Kirke Kickingbird, a member of the Kiowa Tribe and Kiowa Gourd Clan, has practiced Indian law since 1969, and with the Firm since 2000. He has provided training and technical assistance to over 150 tribal governments within the United States and Canada, and has consulted with experts and governmental officials from Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South America, Africa, Norway and Russia on matters of indigenous people’s rights. From 1988-2000 he directed the Native American Legal Resource Center at Oklahoma City University School of Law, where he served on the faculty. He has served as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma and as Chairman of the Oklahoma Indian Affairs Commission (1992-95). In March 1995, he was appointed Special Counsel on Indian Affairs to the Governor of Oklahoma, Frank Keating, a post he filled until August 2000. In 1996, he was elected to the Board of Governors of the American Bar Association, an office he held for four years.
Mr. Kickingbird led the legal and court management review of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation Tribal Court System (1992-93). He was appointed by Oklahoma Chief Justice Opala to serve on the Oklahoma Supreme Court Committee to Recommend Standards for Granting Full Faith and Credit to the Judicial Proceedings of Indian Tribes, Nations and Bands (1992-94). He has written extensively on matters related to Indian law and tribal governance. His first book, One Hundred Million Acres (Macmillan, 1973) was nominated to the Pulitzer Committee. While executive director (1971-1983) of the Washington-based Institute for the Development of Indian Law, he and his staff wrote a popular set of books for tribal leaders which include: Indian Sovereignty, Indian Treaties, The Federal-Indian Trust Relationship, and Indian Jurisdiction. In 1987, his book, Indians and the U.S. Constitution: A Forgotten Legacy, was honored by the U.S. Bicentennial Commission. He has also written many articles for law journals and training manuals dealing with taxation, jurisdiction, gaming, environmental concerns, and economic development in Indian country. A graduate of the University of Oklahoma (B.A., 1966, J.D., 1969), Mr. Kickingbird is a member of the Oklahoma and District of Columbia bars and has been admitted to the Federal Tax Court. His memberships include the Native American Bar Association (President for 2000), Oklahoma Bar Association, and Oklahoma Indian Bar Association. He currently chairs the Native American Resources Committee of the American Bar Association Section of Environment, Energy and Resources.