Personal profile
Research Interests
Kekek Stark is a Professor of Law with the Alexander Blewett III School of Law at the University of Montana. In this capacity he is the Co-Director of the following programs: the Indian Law Program; the Margery Hunter Brown Indian Law Clinic; and the American Indian Governance and Policy Institute. He is a Turtle Mountain Ojibwe and member of the Bizhiw (Lynx) Clan. Kekek is a former president of the Minnesota American Indian Bar Association, a forum Bush Foundation Leadership Fellow and alumnus of Hamline University School of Law. Kekek worked as an assistant professor with the American Indian Studies Department at the University of Minnesota – Duluth as well as an adjunct faculty member at several institutions. In addition to his teaching experience, Kekek served as the Attorney General for the Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians, as a policy analyst in the Division of Intergovernmental Affairs for the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission, and as a policy analyst for the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Tribe of Chippewa Indians. As a practitioner of Indigenous law, Kekek has firsthand experience in training students in how to work productively with Indigenous principles and procedures. Along the way, he has helped build institutions grounded in Anishinaabe law and has helped students and communities forge better relations between Indigenous and non-Indigenous institutions and peoples, strengthening tribal sovereignty.
Education/Academic qualification
JD, Law, Hamline University
Bachelor, American Indian Studies, University of Minnesota Twin Cities
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
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SDG 16 Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
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Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
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Self-Determination in the Implementation of Treaty Reserved Rights
Stark, K., Jul 2025, In: Tribal Law Journal. 24, 1, p. 3-31Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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The Utmost Rights and Interests of the Indians: Tribal Law Interpretations of the Indian Civil Rights Act
Stark, K., 2025, In: Texas Journal of Civil Liberties & Civil Rights. 30, 2, p. 270-325Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Tribal Sovereign Immunity: Absolute Authority or Accountability
Stark, K., 2025, In: Montana Law Review. 86, 2, p. 173-225Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Beyond Current Boundaries: Disrupting Historical Legacies to Re-Indigenize the Crown of the Continent
Stark, J. & Mills, M., 2024, A Watershed Moment: The American West in the Age of Limits. Frodeman, R., Brister, E. & Propst, L. (eds.).Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
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Exercising the Right of Self-Rule: Tribal Constitutional Law and Customary Law
Stark, K., 2024, In: Mitchell Hamline Law review. 51, 1, p. 94-163 3.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review