American Indian Law Summer Program

About the Instructors

Robert J. Miller - Economic Development in Indian Country

Robert J. Miller is a Professor at Lewis & Clark Law School in Portland, Oregon where he teaches Indian law courses and Civil Procedure, a first year class. Bob has taught and practiced Indian law since 1993. He has also been a part-time tribal judge since 1995 for many Northwest tribes and is currently the Chief Justice of the Court of Appeals for the Grand Ronde Tribe. Bob has published numerous articles and book chapters and legal materials on Indian law issues and has spoken on Indian issues at dozens of federal, state, and private conferences in more than 20 states across the country. He has also been speaking about the Lewis & Clark expedition and the Indian Nations for the past three years and has published a book on the subject, Native America, Discovered and Conquered: Thomas Jefferson, Lewis & Clark, and Manifest Destiny. Bob became involved with this project in 2003 when he was appointed by his tribe to be its representative on the Circle of Tribal Advisors to the National Council of the Lewis & Clark Bicentennial. Professor Miller is a citizen of the Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma

Danna Jackson - Indian Gaming and Contemporary Issues in Indian Policy

Danna has served Indian country through a variety of important legal and policy positions. She served as an attorney to the National Indian Gaming Commission and a Legislative Assistant to Senator Tim Johnson (D-SD). Currently, she serves as Policy Counsel to the law firm of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, which is located in Washington, D.C. In this position, she advises tribal clients as part of the firm’s American Indian law and policy practice group on issues regarding Indian gaming, economic development issues on Indian lands, housing, education funding, taxation, and transportation. Ms. Jackson has also worked on litigation matters relating to tribal trust and adjudication of water rights; lobbied congressional members and staff regarding broad range of tribal concerns including tribal pensions, gaming, funding matters, and homeland security matters; drafted public comments on behalf of tribes for administrative record relating to Energy Right of Way and Class II gaming concerns; and worked with the National Indian Gaming Commission, Department of Interior, Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the Internal Revenue Service on tribal issues. Ms. Jackson received her Juris doctorate from the University of Montana School of Law.

Maylinn Smith - Tribal Courts/Tribal Jurisdiction

Professor Smith is Clinical Supervisor and Director of the Indian Law Clinic. Working under her guidance, law student interns in the Indian Law Clinic assist tribal governments and organizations dealing with Indian law issues. Activities include: drafting model codes; working on civil rights cases; practicing in tribal court; mediations; training on Indian law issues; and natural resource issues as well.

Professor Smith's previous service as Chief Judge of the Southern Ute Indian Tribal Court, as Appellate Judge of the Southwest Intertribal Court of Appeals, as well as her experience as legal counsel for the Salish & Kootenai Tribal Court, benefit not only the tribes served by the Indian Law Clinic, but also the law students enrolled in the clinical program.

Stacey Gordon – Indian law research

Professor Gordon teaches several courses: Legal Research, Advanced Legal Research, Animal Law, special topics in Legal Research. She is also the Reference Librarian in the Jameson Law Library, and the advisor for the Academic Support Program. Professor Gordon is a frequent CLE presenter on the topic of electronic legal research. Professor Gordon writes an annual article on developments in electronic legal research. She also reviews books for Montana Lawyer and Legal Information Alert, and has published a review of Coyote Warrior in the Public Lands and Resources Law Review as well as an essay on the use of the ALWD citation format for law reviews in the Montana Law Review. Her own book, Online Legal Research: A Guide to Legal Research Services and Other Internet Tools, was published in 2003 by Wm. S. Hein.

Professor Gordon is a graduate of Eastern Washington University, the University of Washington School of Library and Information Science, and The University of Montana School of Law, where she was a member of the Jessup International Moot Court team and served as business editor of the Public Lands and Resources Law Review. Before coming here, she was the Library Director at Salish Kootenai College.