Keith Richotte Jr. to lecture on rethinking tribal constitutionalism Keith Richotte Jr. will deliver a lecture titled “Rethinking Tribal Constitutionalism: The Turtle Mountain Experience” at the School of Law Friday, April 18, at 2:30 p.m. in the Baker Courtroom. Richotte is the Northern Plains Indian Law Center Fellow at the School of Law. His lecture is free and open to the public. Richotte’s lecture will question the conventional wisdom concerning tribal constitutions. Whereas most people, including a preponderance of scholars, believe that a model constitution, developed by the federal government under the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, was foisted upon tribal nations, a deeper examination reveals a different story. By examining the constitutional history of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians from a more tribally centered perspective, several important points emerge: Turtle Mountain engaged in the long history of tribal constitutionalism prior to the IRA, the tribal citizenry were active participants in determining the fate of their government, and tribal constitutionalism provides a basis for thinking about constitutionalism both inside and outside of Native America Richotte is an enrolled member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians. He received his J.D. from the University of Minnesota in 2004 and his LL.M. from the University of Arizona in 2007. Richotte will finish his Ph.D. in the summer of 2008 in the American Studies program from the University of Minnesota. His dissertation is titled "'We the Indians of the Turtle Mountain Reservation': Rethinking Constitutionalism in Native America." Richotte will join the faculty at the UND School of Law as an assistant professor in the fall of 2008. -- Rob Carolin, Director of Alumni and Public Relations, Law School, carolin@law.und.edu, 777-2856