Tribal Executive Leadership Forum Program

GATHERING

7:30 AM

OPENING

8:30 AM

OPENING

8:45 AM

SESSION

9:00 AM

Once again, Indian Country is at a crossroads. Do tribes remain silent, or do they organize, mobilize, and develop focused responses to the radical changes to federal policies and programs that affect tribes? This opening session will set the stage for an open dialogue about some of the challenges facing Indian tribes.

— PANELIST REMARKS & DISCUSSION—

“The Challenge of Developing a Plan for Indian Country’s Future that is grounded in Tribal Unity and Intertribal Collaboration”
—Hon. Mark A. Macarro, Chairman, Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians & President, National Council of American Indians

“Navigating the Federal Government as the Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs: The Lessons Learned”
— Kevin K. Washburn, Professor, UC Berkeley Law, University of California; Former, Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior

“Tribes as Sovereign Governments, the Federal Courts, and the Continuous Expansion and Shifting Directions of the Field of Federal Indian Law”
—John E. Echohawk, Executive Director, Native American Rights Fund

“A Perspective on the 119th Congress, the Trump Administration, and the Midterm Elections”
—Holly Cook Macarro, Principal, The Angle

“As AI Technologies present Risks, Responsibilities, and Opportunities, can Tribes shape Culturally-safeguarded, Human-centered Sovereignty respecting Technologies?”
—Maria Azhunova, Burya-Mongal, Consultant, Snow Leopard Conservancy & Director, Land of Snow Leopard (LOSL) Network; Board Member, Indigenous Futures Society;

—Mike Haydon, AI & Marketing Consultant, Infinity Enterprises Consulting LLC; Former Global Strategic Marketing Consultant, Logitech

—OPEN DIALOGUE—

Co-Facilitators:
Brian Wallace, CEO, Indigenous Futures Society;
Richard West, Jr., Founding Director, National Museum of the American Indian; Former Director & CEO, Autrey Museum of the West

BREAK

12:00 PM

SESSION

1:30 PM

An important question for tribes is, “What will be the future of the federal-tribal trust relationship?” Although Congress has broad power and authority over Indian affairs, most aspects of the trust relationship have been delegated to the executive branch. Unfortunately, history tells us that there have been efforts by various administrations, Congress, and the courts to not fulfill the federal trust obligations and responsibilities of the federal-tribal trust relationship.

—PANELIST REMARKS & DISCUSSION—

“A Perspective on the Federal-Tribal Trust Relationship:  A View from Inside and Outside of the U.S. Department of the Interior”
—Robert T. Anderson, Oneida Indian Nation Visiting Professor, Harvard Law School; Professor of Law Emeritus, University of Washington School of Law; Former Solicitor, U.S. Department of the Interior

“Analyzing the Impact of the Legislative Process and Judicial Rulings on the Federal-Tribal Trust Relationship”
—Eric D. Eberhard, Professor from Practice & Associate Director, Native American Law Center, University of Washington School of Law

“Could the Present be Prologue for the Future of the Federal-Tribal Trust Relationship?”
—Monte Mills, Charles I. Stone Professor of Law & Director, Native American Law Center, University of Washington School Law

“The Role of Trust Relationship in 21^st Century Nation Building and the Challenge of Preparing the Next Generation of Tribal Leaders”
—Hon. Sara A. Dutschke, Chairwoman, Ione Band of Miwok Indians; Partner, Kaplan Kirsh LLP

 —OPEN DIALOGUE—

Co-Facilitators: 
Brian Wallace, CEO, Indigenous Futures Society
Richard Trudell, Founder, American Indian Resources Institute

RECEPTION

5:30 PM

With Tribal Host the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation

Welcoming Remarks:

Honorable Mia Durham, Tribal Secretary, Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation

Guest Speakers:

Brad Munoa & Nico Magee
Creators & Executive Producers:
“People of the West”—A Ten-Part Docuseries produced by Pechanga Studios on the History of California Indians

Amy Bowers Cordalis
Author of The Water Remembers: My Indigenous Family’s Fight to Save a River and a Way of Life and Co-Founder & Executive Director, Ridges to Riffles Indigenous Conservation Group discusses her work to protect the Klamath.

Book signing to follow.

GATHERING

7:30 AM

OPENING

8:45 AM

Hon. Mia Durham, Tribal Secretary, Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation
Brian Wallace, CEO, Indigenous Futures Society

SESSION

9:00 AM

Will tribal homelands be there for future generations? Given the uncertainty of the current political environment, this question is more important today than ever. In this session, issues and challenges related to tribal homelands—the future of tribal reserved water rights, supply, and quality; protection of tribal natural resources; impacts of climate change, such as fires, drought, floods, and extreme weather patterns; environmental quality in tribal communities; the protection of sacred sites and monuments; the value of traditional ecological knowledge—will be discussed.

—PANELIST REMARKS & DISCUSSION—

“A Perspective on the Future of Tribal Lands, Sacred Places, and Conservation”
—Jim Enote, CEO, Colorado Plateau Foundation; Zuni Tribal Member and Traditional Farmer

“Climate Change and the Challenges Facing Indigenous Land Stewardship”
—Don L. Hankins, Ph.D. Professor of Geography & Planning, California State University, Chico

“Resourcing the Return-Sovereign Strategies for Land, Water, and Data”
—Stephanie Hicks, Director of Philanthropy, Yurok Foundation

“Legal Implications for Tribes from Mining Minerals—like Lithium and Copper—on Western Public Lands”
—Roger Flynn, Founding Director & Managing Attorney, Western Mining Action Project; Adjunct Professor, University of Colorado Law School

“Co-Stewardship & Co-Management: Tools to Use in Developing Agreements”
—Monte Mills, Charles I. Stone Professor of Law & Director, Native American Law Center, University of Washington School of Law

—OPEN DIALOGUE—

Co-Facilitators:
Brian Wallace;
Chuck Striplen, Program Officer, International Indigenous Conservation, Resources Legacy Fund

BREAK

12:00 PM

SESSION

1:30 PM

California manages water as a commodity. Tribal nations have always governed water as covenant. That gap is not a philosophical disagreement — it is an active, ongoing harm. A confrontation with power — with who controls water, who is excluded from that control, and what that exclusion costs a people

across generations. This session explores Indigenous water knowledge, sovereignty-grounded governance, and the conviction that the next generation of Tribal water

leaders deserves a foundational experience that matches the scale of what they are inheriting.

—PANELIST REMARKS & DISCUSSION—

“Strategic Thinking about Tribal Water Policymaking: Protecting and Asserting Indian Water Rights, Developing the Water Management Capability, and Planning for Sustainable Water Use and Supply”
—Lycia Ortega, Vice President, Thunderbird Strategies, LLC

“Planning a Sustainable Tribal Water Future: The Yocha Dehe Wintun Experience”
—Marc Fawns, P.G., Water Quality Manager, Sustainable Water Protection, Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation

“Land and Water in Payahuunadu”
—Noah Williams, Tribal Partnership Program Manager, Eastern Sierra Land Trust (ESLT); Former Water Program Coordinator, Eastern Sierra Land Trust

“Native American Rights Fund’s Tribal Water Institute: Its Mission and Activities”
—Daniel Cordalis & David Gover, Staff Attorneys, Native American Rights Fund

“Developing a Plan for Implementing and Enforcing Tribal Reserved Water Rights, Policies and Programs”
—Lycia Ortega, Vice President, Thunderbird Strategies, LLC

—OPEN DIALOGUE—

Co-Facilitators:
Brian Wallace, CEO, Indigenous Futures Society
Richard Trudell, Founder, American Indian Resources Institute

CLOSING

4:00 PM

End of forum