Brian Candelaria

For over ten (10) years, Brian Candelaria has studied Federal Indian Law and Tribal Law by obtaining a Master’s Degree, graduating from the Oklahoma City University School of Law in 2019, with a Certificate of American Indian Law, and through continued legal education as a licensed attorney. During law school Mr. Candelaria was elected to serve as the president of the school’s Native American Law Student Association (NALSA) and was elected to represent Region 3 of the National Native American Law Student Association (NNALSA), serving on its National Board of Directors. Mr. Candelaria has written two (2) articles that were published in the Seattle University School of Law’s American Indian Law Journal. Each article explores jurisdictional issues related to tribes and disaster preparation, response, and recovery.

Mr. Candelaria has worked as a staff attorney at Oklahoma Indian Legal Services (OILS) for the past five (5) years. He is currently a member of the Oklahoma Bar Association and several Tribal Bar Associations. He helps tribal citizens prepare and recover from disaster as OIL’s Disaster Navigator, thanks to funding from the Center for Disaster Philanthropy (CDP). Mr. Candelaria has also represented OILS through service in leadership positions for Oklahoma Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (OK-VOAD) and the Oklahoma State Bar Association. In short, Mr. Candelaria has embraced the organizational mission of OILS to serve the legal needs of low-income enrolled tribe members residing in Oklahoma and looks forward to serving the Native American tribal communities for years to come.