Amicus brief filed in support of the Lake Pepin appeal

On October 5, 2026, the Association for Government Accountability filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in support of the Lake Pepin Reservation Project appellants.

The appeal is Federal Circuit No. 26-2082. It comes from Court of Federal Claims No. 25-1718. One week earlier, on September 28, the appellants filed their principal brief (Doc. 12). We covered that filing in our Federal Circuit update.

This is a filing and support milestone. It is not a court decision on the merits. The appeal is still pending.

What an amicus brief is

Amicus curiae is Latin for "friend of the court." An amicus is a person or group that is not a party to the case but cares how it comes out. Under the court's rules, they can file a brief that gives the judges their view of the questions on appeal.

An amicus brief does not add a party to the case. It does not change what the appellants are asking the court to do. The judges decide how much weight to give it.

What it does tell the court is that people outside the lawsuit think these questions matter enough to put their own name on a filing.

Who filed it

The brief was filed by the Association for Government Accountability (AGA). AGA is an outside organization. It is not one of the appellants and is not Five Stones.

Project counsel Erick G. Kaardal shared the filed brief with the Lake Pepin lineal descendants and with Five Stones the same afternoon.

What the Lake Pepin case is about

The Lake Pepin Reservation Project is an active Five Stones project. The lawsuit argues that the United States violated trust obligations to the Sioux Half-Breed lineal descendants of the Lake Pepin Reservation. The project page explains that the reservation was established by the 1830 Treaty of Prairie du Chien and by the 1854 and 1858 Congressional Acts.

Today the United States does not recognize those descendants as Indians. It does not recognize the Lake Pepin Reservation or its boundaries.

The project's case theory is specific. A treaty set aside a reservation. The United States took on the role of trustee. The land was sold, and the proceeds were not held in trust for the people the treaty named.

What the appeal asks for

In their principal brief, the appellants ask the Federal Circuit to reverse the Court of Federal Claims dismissal. They ask the court to send the case back for proceedings on the merits: class certification, liability, and, only after liability, an accounting.

The appeal is about money and an accounting for alleged trust breaches. It does not ask anyone to leave their land. It does not ask the court to cancel private land patents or upset private land titles.

The timeline so far

• August 3, 2026: Five Stones and attorney Erick Kaardal held a public Lake Pepin case-status update. The legal team said it had finalized strategy for an appeal to the Federal Circuit. (Event)

• September 28, 2026: Principal Brief of Appellants filed, Federal Circuit No. 26-2082, Doc. 12.

• October 5, 2026: Association for Government Accountability files an amicus brief in support of the appellants.

From here, the case follows the Federal Circuit's briefing schedule. We will post again when there is something new on the docket.

Why this step matters

Appeals are mostly written. Judges read the record and the briefs before anyone stands up to argue. A second brief on the appellants' side means the court will hear from more than the parties when it looks at this case.

That is all we are claiming. The court has not ruled. An amicus filing is support, not a result.

What this post is not

This post is not a guarantee of any outcome. It is not a settlement pitch, and it is not an offer to invest. Courts decide whether the United States is liable and, if so, what is owed.

Five Stones Legal Defense Fund is a 501(c)(3) public charity. It is not a law firm, and this post is not legal advice.

How to follow and support the project

Read the Lake Pepin project page: https://www.isuegov.com/lake-pepin

Read our Federal Circuit update: https://www.isuegov.com/post/lake-pepin-federal-circuit-appeal-update

If you want to help, you can give at https://www.isuegov.com/donate. Gifts may be designated to the Lake Pepin project fund or to Five Stones Legal Defense Fund as a whole. A gift is a gift to the Fund. It is not a stake in any case and not a claim on any recovery.

Press questions: press@isuegov.com