Sovereignty Symposium XXXVIII Agenda

Monday, June 15, 2026

Panel A: Guardians of Land and Water: Tribal Leadership in Environment and Energy Law  

• Katosha Nakai (Choctaw Nation), Moderator
• Christine Pappas (East Central University)
• Stephen Greetham (Greetham Law)
• Mitch Holditch (Patterson Real Bird & Rasmussen)
• Alex Pearl (University of Oklahoma College of Law)
• Ken Bellmard (Office of the Assistant Secretary Indian Affairs)

Panel B: From Consultation to Collaboration: Intergovernmental Leadership in Indian Country 

• Dean/Mayor David Holt (Oklahoma City University School of Law), Moderator
• Mayor Monroe Nichols (City of Tulsa) 
• Principal Chief David Hill (Muscogee (Creek) Nation) 
• Deputy Principal Chief Bryan Warner (Cherokee Nation)
• Bryan Newland (Powers Pyles Sutter & Verville PC)
• Principal Chief Geoffrey Standing Bear (Osage Nation)

Panel C: Sovereignty on Trial: Treaties, Jurisdiction, and Civil Rights 

• Grace Carson (University of Tulsa College of Law), Moderator
• Kara Bacon (Bacon Law, PLLC)
• Philip Tinker (Kanji & Katzen, PLLC) 
• Chief Gary Batton (Choctaw Nation)
• Lindsay Robertson (University of Oklahoma College of Law)
• Kathryn Fort (Michigan State University College of Law 

Morning Break

Opening Ceremony

Lunch

Panel A: Beyond the Casino Floor: New Legal Challenges in Tribal Gaming

• Matthew Morgan (Oklahoma Indian Gaming Association), Moderator
• William R. Norman, Jr. (Hobbs, Straus, Dean, & Walker)
• James Meggesto (Holland & Knight)
• Jason Giles (National Indian Gaming Association) 
• Jonodev Chaudhuri (Chaudhuri Law)

Panel B: Rights, Regulation, and Resilience: Sovereignty and Firearms

• George Moscary (University of Wyoming College of Law), Moderator
• Dr. Torivio A. Fodder (University of Arizona Law)
• Michael P. O’Shea (Oklahoma City University School of Law)
• Shelby Rowe

Panel C: Matriarchs, Makers, and Change: Native Women in Law and Policy

• Lisa Billy (Chickasaw Nation), Moderator
• Rani Williams (Clause Law PLLC) 
• Kim Teehee (Cherokee Nation)
• Nikki Borchardt Campbell (National American Indian Court Judges Association)
• Principal Chief Sena Davis-Yesslith (Seminole Nation)
• Chief Glenna Wallace (Eastern Shawnee Tribe)
• Stacy Leeds (Arizona State University School of Law)
• Honorable Diane J. Humetewa (Hopi), U.S. District Court judge for the District of Arizona

Afternoon Break

Panel A: The Power to Define: Storytelling, Law, and Indigenous Sovereignty

• Chloe Moyer (Oklahoma City University School of Law), Moderator
• Carrie Frias (Little River Band of Ottawa Indians) 
• Samantha Wauls (Soboba Band of Luiseno Indians)
• Jen Loren (Cherokee Nation)
• Mary Kathryn Nagle
• Kelli Mosteller (First Americans Museum)

Panel B: Expanding the Marketplace: Tribal Commerce and the Future of Economic Self-Determination

• Chairman Jacob Keyes (Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma), Moderator
• Erick Giles (Drummond Woodsum)
• Ben Varadi (Vermont Law School)
• Lauren Clark (Chickasaw Nation)
• Ben Fenner (Patterson Real Bird & Rasmussen)
• Terri Parton (Blue Stone Strategy Partners)
• Seth Pearman (Peebles Bergin)

Panel C: More Than a Number: Blood Quantum and Tribal Legal Identity

• Tana Fitzpatrick (Associate Vice President of Tribal Relations, University of Oklahoma), Moderator
• Paul Spruhan (University of New Mexico Law School)
• Chairman Forrest Tahdooahnippah (Comanche Nation)
• Lt. Governor Hershel Gorham (Cheyenne & Arapaho Tribes)
• Heather WhiteMan Runs Him (University of Arizona Law)

Tuesday, June 16, 2026

Registration

Panel A: Invisible No More: Vulnerable Populations and Tribal Justice Systems 

• Kace Rodwell (Oklahoma Indian Legal Services), Moderator
• Judge Liz Brown (Adair County District Court)
• Hallie Bongar White (Southwest Center for Law and Policy) 
• Trent Shores (Gable Gotwals)
• Judge Charles Tripp (Legal Advocates for Indian County, LLP)

Panel B: Justice on Tribal Lands: Power, Limits, and Reform

• Arvo Mikkanen (US Attorneys’ Office), Moderator
• Honorable Ada Brown (U.S. District Court judge for the Northern District of Texas)
• Jessica Goodwin (Victim Services Unit, Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma)
• Gary Pitchlynn (Attorney General, Absentee Shawnee)
• Chad Harsha (Attorney General, Cherokee Nation) 
• Geri Wisner (Attorney General, Muscogee (Creek) Nation) 

Panel C: Sovereignty Unbroken: 250 Years of Federal Indian Law

• Conor Cleary (Field Solicitor, U.S. Department of Interior), Moderator
• Governor Bill Anoatubby (Chickasaw Nation)
• Judge Greg Bigler (Sac and Fox Nation)
• Stephen Pevar (Yale Law School)
• Kirke Kickingbird (Hobbs, Straus, Dean, & Walker)

Morning Break

KEYNOTE PANEL

Ethical Leadership: Honoring Sovereignty from the Bench 

• Emily Eleftherakis (OCU Tribal Sovereignty Institute), Moderator
• 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

Lunch

Panel A: Bridging Gaps in Indian Country: Law, Policy, and Health Equity

• Grace Fox (Tribal Healthcare Policy Analyst, University of Oklahoma), Moderator
• Kymberly Cravatt (Chickasaw Nation)
• Dr. Katrina Walters (National Institutes of Health Tribal Health Research Office)
• Allison Neswood (Native American Rights Fund)
• Clayton Fulton (Chief of Staff, Indian Health Services) 

Panel B: From Vision to Viability: Funding and Financial Strategy in Indian Country

• Chairman Wena Supernaw (Quapaw Nation), Moderator
• Jennifer Chadwick (Federal Reserve)
• Fatima Abbas (Director of Tribal & Native Affairs, U.S. Treasury)
• Telly Meier (Hobbs, Straus, Dean, & Walker)
• Dr. Christy Finsel (Oklahoma Native Assets Coalition) 
• Jennifer Lamirand (Bressler, Amery, & Ross, PC)

Panel C: Regulating the Machine: Tribal Nations and Artificial Intelligence 

• Tia Ebarb-Matt (Oklahoma City University School Law), Moderator
• Dr. Traci Morris (Arizona State University College of Law)
• Adam Crepelle (Loyola University Chicago)
• Chris Shilling (Chickasaw Nation)
• Grace Signorelli-Cassady (Jenner & Block)

Afternoon Break

ETHICS

Panel A: Justice Delayed or Denied? Access to Justice in Tribal Communities

• Jacintha Webster (East Central University) Moderator
• Rodina Cave Parnall (American Indian Law Center)
• Honorable Lauren King (U.S. District Court judge for the Western District of Washington)
• Stephanie Hudson (Oklahoma Indian Legal Services)

Panel B: Navigating Dual Systems: Justice in Tribal and Federal Courts

• Honorable Sunshine Sykes (U.S. District Court judge for the Central District of California), Moderator
• Ryland Rivas (Rivas Law)
• O. Joseph Williams (Reservation Legal Services)
• Gregory Smith (Ponca Tribe of Nebraska)
• Judge Deana Hartley-Kelso (Chickasaw Nation)
• Honorable Sara Hill (U.S. District Court judge for the Northern District of Oklahoma)

Panel C: Justice as Healing: Restorative Justice, Legal Frameworks, and Innovation

• Jacob Metoxen (Tribal Law and Policy Institute), Moderator
• Sarah Adams (Matriarch)
• Ashley Roach (All Rise! Co-Op and Law Firm)
• Judge Christine Frausto (Tulalip Tribal Court)
• Judge Peary Robertson (Seminole Nation)