FBA/NNABA/NABADC DC Mid-Year Annual Indian Law Conference

National Museum of the American Indian

Friday November 13, 2009

8:00am-5:00pm

8:00-9:00         Registration

8:30-9:00         Welcome & Prayer

9:00-9:30         Federal Court Update

• Richard Guest, Supreme Court Project, Native American Rights Fund

9:45-11:00        Ethics: Inter-Tribal Investment & Co-Ownership: Who Is your Client?

Many economically successful Tribes are looking for ways to diversify their economy, and many are investing in other Tribes. Other Tribes are looking to share limited resources through co-ownership opportunities for economic ventures, but also for co-management of land with shared interests such as sacred sites. This panel will explore some of the benefits and impediments to inter-tribal projects, as well as some of the ethical issues raised for attorneys. Specifically, do we as Tribal attorneys have a larger obligation to Indian people, and how does that work when all parties involved are Tribal entities?

Moderator: Heather Dawn Thompson, Partner, Sonnenschein, Nath & Rosenthal

• Ron Solimon, President & CEO of the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, Inc
• Jim Bittorf, Deputy Chief Counsel, Oneida Tribes of Wisconsin, Counsel on Four Council Fire Tribes project
• Little Fawn Boland, Rosette Law Firm, Counsel on Rumsey (Yocha Dehe)-Guidiville Rancheria project

11:15-12:30       Beyond Land-Into-Trust: Creative Land Ownership Options for Tribes

There are a number of creative ways for tribes to own land other than as federal trust land, such as federal restricted fee and conservation easements. Considering the practical problems with land-into-trust as well as the sovereignty concerns with the federal government “owning” the land, what options are available?

Moderator: Stacy L. Leeds. Professor of Law and Director, Tribal Law and Government Center, University of Kansas School of Law

• Doug Nash, Director, Institute for Indian Estate Planning and Probate, Seattle University School of Law
• Richard Monette, Associate Professor of Law, Director, Great Lakes Indian Law Center, University of Wisconsin School of Law
• Brian Sawers, O’Connor Fellow, Arizona State University College of Law
• Robert Odawi Porter, Professor of Law, Dean’s Research Scholar of Indigenous Nations Law, Director, Center for Indigenous Law, Governance & Citizenship, Syracuse University College of Law

12:30-2:00 Lunch Keynote:     Hilary Tompkins, Solicitor, Department of Interior Continue reading →