[Virtual] 2020 DC Indian Law Conference

Thursday, November 5

12:00 – 1:30 p.m. ET
An Overview of Indian Country Successes and Failures Over the Past Four Years

This panel will highlight Indian Country successes and failures over the past four years.  Specifically, panelists will examine the successes and failures of Congress and federal agencies.

• Maurisa Bell, Associate, Dentons US LLP (Moderator)
• Elizabeth Carr, Senior Native American Affairs Advisor, National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center
• Joshua Clause, Principal, Clause Law PLLC
• Heather Sibbison, Partner, Chair of the Native American and Policy Practice, Dentons US LLP

2:30 – 4:00 p.m. ET
The Impact of COVID on Indian Country from Indian Country

As the world grapples with the pandemic, Tribal Nations are contending with the pandemic’s disproportionate impacts to their communities. This dynamic panel of Tribal leaders and Indian law experts will discuss the pandemic’s unique economic and health impacts and how, as sovereign nations, Tribes are working to protect the safety and welfare of their communities.

• Connie Tsosie de Haro, Democratic Counsel, Senate Committee on Indian Affairs (Moderator)
• Nicole Ducheneaux, Partner, Big Fire Law & Policy Group LLP
• Sarah Harris, Vice Chairwoman, The Mohegan Tribe
• Doreen N. McPaul, Attorney General, Navajo Nation Department of Justice
• Bryan Newland, Chairman, Bay Mills Indian Community

Friday, November 6

12:00 – 1:30 p.m. ET
Looking Forward After McGirt

McGirt v. Oklahoma was a landmark win for Indian country that confirmed time-honored Indian law principles in how Indian law cases are handled by the US Supreme Court. This acknowledgement is historic because of the geographic and possibly substantive reach of the decision. The decision is a significant and helpful clarification of Solem v. Bartlett, one that dispels the notion that de facto diminishment/disestablishment is possible independent of statutory language. Justice Neil Gorsuch grasped the gravity of the ruling. He wrote, “On the far end of the Trail of Tears was a promise…Today we are asked whether the land these treaties promised remains an Indian reservation for purposes of federal criminal law. Because Congress has not said otherwise, we hold the government to its word.”  These powerful words necessitate us to ask where do we go from here? This esteemed panel discusses the potential future of Indian law after McGirt.

• Sarah Crawford, Associate, Clause Law PLLC(Moderator)
• Riyaz Kanji, Founding Member, Kanji & Katzen PLLC
• Arlinda Locklear
• Joel Williams, Staff Attorney, Native American Rights Fund (NARF)

2:30 – 4:00 p.m. ET
Ethics and Racial Disparities in the Legal Profession  

In 2015, the National Native American Bar Association published a first-of-its-kind study on the experiences of Native American attorneys across the legal profession, shedding light on disparate experiences and widespread exclusion. This dynamic panel will address the report’s stark findings, individual experiences in the professional setting, as well as the mental health impacts of discrimination and racial trauma.

• Allie Greenleaf Maldonado, Chief Judge, Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians (Moderator)
• Stephanie McIver, Counseling Director, University of New Mexico
• Thomasina Real Bird, President, National Native American Bar Association & Partner, Patterson Earnhart Real Bird & Wilson LLP