Keith Harper
Keith Harper is a partner in the litigation department and heads the Native American Affairs practice group. Throughout his career, Mr. Harper has represented tribes and individual Indians before federal courts, the United States Congress, administrative agencies, and international fora in matters involving enforcement of the trust responsibility, expansion, and protection of tribal sovereignty; enforcement of tribal treaty rights; protection of land and natural resources; ensuring religious freedom for Native practitioners; and development of international instruments guaranteeing the rights of indigenous people. Among other matters, Mr. Harper has, since inception of the case, represented the plaintiff class of 500,000 individual Indians and continues to serve as class counsel in the landmark Indian trust funds lawsuit, Cobell v. Kempthorne.
Prior to joining the Firm, Mr. Harper worked for 11 years as a senior staff attorney with the Native American Rights Fund (NARF) and head of the Washington, D.C. Office. Mr. Harper also clerked for the Honorable Lawrence W. Pierce, U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit. A recognized expert on federal Indian law and policy, during his tenure at NARF, he also taught "Federal Indian Law" as adjunct professor at Catholic University Columbus School of Law and at American University Washington College of Law. In 2001, Mr. Harper was appointed Appellate Justice on the highest court of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, where he served until October 22, 2007.
Mr. Harper is a member of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma. While attending New York University School of Law, he served as articles and note editor for the Journal of International Law & Politics. He is the recipient of numerous awards.
Mr. Harper is past president of the Native American Bar Association of Washington, D.C. and presently serves as a board member for the World Organization for Human Rights and Americans for Democratic Action. In 2001, he was selected as a Leadership Conference on Civil Rights delegate to the World Conference Against Racism in Durban, South Africa.
He has presented papers, delivered remarks, and made presentations concerning Indian Law, Tribal Law, and related subjects at numerous symposia and conferences.