Symposia

Updated Harvard NALSA Symposium Info. Feb 28, 2025

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

The Harvard Law School (HLS) Native Law Students Association (NALSA) is excited to present the 2025 HLS Indian Law Symposium, titled”De-Othering Indian Law: Indigenous Topics as Canon Legal Doctrine.” 

The symposium will be a day-long event on Friday, February 28, 2025,from 9am – 5pm. 
The symposium is open to the public and free to attend forregistered attendees. You can register using the form link located on the symposium website.

We have an amazing line-up of speakers coming, including: 
U.S. District Court Judge Sunshine S. Sykes, ASU Law School Dean Stacy Leeds, Navajo Nation Chief Justice JoAnn Jayne, White House Senior Policy Advisor on Native Affairs and Stanford Professor Elizabeth Reese, UNSW & HLS Professor Megan Davis, MSU Professor Wenona T. Singel, and University of Michigan Professor Matthew Fletcher. 

For those interested in a virtual link to the symposium, please fill out the registration form and indicate interest in a virtual live stream option. 

For any questions, please contact nalsa@mail.law.harvard.edu. 

Harvard NALSA Indian Law Symposium Feb. 28, 2025

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

More details here (updated Jan. 20, 2025):

The Harvard Law School (HLS) Native Law Students Association (NALSA) is excited to present the 2025 HLS Indian Law Symposium, titled”De-Othering Indian Law: Indigenous Topics as Canon Legal Doctrine.” 

The symposium will be a day-long event on Friday, February 28, 2025,from 9am – 5pm. 
The symposium is open to the public and free to attend forregistered attendees. You can register using the form link located on the symposium website.

We have an amazing line-up of speakers coming, including: 
U.S. District Court Judge Sunshine S. Sykes, ASU Law School Dean Stacy Leeds, Navajo Nation Chief Justice JoAnn Jayne, White House Senior Policy Advisor on Native Affairs and Stanford Professor Elizabeth Reese, UNSW & HLS Professor Megan Davis, MSU Professor Wenona T. Singel, and University of Michigan Professor Matthew Fletcher. 

For those interested in a virtual link to the symposium, please fill out the registration form and indicate interest in a virtual live stream option. 

For any questions, please contact nalsa@mail.law.harvard.edu. 

NAICJA 2024

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Looking forward to talking about tribal court jurisprudence, Brackeen, and Cooley:

New Mexico State Bar Foundation 2024 Indian Law Institute — Nov. 7

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here.

Speakers:

  • The Intersection of Tribal and State Court Orders of Protection and Family Law Basics
    • Deliah Tenorio, NM Indian Affairs Department
    • Veronica Hill, Second Judicial District Court
  • Medical Malpractice in Indian Country and New Mexico 
    • Melanie Ben, Curtis & Co
  • Seeking Equality in Water Rights for Native American Sovereigns 
    • MacArthur Stant, Navajo Nation Department of Justice
    • Dwight Witherspoon, Navajo Nation Department of Justice
  • Federal Prosecution of Indians in Federal Court 
    • Professor Samuel Winder, University of New Mexico School of Law
  • Is Your Tribe Leaving Money on the Table? ISDEEA’s Section 105(l): An Underutilized Funding Stream in New Mexico
    • Donna Connolly, Rothstein Donatelli
    • Steven Heely, Rothstein Donatelli
    • Allison Athens, Rothstein Donatelli
  • Indian Law at the New Mexico Legislature 
    • Lydia Ninham
  • The Ethical Standard When Working in Indian Country
    • David Adams, Parnall & Adams

Vermont Law Review Symposium Panel on the Indian Child Welfare Act, Today @ Noon

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Link to YouTube livestream here. Panelists are Lauren van Schilfgaard and Fletcher.

Hosted by the Vermont Law Review, this symposium will focus on legal challenges and innovative solutions to protect our most vulnerable population: children. It will be held as a four-part lunch series beginning on Thursday, September 19.

The first installment will focus on the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA). The discussion will explore the impact of recent Supreme Court decisions on ICWA and its long-term implications for Native American children and tribal sovereignty.

If you’re unable to join us in person on the VLGS campus, a livestream will also be available. You can access the livestream via the button below or by clicking here.

Sovereignty Symposium XXXVI

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

The Sovereignty Symposium is an international event held for the past 36 years in Oklahoma to provide a forum in which ideas concerning common legal issues among those in the legal professions, federal and state officials, and the state’s Native American tribes can be exchanged in a scholarly, non-adversarial environment. It was originally established by the Oklahoma Supreme Court and now transferred fully to Oklahoma City University and our School of Law.

Symposium Agenda.pdfDownload

The move to OCU came about because of the institution’s long history within its School of Law of teaching and working in Oklahoma’s Native American tribal community. OCU law houses the American Indian Law and Sovereignty Center as well as the American Indian Wills Clinic. We are also currently working with many tribes on a new sovereignty institute as well as language revitalization efforts and technology in schools, both in conjunction with Apple.

This year’s symposium will take place June 11-12, 2024, at the Skirvin Hilton Hotel in downtown Oklahoma City. Titled “A New Beginning,” the keynote speaker will be Geoffrey Standing Bear, principal chief of the Osage Nation. We also are looking forward to Southern Nation and their featured guest, the Osage Tribal Singers, who performed at the Oscars, playing at this year’s Opening Ceremony on Tuesday, June 11th at 1:15pm.

 For more information or to register to attend, please go to thesovereigntysymposium.com.