Date: Tuesday, August 25th from 12-1 pm (MDT)
Hosted by: Getches-Wilkinson Center for Natural Resources, Energy, and the Environment at Colorado Law

Steeped in on the ground experience, our three speakers dive into the role that traditional knowledge and collaborative management can and should play in decision-making on public lands. This includes lessons learned from Bears Ears National Monument, specific recommendations about integrating collaborative management between tribes and federal agencies on public lands, and the ways traditional knowledge can enrich our understanding of the natural world.

Panelists:

Daniel Cordalis, a member of the Navajo Nation, is a practicing natural resources and Indian law attorney who works closely with Tribes to protect their water, natural, and cultural resources through litigation, resource negotiations, land acquisition, and tribal governance and land management initiatives. Previously, Daniel was an attorney with Earthjustice in Denver, clerked for the Colorado Supreme Court and the Native American Rights Fund, and worked at the National Congress of American Indians in Washington D.C.  He serves on the Getches-Wilkinson Center’s Advisor Council and is a Western Environmental Law Center board member. He received his B.S. in geology from Rice University, a Master’s in geography from the University of Colorado with an emphasis on alpine hydrology, and his J.D. from the University of Colorado.

Jim Enote, a Zuni tribal member, is the CEO of the Colorado Plateau Foundation. He serves on the boards of the Trust for Mutual Understanding and the Grand Canyon Trust. He is a National Geographic Society Explorer, a New Mexico Community Luminaria, and an E.F. Schumacher Society Fellow. He served as the director of the A:shiwi A:wan Museum and his 40 years of service also includes natural resource, cultural resource, philanthropic, and arts assignments for many organizations such as UNESCO, UNDP, International Secretariat for Water, the Mountain Institute, National Geographic Society, US Bureau of Indian Affairs, US National Park Service, and the Zuni Tribe. A prolific author, Jim has received numerous awards including the first Ames Prize for Innovative Museum Anthropology from the American Anthropological Association and the Guardian of Culture and Lifeways Award from the Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries, and Museums. Jim has a B.S. in Agriculture and has been a high-altitude traditional farmer since childhood.

Charles Wilkinson is the Moses Lasky Professor of Law Emeritus and Distinguished University Professor Emeritus at Colorado Law . After graduating from Stanford Law School and practicing in Phoenix and San Francisco, Charles joined the Native American Rights Fund in 1971. Since 1975, he has taught at the Oregon and Colorado law schools, receiving numerous teaching and research awards. His 14 books include casebooks on Indian Law and Federal Public Land Law, and, Blood Struggle: The Rise of Modern Indian Nations. Charles has taken on many assignments for the Departments of Interior, Agriculture, and Justice, including serving as Special Counsel to Interior for the drafting of the Presidential Proclamation establishing the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, and most recently, Special Advisor to the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition in regard to the creation of the Bears Ears National Monument.

Facilitator:

Alice Madden is the Executive Director of the GWC at Colorado Law. Following a career dedicated to implementing forward-leaning policies in myriad areas, including equal rights, quality education, the environment and sustainability, Alice joined the Center in 2016. A proud Colorado Law alum, Alice practiced law for a decade before running for the Colorado House of Representatives in 2000. She is considered the architect of the 2004 progressive resurgence and as Majority Leader, Alice led the passage of an historic agenda – particularly around clean energy. She went on to become Gov. Bill Ritter’s Climate Change Advisor and was a Climate Fellow at the Center for American Progress in DC. She then held the Timothy E. Wirth Chair in Sustainable Development at the University of Colorado’s School of Public Affairs. In 2013, she accepted a high-level appointment in the Obama administration at the U.S. Department of Energy. Alice has always believed in giving back to her community and has served on multiple boards and professional associations.  In everything she has done, she has incorporated efforts to ensure equitable and inclusive support of women and other under-represented populations.