Proposed DOI Regulations on Tribal-State Gaming Compacts

Kathryn Rand (J.D. University of Michigan, B.A. University of North Dakota) has served as Dean of the UND School of Law from 2009 to 2018, the first woman to hold the position. Rand is widely recognized as among the nation’s leading experts on Indian gaming, federal Indian law, and tribal-state-federal intergovernmental relations. She has published more than 50 articles and co-authored three books on tribal gaming, including Indian Gaming Law: Cases and Materials (2008, 2d ed. 2019), Indian Gaming Law and Policy (2006, 2d ed. 2014), and Indian Gaming and Tribal Sovereignty: The Casino Compromise (2005). She has twice testified on Indian gaming regulation and oversight before the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs in Washington, D.C., as well as before the Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation. Her first book was featured on C-SPAN’s Book TV. She is a frequent commentator in the national media, including the New York Times and the Boston Globe, and has delivered invited lectures at Boston College, the University of Manitoba, the University of Helsinki, the University of Macau, and numerous law schools. Rand also has presented and published on academic leadership and diversity and inclusion in legal education. She is an elected member of the American Law Institute and was awarded UND’s highest award for faculty excellence in teaching, research, and service.

With a career spanning nearly 30 years, John Tahsuda has extensive experience in matters affecting Native Americans and tribal governments. John is a principal with Navigators Global, LLC, a full-service issues management, government relations, and strategic communications firm located in Washington, D.C. John also is the Managing Member of Innovative Tribal Strategies LLC, an Indian-owned consultancy that provides strategic advice to Indian nations on business and government matters. John also currently serves as Chairman of the Board of Trustees for the Kiowa Casino Operations Authority. The Kiowa Casino Operations Authority is a wholly owned economic enterprise of the Kiowa Tribe of Oklahoma and is charged with building and operating gaming facilities and ancillary businesses for the Kiowa Tribe. Before rejoining Navigators Global, John served as Senior Counselor to the Secretary of the Interior after serving two years as the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary–Indian Affairs. In previous positions, John has also served as the staff director of the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, general counsel and legislative director of the National Indian Gaming Association, general counsel for the Oneida Indian Nation, and adjunct professor of law at Cornell Law School. John has worked on a wide range of issues relating to federal policy and legislation affecting federal recognition, gaming, self-governance, natural resources, Indian health care and Indian education. John is dedicated to applying this experience and knowledge to the advancement of tribal sovereignty and the betterment of tribal communities. John is a member of the Kiowa Tribe of Oklahoma. He received a Juris Doctorate from Cornell Law School and B.S. in Organizational Management from Oklahoma State University.

Steve Light (Ph.D. Northwestern, B.A. Yale) is a Professor of Political Science and Public Administration, former Interim Dean of Business and Public Administration, and Co-Director of the Institute for the Study of Tribal Gaming Law and Policy at the University of North Dakota (UND). The Institute is the first university research center dedicated to advancing knowledge and understanding of Indian gaming. Steve is widely recognized as among the nation’s leading experts on Indian gaming, federal Indian law, and tribal-state-federal intergovernmental relations. He has published more than 50 articles and co-authored three books on tribal gaming, including Indian Gaming Law: Cases and Materials (2008, 2d ed. 2019), Indian Gaming Law and Policy (2006, 2d ed. 2014), and Indian Gaming and Tribal Sovereignty: The Casino Compromise (2005), featured on C-SPAN’s Book TV. He has testified on Indian gaming regulation and oversight before the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, serves on the Editorial Board of the Gaming Law Review, and is a member of the International Masters of Gaming Law and the ABA Business Law Section’s Gaming Law Committee. He is a frequent commentator in the national media, including the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, NPR, and Indian Country Today, has delivered invited lectures at Boston College, Stanford, the University of Macau, and numerous industry events. Light’s research also includes organizational leadership and diversity and inclusion. He was awarded UND’s highest award for faculty excellence in teaching, research, and service.