Speaker Bio

Michael Anderson has practiced law for over twenty five years, and has served for the past ten years as outside legal counsel to more than a dozen American Indian tribal governments. He is the founder of Anderson Indian Law in Washington, DC and prior to that was the co-founder of AndersonTuell, LLP. Prior to his tenure in private law practice, Mr. Anderson served for eight years in the Clinton Administration at the United States Department of the Interior as Associate Solicitor for Indian Affairs and as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs. At the Department, he provided counseling and policy advice on matters including: recognition of Alaska Native governments as federally recognized tribes; litigation support in hunting and fishing rights cases including the favorable result by the United States Supreme Court in Minnesota v. Mille Lacs Band of Chippewa Indians; chaired the Self Governance Negotiated Rulemaking Committee and testified before Congress two dozen times. He has also served as General Counsel to the United States Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, Special Committee on Investigations. In 2009, Mr. Anderson was named by Global Gaming Business Magazine as one of the "Ten Most Influential People in Gaming." His practice areas include advocacy before federal agencies, legislative advocacy, counseling on all facets of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, trust land acquisition; tribal gaming commission counseling, and National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) counseling. Mr. Anderson received his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center and has served on the adjunct faculty at American University. He is a member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation.