Indian Law in Historical Perspective

This spring, Lewis & Clark Law School is hosting a two-day symposium titled From the Corps of Discovery to the Doctrine of Discovery, and Beyond: The Legacy of the Lewis and Clark Expedition in Indian Law. The law school is convening this program in conjunction with the College’s commemoration of the bicentennial of the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

The symposium begins on May 5 with a lecture by Clay Jenkinson, Lewis & Clark College’s humanities scholar in residence and an expert on President Thomas Jefferson and the Lewis and Clark expedition. Jenkinson will examine Lewis & Clark’s encounters with Native Americans during the journey.

The activities on May 6 will focus on the evolution of Indian law doctrine from the early days of the expanding United States to current times. Featured speakers from Lewis & Clark include Stephen Dow Beckham, Dr. Robert B. Pamplin Jr. Professor of History and a recognized expert on the region’s Native American tribes; Michael C. Blumm, professor of law and an expert on native natural resource issues and legal history; and Robert J. Miller, associate professor of law, an expert in Indian law, and a member of the Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma. Several professors from other law schools will also speak.