Conly J. Schulte
Firm:	Fredericks & Peebles LLP
Address:	3610 North 163rd Plaza Omaha, NE 68116
Phone:	(402) 333-4053
Fax:	(402) 333-4761

Mr. Schulte has extensive experience serving as lead litigation counsel for American Indian tribes in judicial and administrative forums on a wide variety of issues, including Indian Gaming Regulatory Act litigation, federal fee-to-trust land transactions, tribal exemptions from federal and state employment laws, breach of federal trust obligations, federal Tort Claims Act litigation, federal recognition of tribal status, tribal taxing jurisdiction, NEPA litigation, Endangered Species Act litigation, contract disputes, and constitutional rights litigation.

Mr. Schulte has been lead counsel in major litigation over tribal Class II gaming, where he earned victories over the U.S. Department of Justice that enables tribes to utilize video Class II gaming devices as a means of economic development. Mr. Schulte also served as lead counsel in litigation against the City of Detroit over violations of tribal constitutional rights involving bids for casino development contracts. This litigation resulted in a settlement of over $94 million on behalf of his tribal client. Mr. Schulte has also been extensively involved in the negotiation of tribal-state gaming compacts, has served as a co-instructor for a law school course on federal Indian law and has spoken at seminars on various legal issues affecting Indian Country.

Michael Minnis
Firm:	Doerner, Saunders, Daniel & Anderson, L.L.P.
Address:	201 Robert S. Kerr Avenue, Suite 700 Oklahoma City, OK 73102-4203
Phone:	(405) 319-3503
Fax:	(405) 319-3509

Michael Minnis graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism in 1966 and subsequently received his Juris Doctor from the University of Oklahoma School of Law in 1969. For more than twenty-five years, his practice has concentrated in the areas of Media and First Amendment Law and Indian Law. Mr. Minnis is active in numerous community organizations and professional associations. He also served on active duty in the United States Marine Corps as Trial/Defense Counsel for the Office of the Staff Judge Advocate and retired as a Lieutenant Colonel from the United States Air Force Reserve. He was appointed as Judge of the Court of Appeals Temporary Division No. 174 in 1982, and served as Chief Judge of the Town of Valleybrook 1982-1983.

Mr. Minnis specializes in the areas of Media and First Amendment Law and Indian Law.

Wayne H. Bladh
Firm:	Nordhaus Law Firm, LLP
Address:	1239 Paseo de Peralta Santa Fe, NM 87501
Phone:	(505) 982-3622
Fax:	(505) 982-1827

From 1974 to 1982, Mr. Bladh was employed at DNA-People's Legal Services, Inc. in Window Rock, Arizona, on the Navajo Reservation, in capacities of staff attorney, agency office managing attorney, and Law Reform Unit attorney. Mr. Bladh specialized in consumer-related commercial law, and federal Indian law issues of State regulatory and tax jurisdiction within the Navajo Reservation. Cases litigated include: Battese v. Apache County, 129 Ariz. 295, 630 P.2d 1027 (1981), barring State and County taxation of Indian-owned fee land within the reservation; and Begay v. Albers, 721 F.2d 1274 (10th Cir. 1983), successfully invalidating a forged deed for allotted Indian lands approximately 34 years after the forgery. His practice also included administrative proceedings before the Social Security Administration, Interior Board of Indian Appeals, Interior Board of Land Appeals, and various State agencies in Arizona and New Mexico, in addition to federal and state courts.

From 1982 to 1985, Mr. Bladh was an Assistant Attorney General for the State of New Mexico in Santa Fe, New Mexico, working in the Consumer Protection Division. Mr. Bladh specialized in enforcement of the Unfair Trade Practices Act, and participated in complex federal anti-trust litigation. Cases litigated include State ex rel. Stratton v. Gurley Motors Co., 105 N.M. 803, 737 P.2d 1180 (Ct. App. 1987), cert. denied, 105 N.M. 781, 737 P.2d 893 (1987), holding that the unfair trade practices act applies to the sale of motor vehicle insurance.

From 1985 to 1987, Mr. Bladh was a Special Assistant Attorney General in the New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department, Santa Fe, New Mexico. Mr. Bladh specialized in enforcement and administration of the state corporate income tax and the state gross receipts tax. His practice included administrative hearings within the Department on protests of tax assessments and on proposed regulations, appellate proceedings in the New Mexico Court of Appeals, the development of departmental manuals and procedures for processing corporate income tax collection, and training department personnel.

Mr. Bladh has been with the Nordhaus firm since 1987 and became partner in 1988. Mr. Bladh established the firm's Santa Fe office and handles much of the firm's lobbying and government liaison functions at the state level. His practice has focused on jurisdictional and tax policy issues governing state and Tribal taxation of activity on Indian lands.  This work has included establishing and litigating the validity of Tribal tax programs, litigation in State and Federal courts to bar State taxation on Indian land, lobbying the New Mexico Legislature for the enactment of tax credits to avoid double taxation on Indian land, and structuring investments by Tribal entities to maximize available tax benefits.  His practice has also included negotiating oil and gas leases and joint ventures, development of leasehold documents for subdivision lot sales on Indian reservation lands, litigating the authority of the Secretary of the Interior to add lands to an Indian reservation, barring State regulation of hunting and fishing on Indian reservations, and other matters.

Cases litigated include: Jicarilla Apache Tribe v. New Mexico, 742 F. Supp. 1487 (D.N.M. 1990), upholding the regulatory authority of Tribe's fish and game program against a challenge by the State of New Mexico and confirming the authority of tribes in New Mexico to add lands to their reservations under the Indian Reorganization Act: New Mexico Tax'n & Rev. Dep't v. Laguna Industries, Inc., 855 P.2d 127 (N.M. 1993), barring state taxation of services performed by non-Indians for Indian entities within Indian country.

John M. Peebles
Firm:	Fredericks & Peebles LLP
Address:	1001 Second Street Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone:	(916) 441-2700
Fax:	(916) 441-2067

Mr. Peebles has extensive experience representing Indian tribes in areas of gaming, land claims, federal legislation, tribal government, tribal courts and tribal enrollment. His competency extends into federal/state/tribal jurisdiction land claims, hunting and fishing rights, 638 Grant and Contracting, water law and riparian title issues. He has acted as Council and Litigator on land claims, water rights, gaming issues as well as Department of Labor, Indian Child Welfare Act, law enforcement and health care issues. Clients benefit from his skills in federal/ state/tribal taxation laws in such areas as income tax, employment tax, excise tax, personal property tax, wagering tax, tobacco tax, and motor fuel tax.

Mr. Peebles has negotiated tribal/state compacts for Class III gaming with numerous states. He drafted Class II and Class III gaming ordinances and regulations implementing gaming activities. Mr. Peebles has prepared the necessary documents to implement the management, financing, construction and operation of Class II and Class III gaming activities in the states of Michigan, New York, Iowa, South Dakota, Nebraska, Oregon, Montana, Arizona, and California. Mr. Peebles is an authority on the subject of Indian gaming and he is a featured speaker at national seminars.

Other areas of proficiency include the utilization of technological aids including computer, Internet, telephone, cable, TV, broadcast TV, cablecast and satellite transmission of gaming information conducted pursuant to the IGRA.

Mr. Peebles has represented numerous housing authorities in the development of low rent and Mutual Help housing projects and the general day-to-day administration of housing authorities. Mr. Peebles is experienced in federal, state and tribal educational programs and has represented numerous Indian schools.