Why It Matters

The Seneca Nation of Indians has filed a new lobbying registration disclosure, bringing on the firm of Aurene Michele Martin, operating as Spirit Rock LLC, to represent its interests in Washington on three issue areas: Indian and Native American affairs, law enforcement and criminal justice, and gaming and gambling.

The registration was signed June 4, 2026, with an original registration date of April 15, 2026.

The Seneca Nation is entering a federal lobbying engagement at a moment when several live legislative debates directly touch its core interests. Tribal gaming sovereignty, law enforcement jurisdiction on tribal lands, and federal trust responsibilities are all active topics on Capitol Hill. The Nation's decision to retain outside counsel through a formal LDA lobbying registration signals an intent to engage those debates directly.

The firm leading the effort, Spirit Rock, is helmed by Aurene Martin, whose background is rooted in federal Indian law and policy. No specific bills are listed in the disclosure, but the three issue codes registered cover a broad swath of policy terrain with real implications for tribal governance and revenue.

By the Numbers

The filing lists no dollar amount for the engagement. Four lobbyists are registered under the disclosure:

  • Aurene Martin, President of the firm
  • Jennifer Van der Heide, Partner, with prior Hill experience in the offices of former Reps. Debra Haaland (D-NM), Joe Neguse (D-CO), and Michael Honda (D-CA), as well as the House Appropriations Committee
  • Damian Padilla, Legislative Associate
  • Will Couture, Legislative Assistant, with prior experience in the offices of former Sens. Richard Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI)

No in-house lobbying team is identified in the federal lobbying disclosure.

The Agenda

The disclosure lists three broad issue codes: Indian and Native American affairs, law enforcement and criminal justice, and gaming and gambling. No specific legislation or issues are identified in the filing. The breadth of the issue codes suggests the Nation is positioning itself to engage on a range of matters rather than a single targeted legislative push.

Broader Context

The Seneca Nation's new lobbying compliance registration comes as tribal law enforcement and gaming sovereignty have become increasingly active areas of congressional attention.

On law enforcement, a persistent and bipartisan concern has been the limited authority tribal courts have to prosecute non-Native offenders who commit crimes on reservation land. The House Judiciary Committee sent a letter to FBI Director Kash Patel in December 2025 citing how jurisdictional gaps make tribal lands vulnerable to cartel activity. Multiple bills have been introduced to address the problem, including the PROTECT Act, introduced by Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN) and Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT), which would expand tribal jurisdiction over non-Native drug and gun offenders.

On gaming, a separate but equally active debate has emerged over whether unregulated prediction market platforms are siphoning revenue from tribal gaming operations. Tribes and their congressional allies have argued these platforms evade state and tribal consumer protections and undermine sovereign regulatory regimes. A February 2026 letter to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, signed by 22 Democratic senators, urged the agency to uphold tribal and state gaming authority.

Rep. Nicholas Langworthy (R-NY-23) has been among the most active members on Seneca Nation-specific matters. In February 2026, he posted publicly about meeting with Seneca Nation leaders in Washington to discuss H.R. 7065, the Seneca Nation Law Enforcement Efficiency Act. In May 2026, just two weeks before the lobbying registration was signed, Langworthy publicly championed behavioral health funding for the Nation.

Between the Lines

The congressional backdrop for this registered lobbyist filing is active across all three issue areas.

On law enforcement, the Parity for Tribal Law Enforcement Act, introduced in July 2025 by Rep. Sharice Davids (D-KS) and Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-WA), would give tribal law enforcement officers under 638 contracts the same federal benefits as other federal law enforcement officers. The bill addresses the same structural deficit in tribal policing that H.R. 7065 targets.

On gaming, Rep. Gabe Vasquez (D-NM) pushed in March 2026 to protect tribal gaming revenue from prediction market platforms, arguing the failure to act "erodes Tribal sovereignty." His effort was backed by the Indian Gaming Association and several New Mexico tribes.

On Indian affairs broadly, the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, chaired by Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), passed the NATIVE Act unanimously in December 2025, updating federal programs to improve tribal access to resources. The committee also held a hearing on the SBA's 8(a) program for Native communities, with Murkowski framing it as Congress fulfilling its federal trust responsibility.

One notable connection: Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), a former-office connection of lobbyist Will Couture, co-signed the February 2026 CFTC letter on tribal gaming and also co-sponsored a Senate resolution on Native women that passed unanimously in March 2026.

Competitive Landscape

The Indian Gaming Association has been active in supporting tribal gaming sovereignty legislation, including backing the Tribal Gaming Regulatory Compliance Act introduced in June 2025 by Reps. Morgan Luttrell (R-TX) and Veronica Escobar (D-TX). Multiple tribes have engaged on the prediction markets issue, with New Mexico tribes among the most vocal. No specific competing lobbying filings on identical issues are identified in the available data.

The Bottom Line

The Seneca Nation's new LDA lobbying registration puts it in Washington at a moment when the legislative issues most relevant to tribal governance (law enforcement jurisdiction, gaming revenue, and federal trust obligations) are all seeing real congressional activity.

The team assembled through Spirit Rock brings prior Hill experience across both chambers and relevant committee backgrounds. The absence of specific legislation in the disclosure leaves the full scope of the engagement undefined for now.

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