News

Barnhouse Keegan Solimon & West LLP would like to acknowledge our 2024 Summer Law Clerk Amber Reano. Amber is Navajo and Santo Domingo Pueblo. She is Táchii’nii (Red Running Into Water Clan) and born for Tóhajilohnii (Santo Domingo Pueblo). Her maternal grandfather's clan is Tó aheedlíínii (Water Flow Together Clan), and her paternal grandfather's clan [...]

As we close 2023, the firm extends its gratitude to our clients and communities, and renews its commitment to the firm’s mission, as established over thirty-five years ago: To address historic wrongs, advance present progress, and protect future rights of our clients, while maintaining our health and harmonious relationships within our firm and with community, [...]

Posted by Tierra Marks. On October 6, 2022, our team filed a lawsuit on behalf of brothers Dusty and Bucky Stone against the Board of County Commissioners for the County of Quay, the Quay County Road Superintendent, and two private citizens with land adjacent to the Stones’ property. Although the firm focuses its practice on [...]

Posted by Tierra Marks. On March 22, 2023, Barnhouse Keegan Solimon & West received the exhilarating news that the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in Jemez Pueblo’s favor in Pueblo of Jemez v. United States confirming Jemez Pueblo’s aboriginal Indian title ownership to Banco Bonito located in what is now the Valles Caldera National Preserve. This case began [...]

Posted by Michelle Miano. On November 9, 2022, BKSW was honored to host the University of New Mexico School of Law Tribal Law Journal for a listening session of the Brackeen v. Haaland oral argument before the U.S. Supreme Court.  Students, professors, attorneys and paralegals listened for over three hours as the justices inquired about [...]

Posted by Veronique Richardson. On October 7, 2022, the Pueblo of Santa Ana publicly announced its partnership with Tesla, Inc. to open a 35,000 sf sales, service and delivery facility including charging stations on the Pueblo of Santa Ana. The Santa Ana Pueblo Tesla facility is slated to open to the public in May 2023. This [...]

Please join us for the State Bar of New Mexico Indian Law Section’s annual 2022 Indian Law Institute CLE. We are very excited to have two Barnhouse Keegan Solimon & West LLP (“BKSW”) attorneys present on great topics and share their expertise. The 2022 Indian Law Institute CLE will be held on Thursday November 3, [...]

Posted by Tierra Marks and Michelle Miano. Many of our tribal clients have a long history of entrepreneurship and for centuries, have participated in large and complex trading networks exchanging goods, establishing social ties, and engaging in trade as part of their tradition and tribal culture. The federal government recognized the significance of commerce in [...]

Join us for a diverse panel discussion covering the latest developments involving the Cannabis Industry in Indian Country. Please join Lippes Mathias LLP and Barnhouse Keegan Solimon & West LLP for an upcoming panel discussion on Cannabis in Indian Country. These distinguished legal practitioners will discuss the latest legal and economic developments on Cannabis in [...]

Posted by Tierra Marks. Barnhouse Keegan Solimon & West LLP (“BKSW”) is pleased to announce that Jesse Heibel has joined the firm as an associate attorney. Jesse is a graduate of the University of Nebraska at Omaha and University of Colorado Law School in Boulder, Colorado.  Jesse began his career in Colorado where he worked [...]

Posted by: Sean Balkin, Randolph Barnhouse, Kelli Keegan, John Koeppel, Lee Redeye and Michael Rossetti. Prior to the COVID-19 Pandemic, as a result of successes in economic investments in gaming, hospitality and other industries, Native American tribes had seen significant increases in revenues over the last several years.  Unfortunately, in addition to the significant social [...]

Posted by Cole Bauman. On March 15, 2021, the United States Senate voted to confirm Debra Haaland, a 35th generation New Mexican and enrolled citizen of the Pueblo of Laguna, as the 54th United States Secretary of the Interior. The vote concluded with 51 Senators “for” and 40 “against” with support not only from Democratic [...]

Posted by Michelle Miano. In a year defined by hardship, there is cause for celebration.  This month, president-elect Joe Biden nominated Rep. Deb Haaland (D-NM), one of two Native American women currently serving in the U.S. House of Representatives, to the position of Secretary of Interior.  Once confirmed, Rep. Haaland, an enrolled member of the [...]

Posted by Tierra Marks. We want to give a shout out to Josett Monette, who recently became the Managing Attorney of the Native American Program at New Mexico Legal Aid (“NMLA”).  Although we are sad to have Josett leave the firm, we are excited for her and for her future clients! NMLA provides legal services [...]

Posted by Tierra Marks. When Karl E. Johnson, one of the founding members of our law firm, passed on Monday June 3, 2019, we lost a great lawyer, friend and person.  Even though it has been over a year, we continue to think of Karl often, and remember him fondly as we work to ensure [...]

Posted by Cole Bauman. Indian Nations codify various tribal classifications within their constitutions and laws.  Such actions are exercises of self-government and exemplify the inherent sovereign powers that federally recognized tribes retain.  For example, the right of an Indian nation to define its own membership requirements

Posted by Tierra Marks. On July 9, 2020, the United States Supreme Court awarded a significant win for Indian Nations and the protection of their lands in McGirt v. Oklahoma, 591 U.S. ___ (2020).  In McGirt, the Supreme Court held that the land promised to and reserved for the Muscogee (Creek) Nation remains Indian Country, [...]

Posted by Dianna Kicking Woman. Barnhouse Keegan Solimon & West is excited to announce that Cole Bauman is joining our firm!  Cole is a member of the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, a Wisconsin tribe, and grew up in Northern Michigan.  He earned his bachelor’s degree in economics at the University of Notre [...]

Posted by Josett D. Monette and Tierra Marks. On January 16, 2020, the New Mexico Supreme Court issued a significant and unanimous win for tribal sovereign immunity in Mendoza v. Isleta Resort & Casino, et al. 2020-NMSC-006. Mendoza began in the New Mexico State Workers’ Compensation Administration (“WCA”)

Posted by Michelle Miano. As a firm that provides legal services to numerous Tribal governments impacted from COVID-19, we have kept a close eye on the $8 billion in emergency aid directed by Congress to be distributed to Tribal governments under the CARES Act. Prior to the April 26, 2020 deadline, several Tribal governments initiated [...]

Posted by Tierra Marks and Josett D. Monette. We hope that you and your loved ones remain healthy and unaffected to the greatest extent possible during the COVID-19 outbreak.  Our firm remains dedicated to providing the best level of legal services to our clients as well as representing clients in all aspects of the law.  Over […]