In honor of Native American Heritage Month, our Native American affinity group hosted a webinar on the legal and non-legal tools used to promote self-determination for Indian tribes and their members. The program featured guest panelists jessie little doe baird, vice chairwoman of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe; Professor Matthew L.M. Fletcher, director of the Michigan State University College of Laws Indigenous Law and Policy Center and foundation professor of law; and Joe Valandra, executive director of the Native American Contractors Association.

The speakers discussed the multi-facetted aspects of Native American culture and heritage and some of the legal tools that are used to promote self-determination policies for Indian tribes and their members, and was an opportunity to learn about cultural heritage projects and legal mechanisms and policies utilized by Indian Country. The educational and wide-ranging program touched upon the history and future of tribal language reclamation projects and their impact on Indian identity, priorities of tribal nations in the new presidential administration, the evolution of the federal legal landscape that has impacted tribal communities, and the development of tribal economies.

View the webinar