( February 17, 2026, 11:09 AM EST) -- SALT LAKE CITY — A federal judge in Utah has dismissed a contractor’s claims that a Native American tribe breached its agreement with him in a long-standing and complex dispute over revenue the contractor said he was owed for work he performed pursuant to oil and gas leases on tribal lands. The judge ruled that the matter called for deference to the jurisdiction of the Tribal Court and emphasized the importance of exhausting tribal remedies as required by the 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals guidance....