Indigenous Peoples’ Rights, Federal Indian Law Focus of ASU Law’s Annual Lecture

PHOENIX – G. William Rice, Associate Professor of Law and Co-Director of the Native American Law Center at the University of Tulsa College of Law, will present the Eighth Annual William C. Canby Jr. Lecture on Thursday, Jan. 29, at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law.

Rice, who has represented Indian Tribes and entities for nearly two decades, will lead the discussion titled, “A Modicum of Justice: Incorporating the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) into Federal Indian Law.”

“First as a practitioner and then as a scholar, Professor Rice has long been a forceful advocate for indigenous rights and a dedicated voice for Indian country,” said Robert Clinton, Foundation Professor of Law at the College of Law.

Rice has served as the Attorney General for the Sac and Fox Nation, Chief Justice for the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, and Assistant Chief and Chief Judge for the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma. One of his many accomplishments includes successfully arguing on behalf of the Sac and Fox Nation in the Supreme Court of the United States in the case of Oklahoma Tax Commission v. Sac and Fox Nation. Rice also has done work at Cornell Law School, the University of Oklahoma, the Antioch School of Law’s Indian Paralegal Program and the University of North Dakota School of Law, where he was the founding Director of the Northern Plains Tribal Judicial Training Institute.

“He is one of the most thoughtful scholars exploring the Indian Reorganization Act and has authored one of the major casebooks on Indian gaming law,” Clinton said. “Bill has long supervised a summer course in Geneva, Switzerland, during which students have participated with NGOs in the drafting and implementation of UNDRIP, to which the United States has finally agreed. There could be no better person to address the question of the implementation UNDRIP in this country than Bill. The Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law therefore is honored and privileged to host him as a William C. Canby Lecturer.”

Professor Rice recently co-chaired the Indian Legal Program’s conference, “Can International Law Support Changes to Federal Indian Policy,” to discuss how the Declaration can be used to develop a more just federal Indian policy. 

“We are honored that Professor Rice is returning to ASU as this year’s distinguished Canby lecturer and to share his knowledge on how Tribes can use international law to change the domestic framework in Indian Country,” said Patty Ferguson-Bohnee, Faculty Director of the College’s Indian Legal Program.

Rice earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Phillips University, attended the Health Physics M.S. Program in Radiological Safety and Control at Lowell Technological Institute and attained his law degree at the University of Oklahoma College of Law while serving on the American Indian Law Review.

Presented by the Indian Legal Program at the College of Law at Arizona State University, the lecture begins at 4:30 p.m. in the Great Hall of Armstrong Hall on the Tempe campus, followed by a reception. It is free and open to the public.

The annual Canby Lecture honors Judge William C. Canby Jr. of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Judge Canby was a founding faculty member of the College of Law, where he taught the first classes in Indian law and was a driving force behind the creation of the Indian Legal Program.

A live webcast of the event will be available and archived at http:/law.asu.edu/Canby2015.

More information and tickets available at: http://conferences.asucollegeoflaw.com/canby2015/