Sovereignty Symposium XXXVIII Agenda
Monday, June 15, 2026
7:30 a.m. – 4:45 p.m.
Registration Open
Vendor Exhibits Open
7:30 a.m. – 8:30 a.m.
Continental Breakfast
8:30 a.m. – 10:15 a.m.
Moderator:
Katosha Belvin Nakai (Choctaw), Sovereignty Attorney, Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma
Panelists:
Dr. Christine Pappas, Professor and Department Chair, East Central University
Stephen H. Greetham, Partner, Greetham Law
Mitch Holditch, Partner, Patterson Real Bird & Rasmussen LLP
M. Alexander Pearl (Chickasaw), Chickasaw Nation Endowed Chair and Professor of Law, University of Oklahoma College of Law
William (Billy) Kirkland (Navajo), Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior
Panel B: From Consultation to Collaboration: Intergovernmental Leadership in Indian Country
Moderator:
Mike Fina, Executive Director, Oklahoma Municipal League
Panelists:
David Holt (Osage), Dean, Oklahoma City University School of Law
Monroe Nichols, IV, Mayor, City of Tulsa
David Hill (Muscogee (Creek)), Principal Chief of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation
Bryan Warner (Cherokee), Deputy Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma
Bryan Newland (Bay Mills Indian Community), Principal, Powers Pyles Sutter & Verville PC)
Geoffrey M. Standing Bear (Osage), Principal Chief of the Osage Nation
Panel C: Sovereignty on Trial: Treaties, Jurisdiction, and Civil Rights
Moderator:
Grace Carson, Visiting Assistant Professor, University of Tulsa College of Law
Panelists:
Kara Bacon (Choctaw), Attorney, Bacon Law, PLLC
Philip Tinker (Osage), Attorney, Kanji & Katzen, PLLC
Gary Batton (Choctaw), Chief of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma
Lindsay Robertson, Chickasaw Nation Endowed Chair and Professor Emeritus, University of Oklahoma College of Law
10:15 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.
Morning Break
10:30 a.m. – 11:15 a.m.
Host: David Holt (Osage) – Dean, Oklahoma City University School of law
Camp Call: Gordon Yellowman (Cheyenne) – Peace Chief, Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes
Presentation of Flags: Honor Guard – Kiowa Black Leggings
Memorial and Honor Songs: Southern Nation
Invocation: David Wilson (Choctaw) – Bishop, Great Plains Conference of the United Methodist Church
Welcome: Kenneth Evans – President, Oklahoma City University
Writing Competition Winners: Emily Eleftherakis (Cherokee/Delaware Tribe) – Executive Director, OCU Tribal Sovereignty Institute
Poster Contest Winner: Melanie Whitekiller Lawrence (Cherokee) – Oklahoma Council for Indian Education 2025-2026 Teacher of the Year
Closing Prayer: Gordon Yellowman (Cheyenne) – Peace Chief, Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes
11:15 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Lunch
1 p.m. – 2:45 p.m.
Panel A: Beyond the Casino Floor: New Legal Challenges in Tribal Gaming
Moderator:
Matthew Morgan, (Chickasaw/Choctaw descent), Chairman, Oklahoma Indian Gaming Association
Panelists:
William R. Norman, Jr. (Muscogee (Creek)), Partner, Hobbs, Straus, Dean, & Walker
James T. Meggesto (Onondaga/Ponca (Honorary)), Partner, Holland & Knight
Jason Giles (Muscogee (Creek)), Executive Director, National Indian Gaming Association
Jonodev O. Chaudhuri (Muscogee (Creek)), Principal, Chaudhuri Law Office
Panel B: Rights, Regulation, and Resilience: Sovereignty and Firearms
Moderator:
George Moscary, University of Wyoming College of Law
Panelists:
Dr. Torivio A. Fodder (Taos Pueblo), Indigenous Governance Program Manager and Professor of Practice, James E. Rogers College of Law, University of Arizona
Michael P. O’Shea, Professor of Law, Oklahoma City University School of Law
Shelby Rowe (Chickasaw), President/Founder, Lhakoffi, LLC
Moderator:
Lisa Johnson-Billy (Chickasaw), Legislator, Chickasaw Nation
Panelists:
Rani Williams (Walker River Paiute Tribe), Senior Policy Advisor, Clause Law PLLC
Kimberly Teehee (Cherokee), Delegate to Congress, Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma
Nikki Borchardt Campbell (Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah/Ute Indian Tribe), Executive Director, National American Indian Court Judges Association
Sena Yesslith (Seminole), Principal Chief of the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma
Glenna Wallace (Eastern Shawnee), Principal Chief of the Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma
Stacy Leeds (Cherokee), Willard H. Pedrick Dean and Regents Professor, Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, Arizona State University
Honorable Diane J. Humetewa (Hopi), U.S. District Court judge for the District of Arizona
2:45 p.m. – 3 p.m.
Afternoon Break
3 p.m. – 4:45 p.m.
Panel A: The Power to Define: Storytelling, Law, and Indigenous Sovereignty
Moderator:
Chloe Moyer (Choctaw), Adjunct Clinical Professor of Law, Oklahoma City University School of Law
Panelists:
Carrie Frias, Legislative Counsel for Tribal Council, Little River Band of Ottawa Indians
Samantha Wauls (Lower Brule Sioux Tribe), Associate Attorney, Soboba Band of Luiseno Indians
Jen Loren (Cherokee), Senior Director, Cherokee Film, Cherokee Nation Businesses
Mary Kathryn Nagle (Cherokee), Attorney and Playwright
Kelli Mosteller (Citizen Potawatomi), Executive Director, First Americans Museum
Dan Foliart, Composer and Vice President, American Society of Composers, Authors, & Publishers
Panel B: Expanding the Marketplace: Tribal Commerce and the Future of Economic Self-Determination
Moderator:
Jacob Keyes (Iowa), Chairman of the Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma
Panelists:
Erick J. Giles (Muscogee (Creek)), Attorney, Drummond Woodsum
Benjamin Varadi, Professor, Vermont Law and Graduate School
Lauren Clark (Chickasaw), General Counsel, Chickasaw Nation Department of Commerce
Ben Fenner, Partner, Patterson Real Bird & Rasmussen LLP
Terri Parton (Wichita & Affiliated Tribes), Tribal Advisor and Project Manager, Blue Stone Strategy Partners
Seth Pearman (Cheyenne River Sioux), Partner, Peebles Bergin
Moderator:
Tana Fitzpatrick (Crow), Associate Vice President of Tribal Relations, University of Oklahoma
Panelists:
Paul Spruhan, Assistant Professor of Law, University of New Mexico School of Law
Forrest Tahdooahnippah (Comanche), Chairman of the Comanche Nation of Oklahoma
Hershel Gorham (Arapaho), Lt. Governor of the Cheyenne & Arapaho Tribes
Heather WhiteMan Runs Him (Crow), Associate Clinical Professor and Director, James E. Rogers College of Law, University of Arizona
Tuesday, June 16, 2026
7:15 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Registration Open
Vendor Exhibits Open
7:15 a.m. – 8 a.m.
Continental Breakfast
8 a.m. – 9:45 a.m.
Panel A: Invisible No More: Vulnerable Populations and Tribal Justice Systems
Moderator:
Kace Rodwell (Cherokee), Attorney, Legal Advocates for Indian County, LLP
Panelists:
Elizabeth L. Brown, Associate District Judge, Adair County District Court
Hallie Bongar White, Executive Director, Southwest Center for Law and Policy
Trent Shores (Choctaw), Managing Shareholder, Gable Gotwals
Judge Charles Tripp (Cherokee), Tribal Judge and Attorney, Legal Advocates for Indian County, LLP
Kathryn E. Fort, Clinic Director, Michigan State University College of Law
Jessica Goodwin (Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians), Victim Services Unit Attorney, Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma
Panel B: Justice on Tribal Lands: Power, Limits, and Reform
Moderator:
Arvo Mikkanen (Kiowa/Comanche), President, Oklahoma Indian Bar Association
Panelists:
Honorable Ada Brown (Choctaw), U.S. District Court judge for the Northern District of Texas
Gary Pitchlynn, Attorney General, Absentee Shawnee Tribe
Chad Harsha (Cherokee), Attorney General, Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma
Geri Wisner (Muscogee (Creek)), Deputy Attorney General, Muscogee (Creek) Nation
Patti Ghezzi, Assistant Federal Public Defender, Western District of Oklahoma (retired)
Moderator:
Conor P. Cleary, Field Solicitor, U.S. Department of the Interior
Panelists:
Matthew Morgan, (Chickasaw/Choctaw descent), Special Envoy, Chickasaw Nation
Greg Bigler (Euchee/Muscogee (Creek)), District Judge and Tribal Judge
Stephen Pevar, Lecturer in Law, Yale Law School
Kirke Kickingbird (Kiowa), Of Counsel, Hobbs, Straus, Dean, & Walker
Wilson Pipestem (Otoe-Missouria), Founding Partner, Pipestem Law
9:45 a.m. – 10 a.m.
Morning Break
10 a.m. – 11:15 a.m.
Ethical Leadership: Honoring Sovereignty from the Bench
Moderator:
Emily Eleftherakis (Cherokee/Delaware Tribe), Executive Director, OCU Tribal Sovereignty Institute
Panelists:
Honorable Sara E. Hill (Cherokee), U.S. District Court judge for the Northern District of Oklahoma
Honorable Ada Brown (Choctaw), U.S. District Court judge for the Northern District of Texas
Honorable Lauren King (Muscogee (Creek)), U.S. District Court judge for the Western District of Washington
Honorable Diane J. Humetewa (Hopi), U.S. District Court judge for the District of Arizona
Honorable Sunshine S. Sykes (Navajo), U.S. District Court judge for the Central District of California
11:15 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Lunch
1 p.m. – 2:45 p.m.
Panel A: Bridging Gaps in Indian Country: Law, Policy, and Health Equity
Moderator:
Grace Fox (Seminole), Tribal Healthcare Policy Analyst, University of Oklahoma
Panelists:
Kymberly Cravatt (Chickasaw/ Muscogee (Creek)/Seminole), General Counsel, Chickasaw Nation Department of Health
Dr. Katrina Walters, National Institutes of Health Tribal Health Research Office
Allison Neswood (Navajo), Senior Staff Attorney, Native American Rights Fund
Clayton Fulton (Cherokee), Chief of Staff, Indian Health Services
Panel B: From Vision to Viability: Funding and Financial Strategy in Indian Country
Moderator:
Wena Supernaw (Quapaw), Business Committee Chair, Quapaw Nation
Panelists:
Jennifer Chadwick (Choctaw), Community Development Advisor, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City
Fatima Abbas (Haliwa Saponi), Director of Tribal and Native Affairs, United States Treasury
Telly Meier, Partner, Hobbs, Straus, Dean, & Walker
Dr. Christy Finsel (Osage), Executive Director, Oklahoma Native Assets Coalition, Inc.
Jennifer N. Lamirand (Citizen Potawatomi), Principal, Bressler, Amery, & Ross, PC
Moderator:
Tia Ebarb Matt (Choctaw-Apache), Clinical Professor of Law and Director of Experiential Education, Oklahoma City University School Law
Panelists:
Dr. Traci Morris (Chickasaw), Executive Director and Research Professor, Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, Arizona State University
Adam Crepelle, Assistant Professor, Loyola University Chicago School of Law
Chris Shilling (Choctaw), Chief Innovation Officer, Chickasaw Nation Department of Commerce
Grace Signorelli-Cassady, Attorney, Jenner & Block LLP
Kelli Matthews Smalling (Muscogee (Creek)), Executive Director, Engage Learning
2:45 p.m. – 3 p.m.
Afternoon Break
3 p.m. – 4:45 p.m.
ETHICS
Panel A: Justice Delayed or Denied? Access to Justice in Tribal Communities
Moderator:
Jacintha Webster, Associate Professor, East Central University
Panelists:
Rodina Cave Parnall (Quechua), Executive Director, American Indian Law Center, Inc.
Stephanie Hudson (Kiowa), Executive Director, Oklahoma Indian Legal Services
Tiffani Armendariz, Director of Legal Empowerment, Oklahoma Access to Justice Foundation
Panel B: Navigating Dual Systems: Justice in Tribal and Federal Courts
Moderator:
Honorable Sunshine Sykes, (Navajo), U.S. District Court judge for the Central District of California
Panelists:
Ryland Rivas, Jr. (Comanche), Chief Justice, Comanche Nation; Prosecutor, Southern Plains CFR Court
O. Joseph Williams (Muscogee (Creek)), Chief Justice, Sac and Fox Nation; Attorney, Reservation Legal Services
Gregory Smith, Chief Justice, Pawnee Nation Supreme Court and U.S. Court of Indian Appeals (Miami Agency)
Deana Hartley-Kelso (Chickasaw), District Judge, Chickasaw Nation
Honorable Sara Hill (Cherokee), U.S. District Court judge for the Northern District of Oklahoma
Moderator:
Jacob Metoxen (Oneida), Legal Specialist, Tribal Healing to Wellness Court Tribal Law and Policy Institute
Panelists:
Sarah Adams (Choctaw), Founder, Matriarch
Ashley Roach, Chief Prosecutor, Absentee Shawnee Tribe of Indians
Christine Frausto, Tribal Judge, Tulalip Tribal Court
Peary Robertson (Seminole), District Judge, Seminole Nation; Justice, Wyandotte Nation Supreme Court