Justice Rooted in Sovereign Ground: A Panel Discussion

Name: Justice Rooted in Sovereign Ground: A Panel Discussion
Start: 2026-04-21T18:00:00-04:00
Location: 1327 Circle Park Drive, Knoxville, TN, United States, Tennessee 37996

Schedule

Tue, 21 Apr, 2026 at 06:00 pm

UTC-04:00

Location

1327 Circle Park Drive, Knoxville, TN, United States, Tennessee 37996 | Knoxville, TN

A panel discussion with RaeLynn Butler, Jonodev Chaudhuri, & Mary Kathryn Nagle
Join the McClung Museum, the Department of Theatre, and the Appalachian Justice Research Center for an illuminating and timely panel with RaeLynn Butler, Jonodev Chaudhuri, and Mary Kathryn Nagle. Together, they will explore Native Nation sovereignty, legal advocacy, cultural continuity, and the ongoing pursuit of human rights inviting audiences to engage with these vital and enduring issues.
Enjoy a light reception beginning at 5:00 p.m., followed by the discussion at 6:00 p.m.

This program accompanies the exhibition Homelands: Connecting to Mounds through Native Art, now on view at the McClung Museum. Support for Homelands is generously provided by the Henry Luce Foundation and the Terra Foundation for American Art. Educational programming for the museum has been provided by the Knox County Tourism Consortium.
About the Speakers
RaeLynn A. Butler is a citizen of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation and serves as the Secretary of Culture and Humanities at the Muscogee (Creek) Nation. She oversees the tribe’s efforts to promote, protect, and preserve Mvskoke and Euchee language, culture, history, arts, and cultural resources. She served as the manager of the Historic and Cultural Preservation Department for eight years and has extensive experience with repatriation and sacred lands protection. RaeLynn earned a Master of Science degree in Botany and Plant Pathology from Purdue University and a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Science from Haskell Indian Nations University.
Jonodev O. Chaudhuri serves as Ambassador of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, the fourth largest tribal nation in the United States, and among the first to enter into treaty relationships with the US. The creation of the Ambassador position in 2019 renewed a long tradition held by the Muscogee Nation, as well as tribal nations throughout the continent, of utilizing diplomats to engage with other sovereigns on a government-to-government basis. As Ambassador, Chaudhuri works with congress and federal agencies, as well as representatives of tribal nations, states, and other governments to advocate for and advance the interests of the Muscogee Nation. Chaudhuri is a lawyer by trade, with extensive experience representing tribal nations throughout the US. He has served as a judge for five different tribal nations, including serving as Chief Justice of the Muscogee Nation. Chaudhuri has also held policy positions within the federal government, including service as Chairman of the National Indian Gaming Commission from 2013-2019, having been nominated by President Obama in 2013 and unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate. During his tenure as NIGC Chairman, Chaudhuri oversaw the $32.4B Indian gaming industry, comprised of approximately 500 gaming facilities, operated by 244 tribal nations across 29 states. Because of the unique structure of the Ambassador position, and in accordance with tribal law, Mr. Chaudhuri represents select tribal clients on matters that strengthen tribal sovereignty and economic opportunity throughout Indian country. His limited private practice helps him stay abreast of legal developments impacting tribal nations. His tenure as Ambassador of Muscogee (Creek) Nation has encompassed the Supreme Court's historic ruling in McGirt v. Oklahoma, wherein the Supreme Court ruled that the Muscogee (Creek) Nation's Reservation remains in existence. Since the issuance of this opinion on July 9, 2020, Ambassador Chaudhuri has been tasked with meeting with world leaders, U.S. Attorney Generals, Members of Congress, and other leaders of various sovereigns, tribal nations, and state governments as the Muscogee (Creek) Nation has worked to implement one of the most seminal Supreme Court rulings since the Court's decision in Brown v. Board of Education.
Mary Kathryn Nagle is an enrolled citizen of the Cherokee Nation. She is an attorney whose work focuses on the restoration of tribal sovereignty and the inherent right of Indian Nations to protect their women and children from domestic violence and sexual assault. From 2015 to 2019, she served as the first Executive Director of the Yale Indigenous Performing Arts Program. Nagle is an alum of the 2013 Public Theater Emerging Writers Program. She has received commissions from Arena Stage, the Rose Theater (Omaha, Nebraska), Portland Center Stage, Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Yale Repertory Theatre, Round House Theater, Oregon Shakespeare Theater, and the Kansas City Repertory Theatre. She also works in film and television. Most recently she served as an Associate Producer on the film PREY and a writer on the Netflix series ABANDONS. She is most well known for her work on ending violence against Native women. Her play Sliver of a Full Moon has been performed in law schools from Stanford to Harvard, NYU and Yale. She has worked extensively on Violence Against Women Act re-authorization, and she has filed numerous briefs in the United States Supreme Court, as a part of the National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center’s VAWA Sovereignty Initiative, including most recently, Denezpi v. United States, United States v. Cooley, Oklahoma v. Murphy, Oklahoma v. McGirt, Oklahoma v. Castro-Huerta, Brackeen v. Haaland, and United States v. Rahimi. She represents numerous families of Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women and Girls, including Kaysera Stops Pretty Places’ family who have brought a public campaign demanding an investigation into her murder. More can be read here: www.justiceforkaysera.org. In 2025, she was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.