Re-examining the Tribal Trust Relationship in the 21st Century
March 28, 2025
An academic symposium presented by the Tulsa Law Review in conjunction with the Office of the Provost and the University of Tulsa College of Law. This event is free to the public and will provide CLE credits for the Oklahoma legal community.
Please join us in Great Hall A on the University of Tulsa campus for this exciting event!
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Daisy Eklund at dbe3159@utulsa.edu or Taylor Pepperworth at tkp0123@utulsa.edu, Tulsa Law Review’s Symposium Editors.
The Tulsa Law Review symposium is an all-day event held at the University of Tulsa College of Law consisting of four panels and one lunch keynote speaker.
Lunch will be provided as well as hors d’oeuvres throughout the day.
Legal professionals who attend will be offered continued learning credit.
Lunch hour keynote address with Dean Stacy Leeds.
Dean Leeds is a Tulsa law graduate and is the Willard H. Pedrick Dean and Regents Professor of Law at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University. Dean Leeds is the first Indigenous woman to serve as a law school dean. Additionally, Dean Leeds served as a Cherokee Nation Supreme Court Justice and as the Chair of the Cherokee Nation Gaming Commission.
In addition to the lunch keynote speaker, the symposium will include three keynote speakers to help promote and lead discussion for each panel topic.
Panel 1: Equal Protection
9:10–10:30 a.m.
The first keynote is Professor Matthew Fletcher from the University of Michigan School of Law. Professor Matthew Fletcher from the University of Michigan School of Law will deliver the first keynote on the intersection of equal protection and Indian law. A member of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, his research focuses on federal Indian law and American Indian Tribal law. In addition to teaching, he serves as Chief Justice for multiple Tribes and as an appellate judge for others. Professor Fletcher has contributed significantly to Indian law through his scholarship, including his work on the American Law Institute’s Restatement of the Law of American Indians and the hornbook Federal Indian Law. He is also the primary editor of the popular blog Turtle Talk.
Panelists
Professor Alex Pearl
Professor Alex Pearl, an enrolled citizen of the Chickasaw Nation, is a Professor of Law at the University of Oklahoma and a nationally recognized scholar in Federal Indian Law, with work published in top legal journals and cited by the U.S. Supreme Court. He has an extensive legal background, including clerking for the U.S. Court of Appeals, practicing tribal law, and serving as an Associate Justice on the Cheyenne and Arapaho Nations Supreme Court.
Professor Tory Dolan
Torey Dolan, an Assistant Professor of Law at the University of Wisconsin Law School and former William H. Hastie Fellow, focuses her scholarship on Tribal Nations, democracy, and American Indian self-determination at the intersection of Federal Indian Law and Election Law. Previously, she served as a Native Vote Fellow at ASU’s Indian Legal Clinic, leading election protection efforts and assisting in litigation on Tribal sovereignty and voting rights. An enrolled citizen of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, she holds a J.D. with a certificate in Federal Indian Law from ASU and a B.A. from UC Davis.
Professor Marc L. Roark
Marc L. Roark’s research explores property conflicts in housing, homelessness, and resilience through property norms, co-authoringSquatting and the State: Resilient Property Theory in an Age of Crisis. He has published extensively in U.S. law journals, including work on homelessness, property rights, and commercial law in Indian Country, contributing to the first economic impact study of secured transactions laws on Indian tribes. His current projects apply vulnerability theory to resilience gaps in housing, ruralism, Indian law, and commercial law.
Panel 2: Trust Responsibilities
10:45–12:05 p.m.
Panelists
Philip Tinker
Philip Tinker, an enrolled member of the Osage Nation, is an attorney at Kanji & Katzen, having joined the firm in 2013 and transferring to its Seattle office in 2016. Specializing in appellate and Supreme Court litigation, Philip focuses on tribal sovereignty, jurisdiction, and governance, contributing to landmark cases such as Murphy v. Royal and Michigan v. Bay Mills Indian Community. He is also dedicated to pro bono advocacy, scholarship, and cultural preservation within Native communities.
Daniel Carter
Mr. Carter, an enrolled member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, is a highly regarded attorney specializing in federal Indian law, Tribal law, energy development, and regulatory compliance, with extensive litigation experience in federal, Tribal, and state courts. He serves as Attorney General for two federally recognized tribes in Oklahoma and previously worked on landmark legislation for the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs. Recognized by Super Lawyers, Best Lawyers, and Chambers USA, he is also an active community leader in Tulsa, advocating for Native American culture and services.
Wilson Pipestem
Mr. Pipestem, a citizen of the Otoe-Missouria Tribe and a Stanford Law graduate, has dedicated his career to protecting tribal governments and American Indian rights. As the founder of Pipestem Law, he led the Osage Nation v. U.S. case, securing a historic $380 million settlement for federal mismanagement of tribal resources. He also played a key role in the 2013 reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, advocating for tribal sovereignty and jurisdiction over crimes against Native women.
Professor Adam Crepelle
Adam Crepelle researches federal Indian law and policy, focusing on economic development and criminal justice, highlighting inefficiencies in federally imposed regulations. He serves as an Associate Justice on the Pascua Yaqui Tribe’s Court of Appeals and has held leadership roles in legal academia, including as AALS Chair of the Indian Nations and Indigenous Peoples Section. His coauthored article, Community Policing on American Indian Reservations, won the 2023 Elinor Ostrom Prize.
Panel 3: Land Issues
1:50–3:10 p.m.
The third keynote speaker is Professor Jessica Shoemaker, and she will speak on the topic of land issues related to fractionation, the Cobell settlement, and better models of land-based reconciliation. She is a professor at the University of Nebraska College of Law, focusing on racial justice, agricultural sustainability, and Indigenous land tenure and governance in the U.S. and Canada. Professor Shoemaker clerked for Judge David M. Ebel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit and interned with the Crow Nation Court of Appeals and the Department of the Interior. She also practiced as a litigator at Arnold & Porter LLP, working on complex litigation, including significant cases on Indigenous land and religious rights.
Panelists
Professor Ezra Rosser
Ezra Rosser, a professor at American University Washington College of Law since 2006, teaches courses in property law, Federal Indian Law, poverty law, and related subjects. He has held visiting positions at institutions like Harvard, Yale, and Ritsumeiken University and has published extensively in top law journals. In addition to receiving multiple scholarship awards, he has authored and edited several books on poverty law, tribal land issues, and economic development, including A Nation Within: Navajo Land and Economic Development (Cambridge 2021).
Professor Kevin Washburn
Kevin Washburn, a citizen of the Chickasaw Nation, served as dean of the College of Law from 2018 to 2024 and was previously the dean at the University of New Mexico School of Law. Appointed by President Obama, he was the Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs from 2012 to 2016 and has held faculty positions at Minnesota, Arizona, and Harvard. A leading scholar in federal Indian law and gaming law, he co-editsCohen’s Handbook of Federal Indian Law and is currently on research leave for spring 2025.
Moderators:
Professor Alexandra Fay, University of Tulsa College of Law
Laura Jones, Van Ness Feldman
Judith Royster, Previous Chapman Chair in Law
Vicki Limas, Professor of Law Emerita
Panel 4: Keynote Roundtable – The Tribal Trust Relationship in the 21st Century.
3:25–4:45 p.m.
The panel will cover the broad topics of the Tribal Trust relationship, with keynote speakers from all panels throughout the day participating in the discussion.
Directions to Campus
Arriving from points northeast (including the airport)
Follow I-244 West to Exit 9, Harvard Avenue. After exiting, turn left (south) and travel approximately 1/2 mile. Continue through the light at 3rd street, Turn right (west) on 4th Place (just before on campus apartments). Travel down 4th place, you will go through one stop sign and then the law school will be on your left with a large parking lot (Keplinger/Law Lot) on your right. We have arranged for you to park for free in the Keplinger/Law lot.
Arriving from points southeast
Follow Routes 64/51 West (Broken Arrow Expressway). Exit at Harvard Avenue. Turn right on Harvard and head north. After passing 11th Street, 4th Place is the second street on the left. Turn left on 4th Place heading (west), you will go through one stop sign and then the law school will be on your left with a large parking lot (Keplinger/Law Lot) on your right. We have arranged for you to park for free in the Keplinger/Law lot.
Arriving from the west
Follow I-44 to I-244 East. Follow I-244 East to Exit 8, Delaware Avenue. After exiting, follow the service road a short drive to the light at Delaware. Turn right (south) on to Delaware and travel to the stoplight at 3rd Street. Continue through the light to 4th Place. Turn left (east) onto 4th Place and about three blocks down the law school will be on your right with a large parking lot (Keplinger/Law Lot) on your left. We have arranged for you to park for free in the Keplinger/Law lot.
Arriving from the north
Travel south to I-244 East. Follow I-244 East to Exit 8, Delaware Avenue. After exiting, follow the service road a short drive to the light at Delaware. Turn right (south) on to Delaware and travel to the stoplight at 3rd Street. Continue through the light to 4th Place. Turn left (east) onto 4th Place and about three blocks down the law school will be on your right with a large parking lot (Keplinger/Law Lot) on your left. We have arranged for you to park for free in the Keplinger/Law lot.
**Please Note: If needed, disabled parking is conveniently located on the west side of the College of Law at the corner of 4th Place and South Florence.
The University of Tulsa has a strong commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. With this commitment, we strive to implement initiatives that inspire action and further our relationships with Indigenous communities. It is in this effort that TU recognizes the Tribal lands on which our main campus resides. We would like to honor and acknowledge the Indigenous tribes, and tribes who were forcibly removed, including the Ni-u-kon-ska (Osage), Kitikiti’sh (Wichita), Kadohadacho (Caddo), Mvskoke (Muscogee [Creek]), and Tsálăgĭ (Cherokee) Tribal Nations as the original inhabitants and keepers of the land and water that we now call Tulsa, Oklahoma. TU recognizes that our main campus is located on the Mvskoke (Muscogee [Creek]) Nation Reservation, whose Tribal members were forcibly removed from their homelands as a result of white supremacist and discriminatory laws, including the U.S. Indian Removal Act of 1830. We acknowledge that the university was first established as a Presbyterian School for Indian Girls with its own history and relationship to the land, Tribes, and campus. We recognize this foundation and assume the responsibility to educate ourselves and others on the Indigenous history and importance of the land and water that we occupy.
With this effort we profess the truth that is often buried. Our presence here today is a result of broken treaties, genocide, and ethnocide by colonial powers against those who have maintained and cared for the land and water since time immemorial. The effects of colonization have created historical and ongoing injustices impacting Indigenous peoples today. Truth and recognition of this reality is essential to reconciliation and building meaningful relationships and partnerships with Tribal communities, as well as creating opportunities for active community engagement and support; including, but not limited to, collaborative programming, internships, and bridge programs. By revealing this history, its continuing impacts, and correcting miseducation, we will no longer overlook how this land was occupied. We respect and recognize all Indigenous peoples as the original and contemporary stewards of this land.