Douglas Thompson joined the American Indian Studies Department in the fall of 2020. He teaches courses for the Master of Tribal Administration and Governance (MTAG) program, the Tribal Resource and Environmental Stewardship (MTRES) program, and the Tribal Administration and Governance (TAG) program. He is from the Redbone community of southwestern Louisiana.

Prior to joining the American Indian Studies team at UMD, he served in various roles as an environmental attorney, Tribal advocate, and freelance writer on Tribal sovereignty and Treaty Rights. Mr. Thompson also teaches the law of Sovereignty and Treaty Rights at the Leech Lake Tribal College and natural resources law at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities. Previously, he taught administrative and natural resources law at the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry.

He received his B.S. in Wildlife Conservation from Louisiana Tech University in 1989, M.A. in Natural Resource Economics from Auburn University in 1991, J.D. from Syracuse University in 1994, and L.L.M. in Indigenous Peoples Law and Policy from the University of Arizona in 2011. His research interests include Tribal natural resources management and restoration of Tribal lands.

Douglas is passionate about supporting usufructuary rights, and advocating for environmental and social justice.
 

Publications

A safer playground with the help of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, Indian Country Today. March 14, 2020.

The Right to Hunt and Fish Therein:  Understanding Chippewa Treaty Rights in Minnesota’s 1854 Ceded Territory. Technical Guidebook, 2017.

Partnership Develops Cultural Resources Center within the Leech Lake Reservation, Indian Country News, Brainerd Dispatch.  December 31, 2016.

Treaty Rights Battle Links Hunting and Oil Pipelines in Minnesota, Indian Country Today Media Network, July 22, 2016.

Minnesota Funds Elk Restoration Study for Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, Indian Country Today Media Network, June 3, 2016.

Leech Lake Ojibwe Members Fight for Treaty Rights After Arrest for Harvesting Deer, Indian Country Today Media Network, March 16, 2016.

Carbon Credits Help Tribes Preserve Culture, Climate and Bottom Line, Indian Country Today Media Network, February 16, 2016.

Homecoming:  Elk Step onto Ho-Chunk Lands for First Time in 100 Years, Indian Country Today Media Network, September 9, 2015.

Minnesota Governor Halts Study of Moose Deaths Because Moose Are Dying, Indian Country Today Media Network, July 31, 2015.

Elk Returning to Ho-Chunk Lands a Century After Being Driven Out, Indian Country Today Media Network, May 14, 2015.

Minnesota Tweaks Sulfate Limits for Wild Rice Waters, Indian Country Today Media Network, March 26, 2015.

Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Explores Elk Restoration, Indian Country Today Media Network, March 11, 2015.

Minnesota Tribes Collaborate to Save State’s Disappearing Moose Population, Indian Country Today Media Network, February 11, 2015.