Gov. Lewis featured as panelist for 2024 Wiring the Rez

Velia Moncada

Gila River Indian News

The Indian Legal Program and the Rosette, LLP American Indian Economic Development hosted the tenth annual tribal government e-commerce CLE conference, known as ‘Wiring the Rez,’ at the Gila River Resorts & Casinos - Wild Horse Pass, February 8-9.

Barnaby Lewis, District 1, opened the conference with a blessing to the visitors. Meanwhile, Gov. Stephen Roe Lewis welcomed attorneys, scholars, financiers, tax, technology, gaming experts, and innovative tribal leaders to discuss strategies and practical implementations in the ever-growing digital world in Indian country.

Gov. Lewis was also a featured panelist for Tribal Digital Sovereignty, with leading experts in broadband networking. The panelists included General Counsel & Chief of Staff for NCAI, Geoffrey Blackwell, Director of American Indian Policy Institute (AIPI), Dr. Traci L. Morris, Director of Technology Southern California Tribal Chairman’s Association, Matthew Rantanen, and moderator EJ John, senior research analyst for AIPI.

Tribal digital sovereignty is an overarching way to express the topics of data sovereignty, network sovereignty, digital equity, and networking, as the panelists describe.

“It was important to share some of these achievements that the Community working together has been able to accomplish,” said Gov. Lewis, to be the example for other communities as GRIC continues to make progressive technological efforts.

Morris, who is a member of the Chickasaw Nation, said that tribes need a plan to protect their data as they would their citizens in the current digital age.

Gov. Lewis was a panelist on behalf of tribal leadership and the ways tribal digital sovereignty has played a significant role in the industrialization and economy of the Community by providing real-life applications in protecting tribal data.

As the GRIC prepares its first solar panel canal, renovations of the I-10 and other modernizations are being made.

‘Wiring the Rez’ conference provides a platform for professionals to exchange knowledge, network, and stay abreast of future advancements. For more information on the conference, visit: https://events.asucollegeoflaw.com/ilp-wiringtherez/ or email ilp@asu.edu