Leadership

Professor Jay Kanassatega

Prof. Jay Kanassatega

Professor Jay Kanassatega directs Gonzaga Law's School's Indian law program, including the Institute for the Economic Development of Indigenous People. Prof. Kanassatega has a rich background in the practice of Indian law.

Professor Kanassatega has extensive experience counseling clients in their commercial transactions with Indian tribes, agencies, and tribally controlled entities, as well as in representing and counseling Indian tribes, agencies, and tribally controlled community colleges.

Before attending law school, he served as the first Solicitor General of the Non-Removable Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe. He was instrumental in helping the Band design, draft legislation, and implement the first separation-of-powers Indian government in Minnesota, including the Band's first court system. He drafted legislation that comprised the Band's comprehensive body of civil law and successfully negotiated the motor vehicle reciprocity agreement between the Band and the state of Minnesota.

Prior to serving as Solicitor General, Prof. Kanassatega served the Band as its Commissioner of Judicial Affairs, administered its Office of Management and Budget and served as its Economic Development Planner.

To learn more about Prof. Kanassatega, click here.