American Indians and the Law | Teacher Seminars Online

This seminar focuses on the interwoven legal histories between tribal nations, states, and the federal government. From historic treaties and questions over citizenship to the impact of the McGirt v. Oklahoma decision and contemporary debates over land rights and usage, this seminar is an exploration of the changing nature of sovereignty and the evolution of the law.

Begin Registration

Lindsay G. Robertson, Lead Scholar

Professor Lindsay G. Robertson is the Chickasaw Nation Endowed Chair in Native American Law Emeritus, having joined the University of Oklahoma law faculty in 1997. He teaches courses in the History of Federal Indian Law and Policy, International Indigenous Peoples Law, and Criminal Jurisdiction in Indian Country and serves as a justice on the Supreme Court of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes. Professor Robertson was special counsel on Indian affairs for Oklahoma governors Frank Keating and Brad Henry, and has served as private sector advisor to the US Department of State delegations to the Working Groups on the UN Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (2004–2006) and the American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (2004–2007). In 2014, he served as advisor on Indigenous peoples law to the chair of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, and from 2022 to 2024 he served as senior legal adviser to the UN special rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. He has spoken widely on US, international, and comparative Indigenous peoples law issues in the United States, Europe, Latin America, and Asia and in 2014 was the recipient of the first David L. Boren Award for Outstanding Global Engagement. In 2017, he was awarded the OU Regents’ Award for Superior Professional Service and Public Outreach, and in 2022 he received the OU Regents’ Award for Superior Teaching. He is the author of Conquest by Law (2005).