Speakers` Biographies

Who Decides You’re Real?
Fixing the Federal Recognition Process
Speakers’ Biographies
Steve Austin
Principal, Austin Research Associates
Steven Austin is a social anthropologist and specialist in international development as it relates
to indigenous peoples in the Americas. He has 30 years of experience designing and
conducting ethnographic, ethnohistorical, and social science research projects; social needs
assessments; writing grant proposals; participatory development; teaching and training; and,
conflict mediation. His professional interests include the human rights of indigenous peoples in
the Americas. He lives in Silver Spring, Maryland where he has his own research consulting business, Austin
Research Associates.
Alex Baker
Public Information Officer, Lumbee Tribe
Alex Baker, the grandson of Deas and Lorraine Revels is a member of the Lumbee Tribe of
North Carolina and from the Prospect community where he still resides. His is also an alumnus
(00) of the University of North Carolina at Pembroke (which his fifth great grandfather helped
found in 1887 as the Croatan Indian Normal School). After graduation he spend a year working at Robeson
Community College. In 2002 Mr. Baker began serving as the first official tribal spokesman and public information
officer of the newly constitutional government. He continued to grow along with the formalized government until
July 2013 when he departed as the director of communications and public affairs. During his tenure in these
positions as chief communicator he has assisted the leadership in introducing four legislative bills into the United
States Congress as well as preparing and assisting in three congressional hearings and numerous inquiries and
administrative meetings concerning both Lumbee recognition and the BIA process. He continues advocacy of
Indian and other local issues that affect his community by participation and representation at conferences and
acts the Lumbee representative on the United Tribes of North Carolina Board of Directors. It is his hope to “effect
positive change and opportunities by serving my tribe and community to advance our influence and control our
destiny in our economic, health, education and culture by continuing the traditions granted me by my ancestors,
allowing us to not only merely to survive but thrive unto the seventh generation!"
Ann Marie Bledsoe Downes,
Executive Director, Indian Legal Program, ASU College of Law
Ann Marie Bledsoe Downes, an enrolled member of the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska, recently
served as the Policy Advisor for Tribal Affairs to Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano. Downes
previously served a three-year term as president of Little Priest Tribal College located in
Winnebago, NE. As president, Downes was responsible for the day-to-day administration and
program implementation at Little Priest Tribal College and assisted the college in attaining 10
years of continued accreditation. Downes is a licensed attorney in the state of California and earned a J.D.
degree from Arizona State University in 1994 and a bachelor's degree in education from Wayne State College in
1991.
Brian Cladoosby
President, National Congress of American Indians
Chairman, Swinomish Indian Tribal Community
Brian Cladoosby serves as the 21st President of NCAI. He is currently the President of the
Association of Washington Tribes and has previously served as an Area Vice President on the
NCAI Board. Brian Cladoosby has served on the Swinomish Indian Senate, the governing body
of the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community, since 1985. He has served as the Chairman of the
Swinomish Indian Senate since 1997. Chairman Cladoosby is one of our most senior tribal political leaders in
Washington State and the Pacific Northwest and his experience is reflected in his numerous commitments. He
is the President of the Association of Washington Tribes, Executive Board member of the Washington Gaming
Association, past President of the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians, has retained a seat on the National
Congress of American Indians Vice Presidents' Board, and is continually active in tribal and state politics. On an
international basis he is the Co-Speaker of the Coast Salish Gathering, which comprises British Columbia First
Nations and Western Washington Tribes. Chairman Cladoosby has been instrumental in the domestic and
international emergence of the northwest Indian country salmon and seafood industry. Swinomish Fish
Company buys and sells seafood products from tribal, national and international companies, continuing the “buy
and sell native” motto of Indian Country. He shares a vision with the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community
members to have a strong economic development plan that supports a way of life for today and future
generations. Brian and his wife of 35 years, Nina, have two daughters LaVonne and Mary, son-in-law Tylor,
granddaughter Isabella and grandson, Nathanael.
Judy Dworkin
Managing Partner, Sacks Tierney, P.A.
Judith Dworkin is the managing partner of the Scottsdale law firm of Sacks Tierney P.A. Her
practice is devoted primarily to Indian law and water resources law issues. Ms. Dworkin has
been selected for inclusion in Best Lawyers of America in the fields of water law and Native
American law and selected among Arizona’s “50 Most Influential Women in Business” by
AzBusiness magazine. She received her M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in geography from Clark
University and her J.D. degree, cum laude, from Arizona State University. She clerked for the Honorable William
C. Canby, Jr. of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. She is admitted to the Arizona and Navajo Nation bars and is
admitted to practice in the courts of the Tohono O’odham Nation, Gila River Indian Community, Hopi Tribe and
Hualapai Tribe. Ms. Dworkin lectures regularly and publishes on topics relating to water resource management
and economic development on Indian Reservations. Ms. Dworkin is an adjunct professor in the Sandra Day
O’Connor College of Law and the School of Urban Planning at Arizona State University where she teaches
graduate courses in water and natural resources law and planning.
Frank Ettawageshik
Former Chairman, Waganakising Odawa – Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians
Frank Ettawageshik lives in Harbor Springs, Michigan, with his wife Rochelle. He has four adult
children and five grandchildren. He is a traditional storyteller and potter, believing that native
people need to be rooted in their traditions in order to be prepared for the future. He served in
tribal elected office for sixteen years, fourteen as the Tribal Chairman of the Little Traverse Bay
Bands of Odawa Indians in Harbor Springs. During his tenure as Tribal Chairman he was instrumental in the adoption of the Tribal and First Nations Great Lakes Water Accord in 2004 and the United League
of Indigenous Nations Treaty in 2007. Now serving as the Executive Director of the United Tribes of Michigan,
he is also the Chairman of the United League of Indigenous Nations Governing Board and the Co-chair of the
NCAI Federal Recognition Task Force. He currently serves on several non-profit boards including the Association on American Indian Affairs and the Michigan Indian Education Council. Frank’s 40 years of public service
have included serving on the Executive Board of National Congress of American Indians, the Midwest Alliance of
Sovereign Tribes, the Historical Society of Michigan board, the Chippewa Ottawa Resource Authority, the Michigan Climate Action Council, the Little Traverse Conservancy, the Michigan Travel Commission, the Public Interest Advisory Group for the International Joint Commission’s Upper Great Lakes Study, the Michigan Great Lakes
Offshore Wind Council, and the Michigan Ground Water Conservation Advisory Council.
Earl Evans
Councilman, Haliwa Saponi of North Carolina
Earl Evans is an enrolled citizen of the Haliwa-Saponi Indian Tribe. He has over 20 years of
formal involvement in issues impacting American Indian tribal governments, including
government relations, development and fundraising. He has worked with his own Tribe for a
number of years, garnering millions in new funding and development opportunities, where he
now serves as a Tribal Councilor of the Tribe. In addition, Earl helped found several local
Native youth organizations; two national organizations and the Haliwa-Saponi Board of Education and HaliwaSaponi Tribal School, all of which are continuing and thriving today. During his career, Earl has also served on
over six (6) local boards; five (5) state boards; and two (2) National organizations. Earl was previously
appointed as a tribal development specialist to work with a special inter-agency initiative under President William
J. “Bill” Clinton to foster sustainable economic development activities within Indian tribal communities. While
with the Clinton administration, Earl assisted with over 400 economic development projects across the country
and managed over $20 million in federal contract projects. After leaving the federal service, Earl was appointed
by Governor Mark Warner to the Virginia Governor’s Commission on National and Community Service, where
he served as Chairman the Commission’s program development committee which provided over $2 million in
annual grants funding to agencies, non-profits, community organizations. For a number of years, Earl has now
focused his efforts on assisting many Indian tribes in sensitive negotiations with federal, state and local
governments for matters including, but not limited to, formation of federal regulations impacting Indian set-aside
programs, contracts, economic development including 8(a) business interests, cultural and historic property/
NAGPRA issues, and trust reform.
Professor Patty Ferguson-Bohnee
Director of the Indian Legal Clinic, ASU College of Law
Patty Ferguson-Bohnee received her Bachelor’s degree with Honors in Native American
Studies with an Emphasis in Policy and Law from Stanford University and her J.D. from
Columbia University School of Law with a certificate in Foreign and Comparative Law. During
law school, Professor Ferguson-Bohnee served on the Editorial Board of the Columbia Human
Rights Law Review, and participated in the Human Rights Internship Program, and the
Mediation Clinic. After law school, she clerked for Judge Betty Binns Fletcher of the U.S. Court of Appeals for
the Ninth Circuit. Professor Ferguson-Bohnee was an Associate in the Indian Law and Tribal Relations Practice
Group at the law firm of Sacks Tierney P.A. She has substantial experience in federal and state tribal
recognition matters and recently assisted four bayou tribes in obtaining recognition from the state of
Louisiana. She has conducted historical research projects on Louisiana Indians and served as Fulbright
Scholar to France, where she researched French colonial relations with Louisiana Indians in the 17th and
18th centuries. Professor Ferguson-Bohnee has represented tribal clients in administrative, state, federal, and
tribal courts, as well as before state, city, and county governing bodies. She recently proposed revisions to the
Real Estate Disclosure Reports to include tribal provisions. She has extensive experience in voting rights and
election law matters, and has assisted in complex voting rights litigation on behalf of tribes, and drafted state
legislative and congressional testimony on behalf of tribal clients with respect to voting rights issues. In
addition, Professor Ferguson-Bohnee has assisted tribal entities in government relations, drafting
appellate briefs, drafting grievance decisions, drafting codes and constitutions, and analyzing environmental
compliance issues. She is a member of the Pointe-au-Chien Indian Tribe.
William Gollnick
Oneida Tribe of Indians of Wisconsin, Tribal Administrator
William Gollnick is an enrolled member of the Oneida Tribe of Indians of Wisconsin. He began
working with his tribe when they had four employees and a three figure annual budget. During
his experience working with his tribe, Gollnick participated in the growth of the Nation to over
3,000 employees and a dramatic array of governmental initiatives including very comprehensive
social service, law enforcement, education, health, economic development and other initiatives. In April of 2012
Gollnick joined the Tejon Tribe of Indians in southern California. The newly recognized tribe is in a position
similar to where Oneida was decades ago. Gollnick has joined their team to assist in the growth and
development of the Nation. It was his experience that attracted the Tribal leaders to offer him the position and it
is his life experience that he will be sharing during the conference. Gollnick holds degrees from the University of
Wisconsin-Green Bay in Social Change and Development and a master’s from Harvard Graduate School of
Education in Administration, Planning and Social Policy. He has served as a Presidential Appointee to the
National Advisory Council on Indian Education and has been honored by numerous regional and national
organizations.
Kim Gottschalk
Native American Rights Fund
Kim Jerome Gottschalk has been a staff attorney at the Native American Rights Fund since
1982. At NARF, Kim works primarily on federal recognition, land claims and international
indigenous rights. He also serves on the Litigation Management Committee.
Lance Gumbs
Shinnecock Nation
Lance A. Gumbs is a life-long resident and enrolled tribal member of the Shinnecock Indian
Nation. He is a graduate from Southampton High School and Pennington Prep School in New
Jersey. A graduate from Adelphi University in Garden City, NY with a B.A. in Economics and
M.B.A. credits in Finance. Mr. Gumbs is also currently the Area Alt. Vice President of The
National Congress of American Indian (NCAI) for the Northeast Region and President/CEO of
the Shinnecock Trading Post Ltd. and business owner of the Shinnecock Indian Outpost and Red Village MultiMedia Inc. Lance is also a Board Member and Tribal Liaison to Family Joule Holdings Inc and an Elected
Advisory Board Member to The Alliance of Colonial Era Tribes (ACET). He is also an NCAI Board Liaison to the
NCAI Federal Recognition Task Force, as well as the Governance and Law Committee. Lance also sits on the
Native American Scholarship Committee of Stony Brook University. Lance is a two-term Tribal Chairman and
nine-term Tribal Trustee of the Shinnecock Indian Nation. Prior to that he was a seven-term Council Member,
Chairman of the Economic Development Committee and member of the Shinnecock Nation Federal Recognition
Committee. Lance was most recently a two-term Area Vice President of National Congress of American Indian
for the Northeast Region.
Colin Hampson
Partner at Sonosky, Chambers, Sachse, Endreson and Perry, LLP,
Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska and White Earth Band of Chippewa
Colin Cloud Hampson is a partner in the firm Sonosky, Chambers, Sachse, Endreson and Perry,
LLP, a national Native American rights firm. He manages the firm’s San Diego, California
office. He represents tribes and tribal organizations on Indian gaming, jurisdiction, economic
development, tax, water, self-determination, recognition, employment, environmental, health, construction and in
litigation, transactional and general counsel matters. Mr. Hampson has taught a course on Indian gaming and
economic development in the summer Indian law program at Lewis & Clark Law School for a number of
years. Mr. Hampson graduated with distinction from Stanford Law School in 1994. Mr. Hampson also received a
Master of Arts degree in International Policy Studies and a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from Stanford
University in 1991. Mr. Hampson is a descendent of the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska and the White Earth
Band of Chippewa. More information is available at http://www.sonosky.com/attorney-profile-17.html.
John Kane,
Mohawk Tribe
John Karhiio Kane is a Mohawk from Kahnawake. He lives on the Cattaraugus Territory of the
Seneca Nation and has a direct connection to the people and territories of the Six Nations. John
has been involved for most of his adult life in Native issues and, specifically, defending Native
sovereignty. Part of the First Nations Dialogue Team in the late 90s, he worked extensively with
the League of First Nations in battles with New York State over taxation. John, an expert commentator on Native
American issues, is host of a two-hour weekly radio show, "Let's Talk Native...with John Kane" – now in its fourth
year – which airs on ESPN Sports Radio WWKB-AM 1520 in Buffalo, New York. He appears frequently on
regional TV and radio programs, including “The Capitol Pressroom with Susan Arbetter,” “YNN - Your News
Now,” and WGRZ Buffalo Channel 2's “2 Sides with Kristy Mazurek.” He has been featured on Al Jazeera
Arabic, which has more than 50 million viewers in the Arab world. John is a frequent guest/guest host of “First
Voices Indigenous Radio,” WBAI-FM (Pacifica) in New York City and “First Person Radio,” KFAI-FM,
Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minn. and a monthly guest commentator on “The Martha Fast Horse Show,” KQRS-FM,
KXXR-FM and WGVX-FM, Minneapolis. He is a weekly columnist to “The Two Row Times,” a weekly newspaper
that covers news and issues from Six Nations. John publishes the Native Pride blog, which can be found at
www.letstalknativepride.blogspot.com. His blog has readers in 20 countries. John has a page on the ESPN
website at http://www.espn1520.com/pages/17325417.php and a "Let's Talk Native...with John Kane" group
page on Facebook. In 2013, John was honored with a Community Leader Media Award from the National
Federation for Just Communities of Western New York.
Joe Kennedy
Chairman, Timbisha Shoshone Tribe
Joe Kennedy is the Chairman of the Timbisha Shoshone which is part of the Western Shoshone
Nation. He has sat on several other non-profit organizational Boards, such as the Tupippuh
(Homeland) Project, the Western Shoshone Defense Project, and the Toiyabe Indian Health
Project. He has also served on the Western Shoshone National Council (WSNC) which is
the Traditional
Government of the Western Shoshone Nation consisting of delegates from the Western Shoshone communities.
Under his term as Chairman for the Timbisha Shoshone, the tribe filed under the Urgent Action and Early
Warning Procedure to a United Nations Committee for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination in Geneva
Switzerland. This was the first time a United Nations committee issued a full decision against the U.S. in respect
to its highly controversial Indian Law and Policy.
Gregory Mendoza
Governor of the Gila River Indian Community
Gregory Mendoza is the 21st Governor of the Gila River Indian Community and the youngest
elected to this office. He is the son of Joseph Mendoza and the late-Brenda Mendoza and
resides in the village of Valin Thak (Goodyear) located in District Four of the Gila River Indian
Reservation. Gregory served on the Gila River Indian Community Council for seven months prior
to being elected Governor. During his tenure as Councilman, he was appointed as Chairman of
the Education Standing Committee and a member of the Legislative Standing Committee. Preceding his
Community Council service Mendoza was Chief of Staff to Governor William R. Rhodes, a position he held for
almost six years. Mendoza became interested in politics while teaching government fundamentals to multiple
generations of youth as the Co-founder and Director to the nationally recognized Akimel O’odham/Pee-Posh
Youth Council. Gregory holds an Associate Degree in Tribal Management and Bachelor of Science Degree in
Business Administration. In 1986, Gregory was named as one of the Outstanding Young Men of America and is
the 1987 recipient of the Congressional Gold Medal for academic achievement and service. Mendoza serves on
numerous non-profit boards that specialize in education, youth development, advocacy and public policy
services for tribal government and non-profit organizations. Gregory has spent his entire professional life in
community service and is dedicated to promoting education and creating new opportunities for the Gila River
Indian Community tribal members to flourish. He avidly supports building an environment in which the Akimel
O’odham & Pee Posh people can thrive and achieve a stronger sense of self-worth as individuals and who can
reach higher levels of health and wellness and become more actively engaged in building a stronger and
healthier Community. Gregory is an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. His
dedication to community service and his faith in Heavenly Father continues to guide him in his administration as
Governor of the Gila River Indian Community.
Professor Richard Monette
University of Wisconsin Law School
Richard Monette is an Associate Professor of Law at University of Wisconsin Law School. Mr.
Monette served as Chairman and CEO of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa (2000-2003),
a Tribe of 30,000 members surrounded by North Dakota. Mr. Monette clerked with the U.S.
Attorneys' office in Eugene, Oregon for one year. He served as a Staff Attorney with United
States Senate Committee on Indian Affairs. In addition, he served as Director, Office of
Congressional and Legislative Affairs, Bureau of Indian Affairs, US Department of the Interior.
He is a Faculty Advisor for the Great Lakes Indian Law Center, a resource and internship program at the UW
Law School. Mr. Monette served as a Past President, National Native American Bar Association. He formerly
served on the Environmental Protection Agency's National Environmental Justice Advisory Council's Indigenous
Peoples' Subcommittee. Mr. Monette has served as Chief Judge for Pascua Yaqui Tribe, Special Judge for
HoChunk Nation, Special Judge for the Trial Court of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa. He has written
several law review articles, book reviews, and essays for edited collections. Mr. Monette is Of Counsel with the
law firm of Brown and LaCounte in Madison, a firm specializing in "Indian Law." Mr. Monette specializes in
drafting provisions for constitutions and codes for Indian Tribes.
Albert Naquin
Chief, Isle de Jean Charles Band of Biloxi Chitimacha Confederation of
Muskogees
Chief Albert P. Naquin is a retired Federal employee. He retired from the
Department of Interior/Mineral Management Service (MMS) with 24 years of
service. He was an oil field safety inspector in the Gulf of Mexico for MMS
and also for Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in Colorado and New Mexico. Chief Albert graduated from St.
Joseph High School and received as Associate Degree from Nicholls State University. Albert P. Naquin is the
chief of the community of the Isle de Jean Charles Band of Biloxi-Chitimacha-Choctaw Indians in Montegut, LA.
He has been the chief since 1997. Since the community started developing in the early to 1835, he is the 5 th
chief of Isle de Jean Charles. He is very proud to be the chief of a community of wonderful people and to follow
the footsteps of the great leaders before him. The first three chiefs saw Isle de Jean Charles grow from nothing
to a beautiful community. Now as chief, Albert is watching the community that was so beautiful when he was
growing up wash away, because of salt-water intrusion. What he like most about his bios, has to do with him
and his dad. His dad served in the Army during WWI and he served during Viet Nam. He likes to tell people
that he entered the Army 50 years to the day after his dad was discharged. His dad was discharged February
11, 1919 and her entered February 11, 1969. Albert is also Ambassador for the Native American of the
Louisiana Gulf Coast since 2009.
John Norwood
Tribal Councilman, Principal Justice of the Tribal Supreme Court, Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape Tribal
Nation
Rev. John R. Norwood, Jr., an ordained Christian clergyman, is entering his 10th year as an
elected Tribal Councilman of the Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape Tribal Nation, is the first Principal
Justice of the Tribal Supreme Court, and minister to the tribal Christian Prayer Circle Fellowship
Ministry. John “Smiling-Thunderbear” Norwood is the tribal delegate to the National Congress of American
Indians (NCAI), the oldest and largest national organization of tribal governments in the country, where he
serves as co-chairman of the Task Force on Federal Acknowledgment. Rev. Norwood is the General Secretary
of the Alliance of Colonial Era Tribes (ACET), which is a regional tribal organization of indigenous nations of the
eastern and southern seaboard, which share a common history of treaties with colonial governments prior to the
establishment of the United States. Rev. Norwood is the government liaison for the Confederation of Sovereign
Nanticoke-Lenape Tribes, the intertribal union of the three continuing Nanticoke and Lenape tribal communities
of the Delaware Bay area. He also serves as the president of Nanticoke-Lenape Tribal Enterprises LLC, the forprofit economic development initiative of the Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape tribal government. Smiling-Thunderbear
(“Kelekpethakomaxkw” in the Southern Unami Dialect of Lenape), is working to increase an understanding of,
and appreciation for, Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape cultural heritage. He is a cultural historian, writer, Southern
Straight dancer, Eastern War dancer, water drummer, and craftsmen. Rev. Norwood is the pastor of Ujima
Village Christian Church, a congregation in Ewing, New Jersey, and has served as a leader in ecclesiastical and
ecumenical organizations in addition to serving as an instructor and field education supervisor for several
seminaries.
Ramona Peters
Director, Historic Preservation & NAGPRA, Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe
Ramona (Nosapocket) Peters is a Bear Clan member of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe and
lives in Mashpee on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Currently Ramona works for the tribe as the
Tribal Historic Preservation Officer and NAGPRA (Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act,
1990) Director. Her work focuses on repatriation, indigenous rights, historic and preservation, and many other
endeavors of the Wampanoag. She has also serves her tribe in a variety of capacities as a Traditional Chief’s
Councilor, a member of the Mashpee Wampanoag Woman’s Medicine Society, and a former member the Tribal
Council Board of Directors. She is the sole proprietor of Peters Wampanoag Consulting Company assisting
other tribes, universities, museums, archaeological service companies, historic preservation agencies, and
community development organizations. Ramona has a Master’s degree in Applied Human and Community
Development, from the California School of Professional Psychology and a Bachelors degree in Education from
the University of Arizona.
Greg Richardson
Executive Director, Commission on Indian Affairs
Haliwa-Saponi Indian Tribe of North Carolina
In February 1995, Mr. Richardson was appointed Executive Director of the North Carolina
Commission of Indian Affairs. Previously he worked in Washington, DC, as Assistant to the
Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing at the US Department of Housing and Urban
Development (HUD). Prior to that he served as Executive Director of the North Carolina Indian
Housing Authority in Fayetteville, NC. Mr. Richardson has testified before both the Select Committee on Indian
Affairs in Washington, DC and State Legislative Committees. Additionally, he has made presentations at
numerous conferences, hearings, and seminars on Indian affairs. Mr. Richardson served for three consecutive
terms on the US Census Advisory Committee on American Indians and Alaska Natives. He served as Chairman
of this committee during one term of appointment. In January, 2010, he was appointed to the NC House Study
Committee to Preserve the Culture and Customs of Indian Children. Mr. Richardson is a member of the staterecognized Haliwa-Saponi Indian Tribe of North Carolina. He holds a BS in Business Management and an
Associate Degree in Business Administration. He is a Certified Public Housing Manager and holds a Public
Managers’ Certification from the State of North Carolina.
Lawrence S. Roberts
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs, Oneida Tribe of Indians of Wisconsin
Lawrence S. “Larry” Roberts, an enrolled member of the Oneida Tribe of Indians of Wisconsin,
was named the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs in July 2013. He had
been serving as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs since September 6, 2012,
after having served as General Counsel of the National Indian Gaming Commission. Mr.
Roberts began his legal career with the U.S. Department of Justice as a trial attorney in the
Indian Resources Section. He handled a variety of federal Indian law cases for the benefit of tribal interests
including the protection of tribal reserved treaty hunting and fishing rights. Mr. Roberts subsequently joined the
Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of General Counsel, where he provided counsel on the
implementation of federal environmental programs by federally recognized tribes. After leaving the EPA in
2002, Mr. Roberts worked in private practice on federal Indian law and environmental matters until he joined the
National Indian Gaming Commission in July 2010. As the Commission’s General Counsel, Mr. Roberts advised
on matters involving the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act and other applicable laws and regulations. From 2003 to
2005, Larry served as Chair of the Native American Resources Committee of the American Bar Association’s
Section of Environment, Energy and Resources. In 2011, he co-chaired the Federal Bar Association’s Federal
Indian Law Conference in Washington, D.C. Mr. Roberts graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in
1992 with a double major in Political Science and Sociology and from the University of Wisconsin Law School in
1995. He is a member of the Washington, D.C., Bar and the Wisconsin Bar.
Judith Shapiro, Esquire
For more than 25 years, Judith A. Shapiro has fought to establish tribal recognition and to
preserve tribal sovereignty, including the representation of tribes in federal and tribal courts, and
before federal agencies, in matters of governmental status, protection and restoration of tribal
homelands, cultural preservation, and economic development. She has provided advice in
connection with tribal recognition, tribal development and financing, acquisition of trust land
bases, and the establishment and expansion of tribal gaming facilities on behalf of the Mohegan Tribe of
Connecticut, the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, the Seminole Tribe of Florida, the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, and the
Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe. She is currently assisting tribes in addressing the impact of the Supreme Court’s
decision in Carcieri v. Salazar, as well as the complex issues of federal trust land acquisition that arise from the
Court’s Patchak decision.
Ms. Shapiro holds a law degree magna cum laude from Georgetown University Law Center, a Master's in Fine
Arts from Sarah Lawrence College in the performance of Early Music, and a Bachelor's degree in anthropology
from Kirkland College, with a focus on Mesoamerican ethnohistory. She served for two years as a judicial clerk
for the Honorable Richard Owen in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, and is
a member of the International Masters of Gaming Law. Ms. Shapiro is admitted to practice in the District of
Columbia . She can be reached at 202-723-6400 or [email protected].
George Skibine
Osage Nation, Dentons
George Skibine is counsel in Dentons' Public Policy and Regulation and Native American
Law and Policy practices. George has extensive knowledge of all aspects of the Indian
Gaming Regulatory Act, especially in the areas of class III gaming compacts, revenue
allocation plans for the distribution of per capita payments and provisions pertaining to
gaming on newly acquired lands. In addition, George has been extensively involved in the
federal acknowledgment process, contracting under the Indian Self-Determination Act, compacting under the
Tribal Self-Governance Act, the land-into-trust process and tribal government matters. He is an enrolled member
of the Osage Nation of Oklahoma. George as won several awards including, Best Lawyers ranking (2014), Gold
Executive Leadership Award (2009), Silver Executive Leadership Award (2008), and Meritorious Service Award
(2004). Prior to joining Dentons, George spent his career with the US Department of the Interior in various
capacities, including serving as Deputy Associate Solicitor for Indian Affairs, Director of the Office of Indian
Gaming, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and Economic Development (Indian Affairs), Acting Assistant
Secretary for Indian
Affairs, Acting Chairman of the National Indian Gaming Commission and Acting Principal Deputy Assistant
Secretary for Indian Affairs. Most recently he served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary–Management. He
received his JD from the University of Minnesota Law School (1977) and a BA in Economics from the University
of Chicago (1974).
David Smith
Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP
David Smith has practiced law for almost 30 years. He is a partner in the law firm of
Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP in Washington, D.C., where he is part of that firm’s
Native American practice group, litigating matters on behalf of individual Indians and Tribes.
He continues to serve as class counsel in Cobell v. Jewell (formerly Cobell v. Salazar), an
action on behalf of 500,000 individual Indians arising out of the federal government’s
historical mismanagement of trust assets. The Cobell case settled for $3.4 billion in 2009,
was ratified by Congress in 2010, and received final approval from the courts in November
2012. In addition, for many years he has represented the Piro-Manso-Tiwa Indian Tribe of
the Pueblo of San Juan Guadalup in its efforts at federal recognition. In addition to his Native American practice,
he has been recognized for his extensive pro bono work on behalf of children in matters involving domestic
abuse and international abduction cases under the Hague Convention. He received the award for "Lawyer of
the Year" from The Legal Aid Society for pro bono legal services provided to the community for the years 20012004 and the Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton Managing Partner’s Award for pro bono legal services. For many
years he has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America® for Commercial Litigation. In addition to practicing
law, he is currently a Visiting Professor at Notre Dame Law School where he teaches Federal Indian Law. He
has previously taught at Wake Forest University School of Law in North Carolina and Washington and Lee Law
School in Virginia.
Robert Stone
Gila River Councilman, District 5, Gila River Indian Community
Robert serves on the Government & Management Standing Committee, the Natural Resources
Standing Committee, and the Economic Development Standing Committee.
Breann Swann
Chair of the Tribal Law & Government Team, Reed Smith LLP
Breann received her B.A. in English from Yale University in 2001, her J.D. from University of
Southern California Gould School of Law in 2004, and an LL.M. from Sandra day O’Connor
College of Law in 2009. Prior to joining Reed Smith she worked for the Salt River Pima –
Maricopa Indian Community and with Thelen LLP.
Ruth Garby Torres
Schaghticoke Tribal Nation
Ruth Garby Torres is an enrolled member and former tribal councilor of the Schaghticoke Tribal
Nation. She holds a BS degree from Charter Oak State College and an MPA from the Harvard
Kennedy School of Government. Torres was a Connecticut state trooper for 21 years and is
presently volunteering in several capacities, including as a tribal consultant to the Yale Indian
Papers Project. She serves on Connecticut’s Native American Heritage Advisory Committee
and is an advisory board member for Yale University’s Native American Cultural Center. Her
chapter about the Schaghticoke experience with the federal acknowledgement process is included in the
volume, Recognition, Sovereignty Struggles and Indigenous Rights in the United States, a co-edited volume by
Amy Den Ouden and Jean M. O’Brien. Torres is also a contributor to Dawnland Voices: An Anthology of
Indigenous Writing from New England by Siobhan Senier, which will be published later this year.
Jack F. Trope
Executive Director of the Association on American Indian Affairs
Jack F. Trope is the Executive Director of the Association on American Indian Affairs (AAIA)
and located in Rockville, Maryland. AAIA is a 92 year old Indian advocacy and service
organization. Before joining AAIA in 2001, Mr. Trope was Director of the Western Area Office
in New Mexico for the Save the Children Federation. Prior to his stint with Save the Children,
Mr. Trope held a number of legal positions, including having been a partner with the law firm
of Sant’Angelo & Trope for 8 years, a senior staff attorney with AAIA for 6 years and an Assistant Counsel to two
New Jersey governors in the 1980s. Much of his legal practice has focused on the areas of Indian child welfare,
Native cultural preservation (particularly sacred lands protection and repatriation), and tribal sovereignty,
including work in the area of federal recognition. Mr. Trope graduated cum laude from Harvard Law School in
1980 .
Joel Waltzer
Partner, Waltzer, Wiygul & Garside
Joel Waltzer is a native New Orleanian. He graduated from Boston University and Harvard Law
School. Post graduation, he clerked for Honorable Pascal F. Calogero, Jr. for the Louisiana
Supreme Court and joined the Tulane Environmental Law Clinic as one of its first supervising
attorneys. For the past twenty years, he has litigated civil and environmental cases, including
the Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act, NEPA, L.E.Q.A. and RCRA cases for an array of public
interest and community groups and private clients. He serves on the Committee on Environmental Affairs of the
Louisiana Law Institute and has testified before state and federal legislative bodies on natural resource and
Stafford Act debris removal issues. He is currently the managing partner in the New Orleans-Westbank office of
Waltzer Wiygul & Garside LLC.
Framon Weaver
Tribal Chief, MOWA Band of Choctaw Indians