Dear Tribal Leaders and Tribal Community Members, 

As we move through the first months of the year, I want to acknowledge the uncertainty and challenges that continue to unfold. It seems as though we are constantly met with new developments that impact Indian Country, and it can be difficult to make sense of it all. At California Indian Legal Services (CILS), we are steadfast in our commitment to supporting Tribes and the broader tribal community, ensuring that you have access to clear, reliable legal information during these turbulent times. 

In response to the pressing questions we are receiving, our team is developing a series of FAQs to help navigate the shifting landscape. We want to reassure you that CILS is monitoring these developments closely and remains ready to advocate, support, and defend tribal sovereignty.

Over the last six decades, we have stood alongside Tribes in times of uncertainty, and today is no different. Our role is to provide trusted guidance and to be a resource as we face these challenges together.



As Tribal Leaders continue to rally to protect tribal sovereignty, we urge you to take action by contacting your U.S. Senators and Members of Congress. Those who have been on Capitol Hill this month have emphasized that legislators need to hear directly from their Tribal constituents. A strong, unified Tribal voice is critical at this moment.

Key priorities for outreach shared by California Tribal Leaders include: 

• Protecting our democracy and ensuring that the legislative branch remains safeguarded from executive overreach, including attempts to withhold legislatively appropriated funds. 
• Shielding Tribes from the devastating impacts of mass terminations within federal agencies responsible for upholding trust obligations. 
• Reinforcing the distinction that the trust obligation is: 
• Not Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) 
• Not Reparations 
• Not Welfare 
• Not a handout for "poor Indians" 
• A legal obligation, already paid for in full 
• Funding should be mandatory, fully funded, and formula-driven 

Since 1967, CILS has been dedicated to defending Native rights, and we are honored to continue standing alongside California Tribes and communities today. If you have any questions about federal policy changes impacting Tribes, please complete this questionnaire form here or send an email to info@calindian.org. We are here to help navigate these complex issues and ensure that tribal sovereignty remains protected. 

In solidarity, 

Heather Hostler 

Executive Director 

California Indian Legal Services 

Regalia Protection for Native Student Graduates

Jay Petersen, Senior Staff Attorney CILS

Regalia Protection for Native Student Graduates

When the graduation season gears up in Spring, CILS wants Native students to know their rights about being able to wear tribal regalia during their graduation ceremonies. In 2024, CILS in partnership with ACLU attorneys, created a self-help toolkit to guide Native students and their families in knowing the law, defending their rights and educating others about including culturally significant items in graduations. These regalia commonly include eagle feathers, native beaded graduation caps, and decorated stoles.

The Native Regalia Toolkit summarizes a California law spearheaded by California Tribes and CILS in 2018. Since then, the regalia freedoms encoded in law have been ignored, or in some cases actively suppressed, by school districts who restricted or denied students from wearing their regalia. 

While producing the toolkit, the ACLU with CILS assistance wrote and together we distributed a state-wide research study documenting the persistent troubling pattern of restrictions of Native students’ regalia rights. This published report, available on the CILS website, shows that 56% of school districts state-wide impose unnecessary and onerous pre-approval requirements that deter Native and other students from expressing their cultural heritage at graduations.  

The Native Regalia Toolkit also explains how students can educate school administrations and others to enforce their legal right to proudly display and include culturally significant and meaningful Native symbols at such a pivotal milestone in their lives.

Once the toolkit was published on the CILS website in April 2024, overall student complaints declined, and we know Native students and families used the toolkit on their own to successfully represent themselves and reverse illegal restrictions from school administrators or school districts.

The legislative history of the Native regalia protection law featured two school districts whose policies justified the need for remedial legislative action. One was the Elk Grove Unified School District. The other was Clovis Unified School District.

This past year under the leadership of the Wilton Rancheria, CILS and our ACLU partners have been able to completely revamp  Elk Grove’s graduation  regalia policies. Through the personal leadership and advocacy of their Superintendent Charistopher Huff man and his staff, Elk Grove now has policies in place that promote compliance with the law.

Decision-makers in Clovis abusively misread the 2018 law and decided that a simple stole provided to a graduating student by her Tribe that included the name of her Tribe in their own language could not be worn at graduation because the stole was not traditional. CILS represented the student and intervened against the School District. She proudly wore the stole at graduation. This abusive reading of the law prompted CILS  and the ACLU to file an administrative complaint against the district and other school districts with similar policies requesting a Department of Justice investigation and an injunction against Clovis’ unlawful policies and practices. The investigation is ongoing, and the Department of Justice has taken comments from CILS and ACLU clients and their attorneys.

This graduation cycle will feature an updated toolkit and the distribution of regalia graduation to legislative and educational leaders and policy-makers throughout the State.

For more information, contact Jay Petersen at jpetersen@calindian.org

Advocate for Your Right to Wear

Tribal Regalia at Graduation

Follow these steps to ensure your rights are protected.

The Reality of Education Disparities for Native Youth in California | Data from California Department of Education

Source: California Department of Education

Caring for Our Lands: Advocating for Access and Stewardship of Allotment Lands in California.

What is a Public Domain Allotment? Following the 1887 Dawes or Allotment Act, Native Americans could apply for up to 160-acre parcels of land on the so-called "public domain" (seized Indian land). The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) held these public domain allotments (PDAs) in trust for Indian allottees with the goals of assimilation, containment, and appeasement. However, they became sites of refuge, resilience, and resistance. Due to the U.S. government’s failure to ratify treaties negotiated with California Indian peoples, many California Indians successfully applied for allotments on the "public domain" in the late 1800s and early 1900s. While many of these allotments were lost due to illegal cancellations, forced sales, and outright theft, today over 400 public domain allotments totaling over 16,000 acres remain across California. These allotments continue to be held in trust by the BIA for descendants of the individual allottees and are not subject to property taxes or local zoning regulations. 

Op ED: California's first Native American Assemblymember Champions Historic Tribal Protection

By Dorothy Alther, CILS Legal Director

Dorothy Alther (Oglala Sioux), CILS Legal Director

CILS Community Education

CILS provides tailored virtual and in-person training as well as other educational services to communities, tribes, and other organizations in

a wide range of topics and specialties.

Join Our Legacy of Advocacy at CILS!

Founded in 1967, CILS stands as the oldest public interest Indian rights law firm in the United States, dedicated to the advocacy and protection of the fundamental rights of California tribes and Indians. Through a combination of litigation, legislative work, community development, and educational efforts, we strive for systemic change and provide comprehensive legal services to empower our communities. If you are passionate about upholding the rights of California Indians and want to make a significant impact, explore our available positions below.

CILS offers an outstanding benefits package designed to support your well-being and growth. Highlights include:

• Health & Financial Security: Affordable medical plans (100% for you, 90% for dependents), Flexible Spending Accounts, and a 403(b) with employer match.
• Generous Time Off: 17 paid holidays (including a December 24–January 1 closure), plus vacation, sick leave, and additional personal leave.
• Growth & Support: Free professional development courses, an Employee Assistance Program for mental health, supplemental insurance, and loan repayment assistance for eligible roles.

The CILS Board of Trustees Meeting will be conducted in person for board members, but those who would like to participate in the meeting remotely can sign up to receive Zoom details by registering here: CILS Board of Trustees Meeting

We appreciate your interest and engagement.

If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to Veronica Huerta, Executive Assistant, at vhuerta@calindian.org

California Indian Legal Services (CILS) actively seeks individuals passionate about advocating for Native American rights to join their Board of Trustees in a volunteer position. CILS' provides legal services in federal Indian law to income-eligible Native Americans and low-cost legal services to Tribes. CILS seeks board members who will support, guide, and lead in partnership to achieve its mission and vision. We are currently recruiting members who are income eligible for CILS services and are indigenous to California. To apply, complete a Board Application. For questions contact Veronica Huerta, Executive Assistant, at vhuerta@calindian.org.  

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