Alumnus/Alumna of the Month

Keith Harper '94

Read an Interview with Keith Harper.

Keith Harper '94 is a partner in the Litigation department and heads the Native American Affairs practice group at Kilpatrick Stockton LLP. 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 represented the plaintiff class of 500,000 individual Indians since the inception of the case and continues to serve as class counsel in the landmark Indian trust funds lawsuit, Cobell v. Kempthorne.

Prior to joining Kilpatrick, Mr. Harper worked for 11 years as staff attorney with the Native American Rights Fund (NARF). Prior to joining NARF, Mr. Harper 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 Judge on the highest court of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, where he continues to serve today.

Mr. Harper is a member of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma.