Indian Land Tenure Foundation speaker series, Feb. 23

MISSOULA – “Lessons of Our Land: The Indian Land Tenure Foundation Speaker Series” will take place during February and March at The University of Montana. The series will focus on contemporary land issues in Indian Country, casting a light on our relationship to the Earth and the management of Indian trust land.

All events in the series are free and open to the public and will take place from 4 to 5:15 p.m. in Room 105 of UM’s Payne Family Native American Center. A speaker reception in the center’s Bonnie HeavyRunner Gathering Place will follow each presentation.

The series begins with an interview and live KBGA radio broadcast with University of Colorado, Boulder, law Professor Charles Wilkinson on Thursday, Feb. 10. Wilkinson will discuss American Indian land issues in the 21st century.

Copies of his new book, “The People Are Dancing Again: The History of the Siletz Tribe of Western Oregon,” will be available at the event.

Following is the schedule of other series events and presenters:

• Wednesday Feb. 23: Marcella Giles, a leading oil and gas attorney representing Indian landowners, will talk about what every American Indian land allottee needs to know – and needs to ask – about ownership and management of their land trust.

• Wednesday, March 2: Narcisse Blood, scholar and former director of Kainai studies at Red Crow Community College in Stand Off, Alberta, will share his knowledge of indigenous languages. He will discuss how the language of our ancestors explains our relationship to the Earth and our communities.

• Wednesday, March 9: Cris Stainbrook, president of the Indian Land Tenure Foundation in Little Canada, Minn., will address land consolidation and the American Indian Probate Reform Act, as well as concerns for landowners across Indian Country.

• Wednesday, March 23: Elouise Cobell, lead plaintiff in the Cobell v. Salazar lawsuit, will talk about progress made in the historic Claims Resolution Act of 2010. After 14 years of litigation, the landmark settlement was signed into law by President Obama this month.

• Wednesday, March 30: Julie Cajune, executive director of the Center for American Indian Policy and Applied Research at Salish Kootenai College, will present the Indian land tenure curriculum, “Lessons of Our Land.”

For more information about the series and biographical information for all speakers, visit https://clients.loudskymedia.com/buffalosfire.com . Information about the Indian Land Tenure Foundation is online at https://iltf.org .

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Jodi Rave