Former United States Senator James Abourezk James Abourezk represented South Dakota’s 2nd Congressional District in the House of Representatives from 1971–1973 and was the first Arab-American elected to the United States Senate, serving there from 1973 until 1979. During his tenure in the U.S. Senate he served as the inaugural Chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs and as Chairman of the American Indian Policy Review Commission. His work on these Commissions led him to author the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), one of the principal pieces of legislation governing custody of Native American Children. In addition to his work on these issues, Senator Abourezk was also an advocate for and proponent of increased democracy in our nation.
North Dakota Tribal Court Judge B.J. Jones A graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law, Judge B.J. Jones currently serves as Director of the Northern Plains Tribal Judicial Training Institute at the University of North Dakota Law School and is one of the preeminent experts on American Indian Law. He is admitted to the state bars of Virginia, South Dakota and North Dakota; the federal bars of the US District Courts for North and South Dakota, the United States Court of Appeals for Eighth Circuit, and the United States Supreme Court; and the Rosebud Sioux, Standing Rock Sioux, Oglala Sioux, Flandreau-Santee Sioux, Yankton Sioux, and Spirit Lake Nation tribal bars.
Mr. Jones is also Chief Justice of the Turtle Mountain Tribal Court of Appeals, a Special Magistrate of the Non-Removable Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe Tribal Court, and an alternate judge of the Three Affiliated Tribes Tribal Court. He serves on the American Bar Association’s Committee on the Unmet Needs of Children and has devoted his law practice to serving indigent residents of South and North Dakota Indian reservations and adjoining counties.
Crazy Horse Memorial Director of Education Donovin Sprague Born and raised on Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation in Dupree, South Dakota, Donovin Sprague is Minnicoujou Lakota and a direct descendent of Chiefs Hump and Crazy Horse. He is a graduate of the Black Hills State University, where, in addition to his work as Director of Education for the Crazy Horse Memorial in South Dakota, he serves as a part-time Instructor of American Indian Studies. Donovin is an established authority—and author of five books—on American Indians and has been interviewed as an expert in the area by the History Channel, CNN, PBS, NPR, Vanity Fair, the Wall Street Journal, among others. In addition, Donovin has been recognized by the State of South Dakota and Rapid City governments for over 10 years of exceptional work in the area of Indian/White relations.
Donovin Sprague at the Crazy Horse Memorial, where he serves as Director of Education
Donovin Sprague at the Crazy Horse Memorial, where he serves as Director of Education
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Former United States Senator James Abourezk
James Abourezk represented South Dakota’s 2nd Congressional District in the House of Representatives from 1971–1973 and was the first Arab-American elected to the United States Senate, serving there from 1973 until 1979. During his tenure in the U.S. Senate he served as the inaugural Chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs and as Chairman of the American Indian Policy Review Commission. His work on these Commissions led him to author the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), one of the principal pieces of legislation governing custody of Native American Children. In addition to his work on these issues, Senator Abourezk was also an advocate for and proponent of increased democracy in our nation.
North Dakota Tribal Court Judge B.J. Jones
A graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law, Judge B.J. Jones currently serves as Director of the Northern Plains Tribal Judicial Training Institute at the University of North Dakota Law School and is one of the preeminent experts on American Indian Law. He is admitted to the state bars of Virginia, South Dakota and North Dakota; the federal bars of the US District Courts for North and South Dakota, the United States Court of Appeals for Eighth Circuit, and the United States Supreme Court; and the Rosebud Sioux, Standing Rock Sioux, Oglala Sioux, Flandreau-Santee Sioux, Yankton Sioux, and Spirit Lake Nation tribal bars.
Mr. Jones is also Chief Justice of the Turtle Mountain Tribal Court of Appeals, a Special Magistrate of the Non-Removable Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe Tribal Court, and an alternate judge of the Three Affiliated Tribes Tribal Court. He serves on the American Bar Association’s Committee on the Unmet Needs of Children and has devoted his law practice to serving indigent residents of South and North Dakota Indian reservations and adjoining counties.
Crazy Horse Memorial Director of Education Donovin Sprague
Born and raised on Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation in Dupree, South Dakota, Donovin Sprague is Minnicoujou Lakota and a direct descendent of Chiefs Hump and Crazy Horse. He is a graduate of the Black Hills State University, where, in addition to his work as Director of Education for the Crazy Horse Memorial in South Dakota, he serves as a part-time Instructor of American Indian Studies. Donovin is an established authority—and author of five books—on American Indians and has been interviewed as an expert in the area by the History Channel, CNN, PBS, NPR, Vanity Fair, the Wall Street Journal, among others. In addition, Donovin has been recognized by the State of South Dakota and Rapid City governments for over 10 years of exceptional work in the area of Indian/White relations.