Following the announcement a year ago that Oklahoma City University School of Law would create a Tribal Sovereignty Institute, the school has named Emily Eleftherakis as the inaugural executive director. Eleftherakis was selected through a national search and will begin her new role this month. Her commencement officially launches the Institute, which will provide teaching, scholarship and training around the vital legal issues of tribal sovereignty.
Eleftherakis is a 2014 graduate of OCU Law and a member of the Delaware Tribe of Indians and the Cherokee Nation. She has served as an adjunct clinical professor of law teaching in the American Indian Wills Clinic at OCU Law since 2017.
In addition to teaching, Eleftherakis has worked in private practice at Krahl Goerke Meyer and Behenna, providing clients with family and small business succession planning, real estate advice, and business development support. She has experience in general civil litigation, including real property and energy litigation, appellate practice, and trust and estate litigation, as well as estate planning, wealth management, and trust and estate administration.
“We are thrilled to launch this Institute and welcome Emily into this new role,” said OCU Law Dean David Holt. “We are already ranked the No. 4 law school in the country for Native American students, and we offer a broad spectrum of programming. This Institute and Emily’s work will elevate our institution and provide an important service to tribal communities and policymakers.”
The addition of a full-time professor at the law school who will teach, create accessible scholarship on the topic of sovereignty, especially for policymakers, and build up the Institute to help support tribal governments and sovereignty completes the plan for the first phase of the Institute. The primary goals moving forward will be to educate future lawyers, train current lawyers to practice in tribal legal systems, produce scholarship accessible to policymakers and the public, and advocate publicly for heightened awareness of tribal sovereignty.
OCU Law is already the home of the Sovereignty Symposium, which recently hosted a record 700 attendees at its annual gathering and featured former U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland. OCU Law has also hosted the American Indian Wills Clinic for the past 15 years.
“I am truly honored for the opportunity to step into this role,” said Eleftherakis. “My hope for the Institute is for OCU Law to deepen its connection and commitment to working in Indian Country. I look forward to working with tribal leaders and citizens across the state to engage in discussions on how the Institute can assist in the important work tribes are already doing to advocate and strengthen tribal sovereignty at home and across the country.”
Eleftherakis has been recognized by Super Lawyers magazine as a Rising Star each year since 2018. In the community, she is involved with Big Brothers & Big Sisters of Oklahoma City, YWCA of Oklahoma City, and Oklahoma Lawyers for Children.