Ryland Rivas II received his B.A. and Master of Human Relations from the University of Oklahoma and his J.D. from Oklahoma City University. He also received his LL.M in Indigenous Peoples Studies from the University of Oklahoma in May of 2025. He currently serves as the Chief District Judge for the Comanche Nation after serving two terms on the Comanche Nation Appellate Court. Ryland has extensive experience practicing in tribal courts around the Western United States. Besides his judicial duties, he is also the current prosecutor for the Court of Indian Offenses at the BIA Southern Plains Region in Anadarko, Oklahoma where he has served since 2009. Ryland has also served as public defender for the Ute Mountain Ute tribe in Towac, Colorado, prosecutor for the Skull Valley Band of Goshutes Indians (Utah) and with the Te-Moak Band of Western Shoshone Indians (Nevada). Ryland has also run a private law office out of Chickasha, Oklahoma for the past 21 years and is a citizen of the Comanche Nation.