Event January 9: Indian Law and Policy for Tribal Officials
PLEASE NOTE THE DATE OF THE EVENT HAS CHANGED AND WILL NOW TAKE PLACE JANUARY 9TH AND 10TH OF 2020
This Seminar is intended for tribal government officials interested in learning more about fundamental concepts of American Indian law and policy to assist them in performing their governing and leadership responsibilities. Through a series of 50-minutes lectures, attendees will learn about –
· Origins of tribal sovereignty and rights of self-determination
· Federal Indian law fundamentals such as-
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Civil jurisdiction, including tribal authority regulation over non-Indian activities
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Criminal jurisdiction, including VAMA implementation and civil rights protection
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Land use regulation, including HEARTH Act leasing and rights-of-way
· Treaties, intergovernmental aggreements, and compacts
· Tribal business development, including business organization, and tribal corporations
· Indian gaming, including sports betting expansion
· Protecting tribal benefits from taxaition under the Tribal General Welfare Exclusion Act
· Strategies for addressing state and local government interference in tribal development, including addressing dual taxation
· Federal lobbying and strategy to promote tribal interests and economic development
· Special Topic- the 2020 Presidential Election and Impeachment Proceedings
Seminar presenters have a wide variety of experiences in tribal law, governance and business, as well as federal government advocacy, and will rely upon both traditional legal materials, current events, and analysis drawn from actual experience illustrate relevant concepts. The seminar host and lead presenter for the Workshop is Robert Odawi Porter, a former President of the Seneca Nation of Indians and a leading advocate for Indian nations and tribal sovereignty.
Who Should Attend
This Seminar is specially designed for elected and appointed officials of federally-recognized sovereign Indian nations and tribes, particularly those who are newly elected or appointed to office.
Registration
The cost to attend the Seminar is $850 per person, which includes two days of breakfasts, lunches, snacks, and materials. For registrations of three persons or more from a particular tribe, or current clients, the cost is $650 per person. Attendees can register for the Seminar at Eventbrite.com under “Indian Law and Policy for Tribal Officials” or by clicking https://www.eventbrite.com/e/indian-law-and-policy-for-tribal-officials-tickets-68814521085
Hotel Reservations
Discounted rates of $146 for standard rooms and $216 for suites have been secured for Seminar attendees. Rooms may be reserved by calling Wild Horse Pass at 520-796-4900 or 800-946-4452 and referencing the Indian Law for Tribal Officials. The discount rate and room availability is guaranteed until December 13th, 2019 only. If you book after that date you may still be accepted into group rate if the hotel has availability.In addition to the room rate, guests are responsible for all taxes and incidentals on the room.
More Information
For more information about the Workshop, please contact Susan Paxon at susan@capitolhillpolicygroup.com.
For more information about Odawi Law PLLC, please see the Firm website at www.odawilawpllc.com and for more information about the Capitol Hill Policy Group LLC, see www.capitolhillpolicygroup.com.
Agenda (as of October 23, 2019)
All sessions will be held in the Ocotillo Room unless otherwise noted. There will be a 10-minute break between each session.
Thursday, January 9
7:30 a.m.
Registration (Outside Ocotillo Room)
8:00 a.m.
Breakfast (Ocotillo Room Patio)
8:30 a.m.
Session 1: Tribal Sovereignty and its Origins
Robert Odawi Porter
9:00 a.m.
Session 2: Indian Law Fundamentals, Including Treaties and other Intergovernmental Agreements
Robert Odawi Porter
10:00 a.m.
Session 3: Civil Jurisdiction in Indian Country, including Tribal Power over Non-Indian activities
Carol Heckman
11:00 a.m. Session 4: State Jurisdiction in Indian Country, including Taxation
Robert Odawi Porter
12:00 p.m.
Lunch (Ocotillo Room Patio)
1:00 p.m.
Session 5: Criminal Jurisdiction in Indian Country, including Violence Against Women Act Jurisdiction and Civil Rights Protection
Carol Heckman
2:30 p.m.
Session 6: Indian Gaming Regulation and Sports Betting Expansion
Robert Odawi Porter
3:30 p.m.
Session 7: Fee-to-Trust Process and Land Leasing (HEARTH Act)
Xavier Barraza
4:30 p.m.
Session 8: Strategies for Protecting Against State and Local Interference with Tribal Economic Development
Robert Odawi Porter
Friday, January 10
8:00 a.m.
Breakfast (Ocotillo Room Patio)
8:30 a.m.
Session 9: Tribal Constitutional Reform and its Significance
Robert Odawi Porter
9:30 a.m.
Session 10: Tribal Business Development and Organization
Robert Odawi Porter
10:30 a.m.
Session 11: Protecting Tribal Benefits from Taxation under the Tribal General Welfare Exclusion Act, including an Update on the Treasury Tribal Advisory Committee
Robert Odawi Porter
Xavier Barraza
11:30 a.m.
Session 12: Fundamentals of Federal Government Relations, Lobbying and Political Engagement
Todd Bertoson
Robert Odawi Porter
Xavier Barraza
12:30 p.m.
Lunch (Ocotillo Room Patio)
1:30 p.m.
Session 13: Current Federal Policy Issues Affecting Tribal Economies and Natural Resources
2:00 p.m.
Session 14: Assessing the Impact of Presidential Impeachment and the 2020 Presidential Elections on Indian Country
3:00 p.m.
Concluding Remarks
About the Faculty
Robert Odawi Porter, Esq. (Seneca) is the Seminar host and moderator. He is a nationally-recognized advocate for the protection and expansion of American Indian tribal government sovereignty and treaty rights. His unique background includes service as a former elected president of the Seneca Nation of Indians, tribal attorney general, and founding chairman of Seneca Holdings LLC. He has served as a tenured professor of Indian law at three national universities, which provides him with an unparalleled experience platform to assist his tribal clients in seizing opportunities and resolving complex issues at the intersection of law, politics, business, and social policy.
Rob has achieved many successes for his tribal clients, including leading the successful effort in Congress to end taxation of tribal general welfare benefits, expanding tribal gaming rights, and protecting tribal sovereignty and treaty rights from interference by outside governments and interests. He has been named by Best Lawyers in America to its list for Native American law since 2018.
Rob is the President and Founder of Odawi Law PLLC (www.odawilawpllc.com) and the Co-Managing Principal of the Capitol Hill Policy Group LLC (www.capitolhillpolicygroup.com), which he formed in 2018 with his colleague Todd Bertoson to create a new opportunity for federal government advocacy on behalf of American Indian nations and Native-owned companies.
Todd Bertoson is the Co-Managing Principal of the Capitol Hill Policy Group LLC and a former Staff Director of the United States Senate Commerce Committee. His federal relations practice focuses on representing clients with interests in natural resources and fisheries, telecommunications, infrastructure development. His clients include several sovereign Indian nations and a regional Alaska Native Corporation. Todd has been involved in numerous successful efforts to protect client interests and secure federal assistance.
Carol Heckman is the American Indian Law Practice Team Co-Leader at Lippes Mathias Wexler Freidman LLP and has more than 40 years of experience as a trial and appellate attorney, judge, and arbitrator in a broad range of disputes, including commercial cases, constitutional claims, contracts, executive compensation, franchise agreements, acquisitions, construction, and state and federal statutory claims, including Indian law cases.
Judge Heckman served as a Magistrate Judge in the Western District of New York for eight years where she was selected to sit on the Federal Judicial Conference’s Education Committee for Magistrate Judges and as an Officer in the Federal Magistrate Judges Association. She has also served as a trial attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Buffalo, New York, and as a law clerk for Hon. John T. Curtin, former Chief Judge of the Western District of New York. She has significant training and experience as a mediator and has trained federal judges in mediation techniques. She is admitted to both the Panel of Mediators and the Panel of Arbitrators of the American Arbitration Association, as well as the Western District of New York Panel of Mediators. Successful mediations include the entire range of federal court cases, including high stakes business disputes, employment disputes of all kinds, environmental claims, product liability and other tort claims, securities claims, patent claims, and §1983 claims.
Xavier A. Barraza (Hopland Pomo) is an enrolled member of the Hopland Band of Pomo Indians and a graduate of Haskell Indian Nations University and the University of New Mexico School of Law. He brings more than 8 years of political, policy and legal experience to the Capitol Hill Policy Group. Xavier served on the staff of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs under Chairman Byron Dorgan and the late Chairman Senator Daniel Akaka. His portfolio included housing, lands, tax, communications and infrastructure issues. Following his service in the Senate, Xavier earned his law degree and practiced in the areas of business organizations, tax and economic development, and federal election law.