Strickland to be Featured Speaker at 35th Annual Symposium

TAHLEQUAH An expert on American Indian law, Northeastern State University alumnus Dr. Rennard Strickland will be a featured speaker at the 35th Annual Symposium on the American Indian. Themed Oklahoma 1907-2007: And Still the Waters Run, the symposium will run April 18-21 at the NSU campus in Tahlequah.

Additional events include traditional art demonstrations, a Cherokee language forum, and the American Indian film series. A Native Language Revitalization seminar is set for April 19-20. The Symposium will conclude with the Annual NSU Powwow on April 20-21. For a complete list of events call the Center for Tribal Studies at 918-444-4350.

A legal historian of Osage and Cherokee heritage, Strickland is considered a pioneer in introducing Indian law into university curricula. He has written and edited more than 35 books and is frequently cited by courts and scholars for his work as revision editor in chief of the Handbook of Federal Indian Law. Strickland has been involved in the resolution of a number of significant Indian cases. He was the founding director of the Center for the Study of American Indian Law and Policy at the University of Oklahoma and is currently a visiting professor there. He is the first person to have served both as president of the Association of American Law Schools and as chair of the Law School Admissions Council. He is also the only person to have received both the Society of American Law Teachers (SALT) Award and the American Bar Association's Spirit of Excellence Award. Strickland was the dean of the University of Oklahoma Law School from 1997 to 2002 and recently retired as dean emeritus and law professor at the University of Oregon School of Law.

Stricklands keynote address, The Hanging of Angie Debo, will be delivered at a luncheon on Thursday, April 19 at 11:30 a.m. as part of the symposium. Advance tickets have been sold out, but a video broadcast of the address will be shown in the Herb Rozell Ballroom B.

Strickland will be joined by other featured speakers, including award-winning Cherokee actor Wes Studi; native language expert Akira Yamamoto; cultural activist, youth advocate, DJ and performer Brian Frejo; attorney Marcella Giles; award-winning novelist and poet Robert Conley; native native art curator Russ Tall Chief; photographer Tom Fields; and American Indian historian Dr. Rose Stremlau.

The 35th Annual Symposium on the American Indian is co-sponsored by the Oklahoma Humanities Council, Oklahoma Arts Council, Cherokee Nation Casino, and Muscogee Creek Nation Casino.