Federal Gatekeeping and Hollow Sovereignty: A Historical Statutory Analysis of Tribal Access to Legal Representation.

About Tana Fitzpatrick

Tana Fitzpatrick (Lakota/Crow/Ponca/Chickasaw) joined the University of Oklahoma in March 2022 as the Associate Vice President of Tribal Relations. Prior to joining the university, Tana served the U.S. Congress as a policy analyst in the Library of Congress’s Congressional Research Service. While at CRS, Tana advised members of Congress and their staff as the expert on matters involving tribal lands and natural resources.

Tana’s career also includes four years in the federal executive branch, beginning with the U.S. Department of the Interior as a Senior Counselor to the Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs, with later roles in the White House Office of Management and Budget and the National Indian Gaming Commission. In addition to federal service, Tana worked as an attorney for two tribal communities in Arizona. She served the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community as a tribal prosecutor and worked as in-house counsel for the Gila River Indian Community.

Tana earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Spanish from Oklahoma City University and a Juris Doctorate from Arizona State University’s Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law. Tana is a member of the Crow Tribe of Montana and a descendent of the Lakota Sioux, Ponca, and Chickasaw nations.