The Hill newspaper ranks the "top lobbyists" for Indian affairs, a list that includes several lobbying firms and some inter-tribal organizations.

The Holland & Knight firm is tops on the list for its recent hiring of retired Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R-Colorado), the chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee. Aurene Martin, a former aide to the committee and a former Bureau of Indian Affairs official, also works at the firm.

IETAN Consulting is called "the largest Indian-owned practice in the country." Its principals are Wilson Pipestem and Larry Rosenthal, who have a partnership with Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, one of the largest Washington lobbying firms.

The National Indian Gaming Association and the National Congress of American Indians also make the list. So does the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation of Connecticut, which maintains a Washington office.

A newcomer to the list is Zell & Cox, run by Patricia Zell, a former aide to Sen. Daniel Inouye (R-Hawaii) on the Senate Indian Affairs Committee. One lobbyist called her Inouye's "alter ego."

Not included this year are the Navajo Nation Washington Office; Hobbs, Straus, Dean & Walker; and Sonosky, Chambers, Sachse, Endreson & Perry, all of whom made the list last year.

Get the Story:
Lobby League: Indian Affairs (The Hill 2/15)

Related Stories:
Tribal political donations at issue in Washington (1/31)
Reform, gaming on agenda for members of Congress (1/20)
Senate panel approves 14 bills at business meeting (06/30)
McCain seeks to close 'revolving door' in Washington (06/28)
Lobbying Report: Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians (6/27)
Lobbying Report: The revolving door in Washington (06/06)
Gaming leads to new concerns about lobbyists (05/26)
Who's lobbying who in DC: An Indian law firm (5/23)
Lobbying Report: National Indian Gaming Association (05/09)
Lobbying scandal prompts new look at tribal rules (05/09)