremendous scope and unique aspects of which the Federal Reserve Bank has highlighted in two recent studies. Tribes throughout Indian country are working hard to mitigate this 21st Century economic crisis, and each speaker is a nationally respected Indian country advocate who has been on the front lines in litigation efforts to assist Tribes in obtaining access to the resources they need.

Participants:

Stephen Greetham, Chief General Counsel for the Chickasaw Nation's Commerce Department and adjunct faculty member of the University of Oklahoma College of Law.

Cory Albright (Kanji Katzen) is counsel for Tribal plaintiffs in Chehalis, et al., v. Mnuchin (D.D.C.), which produced a ruling compelling the U.S. Treasury to abide Congress’s specification that CARES Act Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF) dollars to “tribal governments,” which term the Court understood excludes privately-held and non-governmental Alaska Native Corporations. This issue is hard for Indian country, the split between Tribes and the ANCs, but this litigation has so far successfully focused badly needed resources to Tribal governments as governments.

Catherine Munson (Kilpatrick Townsend) is counsel for Tribal plaintiffs in Agua Caliente, et al., v. Mnuchin (D.D.C.), which might accurately be considered “spawn-of-Chehalis”—a lawsuit seeking to compel the U.S. Treasury’s immediate distribution of the CRF dollars allocated to Tribal governments. To date, 60% of those dollars have been allocated, but the ongoing litigation continues to press the Federal trustee to make all dollars timely available to Tribes.

Judge Michael Burrage (Whitten Burrage) is counsel for Tribal plaintiffs in Chickasaw Nation Department of Commerce v. Lexington Ins. Co., et al. (Okla., Pontotoc County), and Choctaw Nation v. Lexington Ins. Co., et al. (Okla., Bryan County), which seeks business interruption insurance coverage for Tribal economic development enterprises that have been shuttered pursuant to Tribal government orders as part of comprehensive efforts to stop the spread of COVID-19.

Free for TICA members. $40 for all others. Become a TICA member today at: https://tica.wildapricot.org/join-us.