Carl Artman Carl Artman, Director of the Economic Development in Indian Country Program, will be the keynote speaker at the 2009 Business Development in Indian Country Conference at the Potawatomi Bingo Casino in Milwaukee, Wisc., on Sept. 21-24.

The conference is organized by the Potawatomi Business Development Corp., and will bring together tribal and business leaders from across the region and nation to share experiences and ideas for building sustainable tribal economies.

Artman, who is a shareholder at Godfrey & Kahn, also served as the Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs for the U.S. Department of the Interior. He will identify various stimulus opportunities for Indian Country. Eugenio Aleman, vice president and senior economist for Wells Fargo, will also provide a keynote on the banking and investing trends in 2009-2010.
To register for the conference, go to http://www.bussproductions.com/ or call (651) 917-2301.

When Carl J. Artman was in second grade, he watched the Watergate hearings on television.
“I saw the people whispering in the ears of the senators, and I knew I wanted to be one of those people,” he said.

Artman, who realized that dream of leadership in Washington, D.C., by becoming Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs for the U.S. Department of the Interior and the Department’s Associate Solicitor for Indian Affairs, recently joined the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law as a professor and Director of the Economic Development in Indian Country Program.

Artman, an enrolled member of the Oneida Tribe of Indians of Wisconsin, spent much of his childhood visiting relatives on the reservation. “I always knew I was an Indian growing up,” he said.

A self-defined “policy wonk,” Artman considered journalism, reading All the President’s Men, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein’s description of reporting the Watergate scandal that led to President Nixon’s resignation.

But he also read the writings of Jean-Jacques Rousseau and John Locke and the letters of Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin. And he learned that the Oneida Nation was one of the Five Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy, which is said to have influenced the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution. And that the tribe supplied corn that kept President Washington’s troops from starving at Valley Forge in 1777.

“I was honored to know that my tribe helped create what we have today,” he said.
And he chose the path of government service.

Artman has worked in policy-making on Capitol Hill, lobbied for his tribe, worked on business deals for the Oneida Nation, including a telecom business, developed a high-tech business and eventually became Chief Counsel for his tribe. After he left the Department of the Interior, Artman built an Indian law practice at Godfrey & Kahn in Milwaukee, Wisc.

“When I was in law school, there was not a lot of focus on Indian law,” Artman said. “I always thought I would end up in Indian Country, preferably working for my tribe, but I never felt compelled to follow a strict Indian law process.”

Instead, at Washington University School of Law, Artman focused on business and policy, and their intersection with law. He also earned an M.B.A. at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and an LL.M. in Natural Resources and Environmental Law at the University of Denver.

“Everything I’ve done has crossed government, business, management and policy,” he said.
Artman said he began thinking about ASU after Dean Paul Schiff Berman approached him at a conference the Indian Legal Program organized in 2008 about Indian gaming, at which Artman was a presenter.

“I did a lot of research, looking at ASU’s philosophy under President Crow, his vision of the New American University and its entrepreneurship,” Artman said. “I knew that if I had the opportunity to work with students here, they would take what we worked on and translate it into something real.”

Artman said he also was attracted by the Indian Legal Program team, which he said he is proud to join.

“The impact they have leads to endless possibilities,” he said. “It’s readymade to help tribal leaders.”

In addition to teaching, one of Artman’s first projects is planning a national conference on tribal energy economies, which will be held March 25-26.

“It’s about the whole world of energy, coal, natural gas, oil, the whole gamut, spanning all the way to alternative and renewable energies and beyond,” Artman said. “Many tribes are just tapping into their natural resources, and we’ll look at a strategic plan to promote investment and turn them into truly sustainable economies.

“We’ll look at the issues from 10,000 feet, but also in detail. I want tribal leaders – government, business, legal, chiefs of staff – to walk out saying, ‘That was inspirational. I learned what other people are thinking on the subject. There were partners and stakeholders who spoke with us.’ I want it to be a true exchange of ideas.”

Artman’s wife, Wendy, is a senior public relations manager with GroundFloor Media, based in Denver, and they have two young sons.

Professor Rebecca Tsosie Welcomed as Inaugural Oregon Tribes Professor of Law

Oregon Law is pleased to welcome Professor Rebecca Tsosie as the first ever Oregon Tribes Law Professor and a Wayne Morse Center distinguished speaker for the Climate Ethics, Climate Equity theme.
Professor Tsosie, who is of Yaqui descent, has worked extensively with tribal governments and organizations and serves as a Supreme Court Justice for the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation. She has served as Executive Director of the top ranked Indian Law program at Arizona State University’s Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law since 1996. She teaches Indian law, property, bioethics, and critical race theory, as well as seminars on international indigenous rights. Professor Tsosie also teaches in the school’s LL.M. program in Tribal Policy, Law, and Government. Additionally, she is a Faculty Fellow of the Center for the Study of Law, Science, and Technology and an Affiliate Professor in ASU’s American Indian Studies Program. In 2005, Professor Tsosie was appointed a Willard H. Pedrick Distinguished Research Scholar.
Professor Tsosie has written and published widely on doctrinal and theoretical issues related to tribal sovereignty, environmental policy, and cultural rights. She is the author of many prominent articles dealing with cultural resources and cultural pluralism. Professor Tsosie is the co-author of a federal Indian law casebook titled American Indian Law: Native Nations and the Federal System. In addition, Professor Tsosie annually speaks at several national conferences on tribal sovereignty, self-determination, and tribal rights to environmental and cultural resources.
Professor Tsosie is a recipient of numerous distinguished awards and honors, including a Woodrow Wilson Fellowship, the Native Nations Distinguished Alumnus Award, the “Judge Learned Hand Award” for Public Service, and the American Bar Association’s “2002 Spirit of Excellence Award.”
During Professor Tsosie’s visit, she will meet and consult with the faculty, students, and staff on Indian legal education, meet with Oregon Law’s Native American Law Student Association, meet with Oregon tribes to discuss the issues of climate change, and present the annual Rennard Strickland lecture, cosponsored by the Wayne Morse Center and Oregon Law’s Environmental and Natural Resources Law (“ENR”) Program on October 15.
The Oregon Tribes Professorship is established to boost scholarship, public service, and academic offerings in Indian Law. It is aimed to provide legal education about and to the Native Americans at Oregon Law, and serve as a bridge between the law school and the Native American community. This chair was made possible by a grant from the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde and contributions from numerous registered tribes in Oregon.

Dorinda Strmiska has accepted a new position with the National Indian Gaming Commission. She will be starting there on October 13, 2009.
The ILP congratulates you!

Nikki Borchardt (’09) started her job at Luebben, Johnson, and Barnhouse in Albuquerque, NM as an associate. Good luck with your new position Nikki!

Jordan Hale (’09) is a staff attorney for the Dilkon Judicial District of Navajo Nation.

Christina Entrekin (’98) is the Director of Programs for Vancouver Aboriginal Child & Family Services in Vancouver, BC. VACFSS has been a child and family serving agency since its incorporation in 1992. The group is continuing to transform services to make them more grounded within our history and to reflect the diverse cultures of the clients we serve. With the transfer of child protection services from the Ministry of Children and Family Development (MCFD) in 2008, VACFSS continues to focus on better outcomes for the children and families it serves. VACFSS honours the traditions and wisdom inherent in the Aboriginal community. The goal is to work to create a stronger community through partnerships with other service providers and by connecting with community resources.

Michael Lane, (’94) graduate in May, 2009 (with first class honors) with a Masters of Indigenous Studies from Te Whare Wananga o Awanuiarangi ( a fully accredited Maori University). He is cuurently employed as a Specialist Advisor-Ngati Rangiwewehi Charitable Trust
Job. He is currently assisting with the capacity development for tribal selfgovernment; assisting in developing linkages with other Indigenous Peoples; establishing their Quality Management System; advising and researching on a possible Aboriginal Title Claim addendum to their Treaty of Waitangi Claim.

Gila River Indian Community Defense Services Office is looking to hire an IMMEDIATE full time TEMPORARY position of Defense Attorney I. This position should be as long as two months, working four ten hour shifts. Salary would be pro rated from approx. $60,000 annual w/o benefits. This position could lead to permanent position with benefits. Contacts: Cecilia Vaca-Payton or Jessica Turk @ (520) 562-5700

We just received this email from Dean Berman! Congratulations to Professor Tsosie!

As you may know, every year the students vote on the outstanding teacher at the College of Law. This year, the vote was a tie, and so I am pleased to announce that Carissa Hessick and Rebecca Tsosie will share the award. I also note that both Carissa and Rebecca, in addition to their obvious dedication to teaching, both also maintain a very active roster of scholarly, conference, and community service activities, giving the lie to any notion that these different aspects of professorial life are engaged in only on an either/or basis.
Heartiest congratulations to Carissa and Rebecca!
Paul
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Paul Schiff Berman
Dean and Foundation Professor of Law
Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law
Arizona State University