Tana Fitzpatrick, J.D., serves as the University of Oklahoma’s Associate Vice President of Tribal Relations, where she provides strategic counsel to university leadership on engagement with Tribal Nations. Her work emphasizes approaches grounded in political sovereignty, intergovernmental respect, and institutional alignment. In addition to her advisory role, she leads the development of institutional infrastructure and directs the Native Nations Center for Tribal Policy Research, advancing policy research and analysis that supports tribal sovereignty and governance decision-making. She is the author of “Tribal Nations and AI Governance: A Selected Overview of the AI Risk Regulation Landscape,” a peer-reviewed publication through the Center examining the emerging legislative and policy landscape surrounding artificial intelligence and Tribal sovereignty.
Prior to joining the university, Fitzpatrick served the U.S. Congress as a policy analyst with the Library of Congress’s Congressional Research Service, where she advised members of Congress and their staff on issues involving tribal lands and natural resources. Her federal service also includes roles in the U.S. Department of the Interior as Senior Counselor to the Assistant Secretary–Indian Affairs, the White House Office of Management and Budget, and the National Indian Gaming Commission.
Fitzpatrick previously worked as an attorney for tribal governments in Arizona, serving as a tribal prosecutor for the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community and as in-house counsel for the Gila River Indian Community.
She earned her Juris Doctor from Arizona State University’s Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law and a Bachelor of Arts, summa cum laude, from Oklahoma City University. She is a citizen of the Crow Tribe of Montana, and a descendant of the Lakota, Ponca, and Chickasaw Nations.