Business Transactions

Additionally, the firm has helped organize tribally-owned corporations under Section 17 of the Indian Reorganization Act, to provide a corporate structure to meet the requirements of the present business environment while preserving the unique jurisdictional status of the Section 17 corporation.

Employment
Employment-related cases involving Native Americans continue to rise as Native American tribes continue to expand economic development on and off reservations. These activities are generating complex legal questions with respect to employment practices and liability. Additionally, increasing numbers of non-Native companies operating on or near reservations are creating employment scenarios with potential and actual conflicts between federal and tribal law.

The exact relationship of the tribes to the United States is ambiguous, and courts still struggle with questions involving the applicability of U.S. law to various situations involving Native Americans. Fredericks Peebles & Morgan LLP has the experience to provide counsel and representation for Native American tribes and businesses in disputes involving the complex issues involved with employment.

Finance
The firm has provided legal services to a wide variety of tribal business entities as general counsel. Those entities have included convenience stores and gasoline service stations, retail gift shops and smoke shops. This representation has included the negotiation and drafting of ground leases, commercial leases, construction contracts, employment contracts, build-to-suit leases, leasehold mortgages, business and/or asset acquisition agreements, and a broad range of other contracts arising from those business activities.

Gaming Development and Management
Fredericks Peebles & Morgan LLP attorneys have been involved in all aspects of Indian gaming development including lobbying activities on behalf of tribes when the IGRA was being considered and passed by Congress. The members of the firm have been involved in at least a billion dollars worth of gaming development projects ranging from modest projects requiring investments in the hundreds of thousands to projects requiring bond offerings in the hundreds of millions.

The firm has assisted tribes with all aspects of land acquisition including placing land into trust for initial reservations for newly recognized tribes and tribes restored to federal recognition. We have handled trust land transactions for off-reservation acquisitions pursuant to section 20 of the IGRA and pursuant to the settlement of land claims litigation, which we also handle.

Fredericks Peebles & Morgan LLP has experience representing Indian nations in the process of developing their gaming & casino operations both before and after passage of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act in 1988.

The firm's expertise in gaming includes:

• Negotiation of management contracts
• Termination of management agreements
• Establishing new gaming enterprises
• Planning, structuring & financing new business entities
• Establishing sound business practices

Fredericks Peebles & Morgan LLP has also assisted tribes in the transition from management contract relationships to tribal management of gaming facilities.

Land Issues
During the "Allotment Era", the federal government took away over 90 million acres of tribal lands that were previously guaranteed to the tribes by treaties and federal law. In 1934, Congress passed the Indian Reorganization Act. Section V of the Act authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to acquire land to be held in trust by the United States for the benefit of tribes.

To accomplish this task, tribes must file an application that meets the requirements of 25 C.F.R. Part 151 and other federal regulations. The taking of land into trust is a dynamic process that can range from the relatively simple to complex.

Fredericks Peebles & Morgan LLP begins the process by meeting with the tribe to determine the purpose of the land acquisition. Whether the intended use is for on-reservation housing or off-reservation gaming, the firm’s experienced attorneys will assist your tribe with the real property, environmental and administrative law aspects associated with tribal land acquisitions, whether it be to restore traditional homelands, pursue economic development, provide housing and community services, or preserve your natural resources and sacred sites.

Natural Resources
Fredericks Peebles & Morgan LLP has extensive experience in the areas of property rights, environmental protection, and natural resources in Indian country. Our unique knowledge of tribal cultural and religious relationships with the land, fundamental doctrines of federal Indian law, land ownership and property rights of tribes, land utilization and environmental protection, natural resources development, taxation of lands and resources, water rights, as well as hunting, fishing, and gathering rights give the firm a high degree of proficiency in managing the complexities of Natural Resources issues. The firm is also skilled in developing wide-ranging strategies for Indian tribes to achieve the maximum return for their non-renewable natural resources and to ensure the perpetual production of their renewable resources.

Reservation Economic Development
Indian tribes have historically suffered from high unemployment and underemployment as a direct result of several factors including, isolation, nonexistent or insufficient infrastructure, access to educational and training opportunities, and access to capital.

With the onset of Indian Gaming some tribes began to realize income streams such that they could develop infrastructure and start to diversify their economies by attracting other business and industrial development. Still others, although somewhat more isolated, are able to realize sufficient gaming revenues to generate jobs associated with gambling but also began to improve infrastructure and leverage capital to develop other tribal properties or assets for tourism and recreation as well as spin-off retail businesses and manufacturing.

Fredericks Peebles & Morgan LLP, with decades of service to Indian people and tribal governments, has the experience and the expertise to assist and advise tribes, individual entrepreneurs, companies and financial sources, in the development and diversification of tribal economies. We offer advice and assistance in not only the development of gaming related facilities, but also in the development of diversified economic activities that are not dependent upon the existence of one particular industry.

The firm not only works at the local reservation level to enhance economic opportunities but also interacts with county and city governments, state offices, state legislatures, federal agencies and the U.S. Congress to protect and enhance tribal economic rights and privileges particularly in the areas of taxation, regulation, and the exercise of sovereignty. With offices strategically located near Indian Country (California, Nebraska, South Dakota and Colorado), we are uniquely able to serve our clients in an efficient, cost effective and timely manner.

Taxation
Taxation issues in Indian country can be quite complex, based on the numerous types of taxes, the several sovereignties that may try and impose taxes, and the various rules governing the taxes' applicability to transactions. Fredericks Peebles & Morgan LLP can advise tribal governments, enterprises, and corporations regarding compliance with applicable federal and state tax laws involving income taxes, property taxes, employment taxes, sales or use and other excise and transaction taxes, available tax exemptions, and tribal government and business tax planning.