Robert Anderson, professor of law and director of the Native American Law Center at the University of Washington, will present "A Problem-Prone Promise: Recurring Issues in Fulfilling the Federal Trust Responsibility to Indian Nations" at the University of Oregon School of Law.
The renowned Indian Law professor, scholar, litigator and author will present the seventh annual Rennard Strickland Lecture at 5 p.m. Nov.21 in room 110 of the Knight Law Center.
Throughout the United States' colonization of indigenous peoples in North America, the federal government made many promises in treaties and other agreements with Indian Nations. The federal government has sometimes fulfilled its federal trust obligations to protect tribal natural resources, assets and sovereignty, but more often these obligations have been breached.
During the past two years, Anderson has served as one of five members of a commission appointed by the Secretary of the Interior to review the federal government's administration of the federal trust responsibility and to provide recommendations for improvements in how it is carried out.