OU TRIBAL LAW
“ We ’ ve had a number of practicing lawyers , especially from eastern Oklahoma , enroll in the program so they can get up to speed on how Indian Law works . And everyone needs to know this , because if you ’ re practicing law in Oklahoma , you ’ re practicing on Indian land . And many lawyers have never taken a course in Indian law .”
Lindsay Robertson , Professor , OU College of Law
should be to Indian Country in things like respecting culture ,” Cottrell said .
He also confirmed the role of McGirt in stimulating interest and discussion in his courses and the Native American Studies major in general .
“. . . having worked on indigenous policy issues for many years now , I probably still get the most questions about McGirt , especially if someone wants to do business in Oklahoma ,” Cottrell said .
Robertson described how OU graduates are helping fill the workforce need that the McGirt decision created .
“ I have students who graduate now from OU Law who have taken Indian law courses , or those in the Indian Law certificate program , the LL . M . students and M . L . S . students , who are being picked up by Eastern Oklahoma tribes because they have a comprehensive understanding of how all this works ,” Robertson said .
The demand for graduates with this type of knowledge will likely hang around for a while , as the wake of the McGirt decision continues to spread ..
“ It ’ s always nice when the Supreme Court weighs in on a big policy topic , because it gives us a new direction with which to approach the problem , so that ’ s fun , but we can ’ t necessarily say that it ’ s really clarified jurisdictional issues in Indian Country . While some may have been hoping for an answer and a nice flow chart to make jurisdictional determinations , I think it could be some years before we have full clarity of the reach of McGirt and what that means for jurisdictional issues around Indian Country ,” Cottrell explained .
Robertson said he encourages anyone with an interest in this realm to contact the OU College of Law about their various degree and certificate programs . Program information for the OU College of Law is available at www . law . ou . edu / academics / programs , and for Native American Studies at www . ou . edu / cas / nas / academics .
Legal issues and court decisions can be dense and confusing to understand , and with that can come misinformation . However , with misinformation of any area or topic , education can be a powerful antidote .
“ I would love more education , just in general , around indigenous history and issues ,” Cottrell said . “ It ’ s nice that we have these institutions and opportunities and classes where we can learn this and see those experiences of others and be able to apply them down the road . I think it makes tribes more resilient to face future challenges and makes tribes a better part of American society as well .
“ We are all part of the United States . Just as we are citizens of the United States , we are citizens of our tribal nations . And the best thing we can do is find the best way for those to coexist .”
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