Who’s the Key to the Transition for Indian Country?

Keith Harper, a member of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, is a Lead on Barack Obama’s Interior Department Review Team. This means he is in the process of shaping what the incoming administration’s Interior Department will look like in terms of personnel as well as ideological and political posture.

Harper is a partner and chairs the Native American Practice Group at a major D.C. law firm. He has been lead attorney on the never-ending Cobell trust land litigation, and was head of the D.C. office of the Native American Rights Fund (NARF). Before becoming a Review Team Lead, Harper advised Obama on Indian affairs throughout the campaign.

Those watching the transition expect an Interior Department whose posture toward federal Indian programs and federal Indian policy will change dramatically from that seen throughout Bush years. One might assume that American Indians will be more visible within the Department and in the Office of Indian Gaming Management, while the Department’s stance on key issues related to tribal gaming will change, as well. For instance, it is likely that the 2005 letter that changed the BIA’s policy on approving compacts for prospective gaming sites on land not yet held in trust will be up for review.

Expect more efforts to engage in government-to-government consultation with tribes, as well.

For now, there is little doubt that the man to watch is Harper.

More here and here.