Indian Law Conference

Preservation and Protection of Indigenous Nations

Join the Indian Law Section for the Annual Indian Law Conference on April 7-8, 2022 at the Sandia Resort & Casino in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Tribal nations continuously work to overcome longstanding legal and policy issues facing Indian country and Native people. This year’s conference will focus on how tribal nations preserve and protect their ways of life by confronting pressing issues such as the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Peoples crisis, climate change, Indian lands issues, economic development, attacks on the Indian Child Welfare Act and the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, and much more. Join leading experts, colleagues, and fellow advocates to explore solutions for these critical issues and implement strategies for generations to come.

This event is scheduled to take place in-person without a streaming component. The FBA is committed to creating an event experience where our participants, partners and employees can safely and effectively conduct business, network and learn. We will follow current CDC guidelines as well as any applicable protocols that may be required by our venues, state and local governments. If the event converts to a hybrid experience, we will share updates on this page and attendees will be notified.

Effective February 18, 2022 – The mask mandate will be optional for all guests at the Sandia Resort & Casino.

Agenda

Session Times are Subject to Change
Sessions are posted in Mountain Time Zone

Thursday, April 7

7:30 – 8:30 AM | Registration + Breakfast

8:15 – 8:45 AM | Opening Program

• Invocation & Prayer
• Welcome Remarks from Anh Le Kremer – President, Federal Bar Association
• An Armchair Conversation with Mary Smith – Vice Chair, VENG Group; President-Elect Nominee, American Bar Association

9:00 – 10:30 AM | Perspectives on Indian Law in the Changing Supreme Court
Update on the Supreme Court, including a discussion of changes in the direction of the Court and the impact of those changes on public perception of the Court and its work. The Panelists will discuss recent oral arguments in Yselta del Sur Pueblo v. Texas and Denezpi v. United States, and recent petitions for certiorari. The panel will examine Supreme Court Indian law cases over the last five years. The panel will also discuss Justice Breyer’s retirement and the nomination of Ketanji Brown Jackson.

• Ian Gershengorn, Partner, Chair – Appellate and Supreme Court Practice, Jenner & Block
• Stacy Leeds, Foundation Professor of Law and Leadership, Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, Arizona State University
• Dan Lewerenz, Staff Attorney, Native American Rights Fund

10:30 – 10:45 AM | Morning Break

10:45 AM – 12:15 PM | Priorities for Indian Country Under the Biden Administration’s Department of the Interior and Department of Agriculture
This panel will provide an overview and update on the Biden Administration’s initiatives at the Department of the Interior and Department of Agriculture. This panel will feature a discussion of policy priorities and progress for Indian country under the leadership of the first Native American Cabinet Member, Secretary Deb Haaland.  The discussion will touch on homelands restoration, economic development, treaty rights, sacred sites, co-stewardship and more.

• Ann Marie Bledsoe Downes, Principal Deputy Solicitor, Indian Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior
• Bryan Newland, Assistant Secretary, Indian Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior
• Heather Dawn Thompson, Director, Office of Tribal Relations, U.S. Department of Agriculture

12:30 – 2:00 PM | Awards Luncheon

• Presentation of the 2022 Lawrence R. Baca Lifetime Achievement Award | Recipient: Frank Pommersheim

2:15 – 3:45 PM | Protecting Our Places: Sovereignty in a Time of Climate Change
This panel will focus on the issue of climate change in Indian Country. The effects of climate change upon Indigenous peoples are wide-ranging, and the legal responses are similarly varied. Panelists will discuss the various impacts on tribal natural resources, culture, and sovereignty. The responses to the occurrence and threat of these climate impacts differs across Indian Country and panelists will consider some of the legal approaches from Tribal Nations. Finally, while the panel will engage deeply with the legal responses to sustain tribal natural resources, panelists will also offer perspectives on energy sustainability, including the development of renewable energy projects in Indian Country.

• Elizabeth C. Crouse, Partner, K&L Gates
• Matthew L.M. Fletcher, Professor, Michigan State University College of Law
• Dylan Hedden-Nicely, Professor, University of Idaho College of Law

3:45 – 4:00 PM | Afternoon Break

4:00 – 5:30 PM | Constitutional Challenges to Federal Indian Law: An Examination of Challenges to ICWA and IGRA
This panel will focus on recent constitutionally based attacks on the Indian Child Welfare Act and the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act and provide an overview of how Indian Country is pushing back on these constitutional challenges to Indian law and policy.  The discussion will feature practitioners involved in fighting back against these challenges.

• Colin Cloud Hampson, Partner, Sonosky, Chambers, Sachse, Endreson, & Perry
• Leonard R. Powell, Associate, Jenner & Block LLP
• Paul Spruhan, Assistant Attorney General, Navajo Nation Department of Justice

5:30 – 7:30 PM | Welcome Reception

Friday, April 8

8:00 – 9:00 AM | Registration + Breakfast

8:45 – 9:00 AM | Opening Program

• Invocation & Prayer
• Program Reminders

9:00 – 10:30 AM | Cultivation and Taxation of Economic Development Opportunities for Indigenous Nations
Economic development is a vital exercise of tribal sovereignty that ensures the survival of our nations. The opportunities for diverse economic growth have increased with the new federal administration, continued investments in renewable energy projects, navigation of state and federal taxation, and agricultural opportunities. This panel highlights contemporary economic development resources available to tribes and the statutory issues associated with engaging in different types of business including renewable energy projects, cannabis cultivation, and agriculture.

• Blake Jackson, Attorney-Advisor, U.S. Department of Agriculture
• Seth Pearman, Attorney General, Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe
• Pilar M. Thomas, Partner, Quarles & Brady LLP
• Arielle S. Wagner, Associate, Lockridge Grindal Nauen P.L.L.P.

Session Sponsored by Fredrikson & Byron, P.A.

10:30 – 10:45 AM | Morning Break

10:45 AM – 12:15 PM | Concurrent Programming

In the Pursuit of Justice and Healing: An Examination of MMIP Legislation, Policy, and Community Collaboration
Tribes continue to build awareness, involvement, and collaboration with state and federal governments to find justice for murdered and missing persons in our tribal communities and in urban areas. This panel provides insight into the MMIP issues at different levels including new initiatives in the Biden administration, the US Attorney’s Office, and at the state levels for all MMIP including our LGBTQ2S relatives. A short clip from “Bring Her Home”, a documentary directed by Leya Hale and in part follows panelist Representative Ruth Buffalo, in three Indigenous women’s paths and experiences working to bring legislation and involvement to bring our relatives home and find justice for those taken from their families.

• Representative Ruth Buffalo, District 27, North Dakota Legislative Branch
• Karla E. Kawenniiostha General, Associate Counsel, Seneca Nation
• Kyle T. Nayback, Supervisory AUSA, U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of New Mexico
• Heidi Todacheene, Senior Advisor to the Secretary, U.S. Department of the Interior

Back to the Basics: Trust Realty and Land Use
Getting back to the basics on the challenges and changes to trust land transactions including and overview and update on current regulations governing trust land. Current issues and best practices with the Fee-to-Trust process will be covered as well as leasing, trust-to-trust transactions including sales and gift deeds, and ROWs. The panel will also provide updates on the Biden Administration’s plan to make the putting land into trust easier and efforts to restore and preserve tribal homelands.

• Sarah Lawson, Shareholder, Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt PC
• Brenda L. Tomaras, Founding Partner, Tomaras & Ogas LLP
• Karen Woodard, Realty Administrator, Morongo Band of Mission Indians

12:30 – 2:00 PM | Networking Luncheon

2:15 – 3:45 PM | Concurrent Programming

Protecting Tribes from Invisible Intrusions
How to can tribes take real-world measures to secure their intangible and vital data? As tribes engage in new forms of e-commerce and data sharing in their government procedures, new issues and considerations arise when considering data security and privacy issues. This panel explores the technical aspects of securing tribal data for government or corporate functions, measures tribes should take to prevent the breach of that data, and mitigating liability risks.

• Sheldon Boyd, Secretary-Treasurer, Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe
• Brie Coyle Jones, Partner, Miller Nash LLP
• Devon Tiam, General Counsel, Port Madison Enterprises

Erasing International Borders:  Perspectives on Indigenous Efforts in Canada and Mexico
The two international borders play a significant role in many Tribal Nations daily existence. Established without concern to the indigenous people on either side of the border, this panel will explore recent developments by US Tribes asserting rights in both Canada and in Mexico. The panel will explore the case of the Arrow Lakes Band’s, one of the twelve tribes of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation in Washington State, assertion of aboriginal rights in British Columbia. The panel will also discuss on-going issues along the Southwest border including efforts to ease access for tribal families who reside in Mexico.

• Mark Underhill, Partner, Arvay Finlay LLP
• Alfred Urbina, Attorney General, Pascua Yaqui Tribe

3:45 – 4:00 PM | Afternoon Break

4:00 – 5:30 PM | Ethics: Role of Tribal Counsel
This panel will follow the conference thread of protecting and preserving Tribal Nations. While it is obvious that egal ethics play a critical role in the lives of individual attorneys, legal ethics also play a role in the credibility and sustainability of tribal sovereignty. Tribal attorneys from a number of Tribal Nations will gather to offer their perspectives on the legal ethical challenges of being an attorney for a Tribal Nation and how they see ethics impacting the preservation and protection of tribal sovereignty.

• Kathryn Almond, Attorney, Salt River Pima Maricopa Indian Community
• Stephen Greetham, Senior Counsel, Chickasaw Nation
• Lawrence Roberts, Attorney General, The Mohegan Tribe

Registration

Advanced registration for this conference is now closed. Onsite registration will open Thursday, April 7 at 7:30 AM.

Attendees received a “Know Before You Go” message from meetings@fedbar.org on Monday, April 4 with onsite information and required CLE tracking credentials. Registrations processed after Noon ET on April 4 will receive similar messaging on Wednesday, April 6.

• Advance registration for this event closed on Friday, April 1
• Onsite registration will be available at the Sandia Resort on April 7-8
• Early Bird Registration expired on Friday, March 11

Full Conference Rates
Includes access to Two Luncheon Programs, Light Breakfast, Refreshment Breaks, Welcome Reception.

• Standard Rates (Increase after March 11)
  • $495 – Sustaining Member           
  • $520 – Member
  • $685 – Nonmember
  • $470 – Government/Academic
  • $210 – Law Student

 Basic Conference Rates
Includes access to Light Breakfast, Refreshment Breaks, Welcome Reception. Does NOT Include Lunch.

• Standard Rates (Increase after March 11)
  • $400 – Sustaining Member
  • $420 – Member
  • $585 – Nonmember
  • $370 – Government/Academic
  • $160 – Law Student

[A LA CARTE] Social Tickets
Already included in Full Conference registration packages.

• $65 – Thursday Luncheon
• $75 – Thursday Reception
• $65 – Friday Luncheon

Conference Contributor

Conference Supporter
Rothstein Donatelli LLP

Session Sponsor
Fredrikson & Byron, P.A.

Interested in sponsoring this event? View our Sponsorship Prospectus and contact sponsor@fedbar.org for more information.

Exhibitor/Vendor Interest

If you are interested in becoming an exhibitor or vendor at this program, please submit an agreement form to sponsor@fedbar.org. Tables require a 50% deposit and are assigned on a first come, first serve basis.

Housing

Sandia Resort
30 Rainbow Road; Albuquerque, NM 87113
505-798-3930
www.sandiacasino.com

The Sandia Resort room block is now closed. Attendees will be responsible for arranging their own transportation to/from the conference venue. There are several hotels offering comparable rates along I-25 within a 10-minute drive of the resort, including a selection below:

• Courtyard Marriott (5151 Journal Center Boulevard | 505-823-1919)
• Hilton Garden Inn (5320 San Antonio Drive NE | 505-314-0800)

Onsite Parking Information
The hotel offers extensive complimentary self-parking on their outdoor lot. Valet parking is also available for hotel guests and conference attendees.

CLE  Education

If you have any questions regarding this program, please contact meetings@fedbar.org.