NEWS

Native American Law Symposium and KU Tribal Law Conference Held

MAYETTA:  The 10th Annual Native Nations Law Symposium and 14th Annual Tribal Law & Government Conference were held yesterday and today where attendees came together to learn about Indian law.

Yesterday’s conference was held at the University of Kansas (KU) School of Law in Lawrence, Kan. and today’s symposium was at the Prairie Band Casino & Resort.  Below are some photographs from the two-day event.

Tribal Law Conference Yesterday

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Stacy L. Leeds with Robert J. Miller at the conference at KU.  Leeds is professor of law and director of the Tribal Law and Government Center and a District Court Judge for the PBPN.  Miller is a law professor at Lewis & Clark Law School in Portland, Oregon. He gave a presentation titled The Doctrine of Discovery in American Indian Law.

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Miller speaks regularly on Indian law issues and has written a book called Native America, Discovered and Conquered: Thomas Jefferson, Lewis and Clark, and Manifest Destiny.

Native American Law Symposium Today

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Raphael Wahwassuck, left, who works at the Judicial Center, is seen registering participants for the symposium that was held in the convention center.

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From left to right is Stacy Leeds, Steve Ortiz, Royetta Rodewald and Joyce Guerrero.  Leeds was the emcee for today’s event and Ortiz, Tribal Chairman, gave introductory remarks.  Rodewald is the PBPN Judicial Administrator and Guerrero is Vice Chairman of the Tribal Council.  Other Tribal Council members attending the symposium this morning were Jim Potter, Carrie O’Toole and Chago Hale.

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Mark Dodd, PBPN Tribal Attorney, and Andrew Reish, a first year law student at Washburn University having a conversation.  Dodd graduated from KU’s Law School in 2006 and while there was student director of the Tribal  Law & Government Center.

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 Antoinette Houle, left, and Ronald Graham, center who are with the Bureau of Indian Affairs-Horton Agency. They stopped to chat with Chairman Ortiz, right.

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We-Ta-Se Color Guard opened the conference by posting colors.

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Conferees attended sessions on Indian Gaming Now: Law, Policy, and Politics by Kathryn Rand, Ethical Considerations for Tribal Courts, Estate Planning and the American Indian Probate Reform Act by Douglas R. Nash, Tribal Trust Accounting & Mismanagement Litigationby Melody McCoy and a Roundtable Discussion on The Kansas Act and Recent Case Decisions Impacting Tribal Court Jurisdiction with Stacy Leeds, Aliza Organick and Mark Dodd.