Stephanie Hudson

Stephanie Hudson is a member of the Kiowa Tribe of Oklahoma.  She is a fourth generation descendent of Chief Lone Wolf, and a descendent of Maun-kee (Kiowa Bill). She is the Executive Director of Oklahoma Indian Legal Services and is the clinical professor of the American Indian Estates Clinic.

Chief Lone Wolf was a Kiowa warrior on the battlefields of the Indian Wars in the late 1800’s. In 1907, he fought the United States of America in court, in the landmark Indian law case, Lone Wolf v. Hitchcock. He argued the U.S. violated their treaties when enacting the Allotment Act of 1900. The Kiowa and Comanche Tribes lost a substantial portion of their reservation with passage of the Act, and the U.S. Supreme Court’s holding that the Allotment Act was legal under Congress’ Plenary Power.

“After growing up watching all the complicated legal issues my grandparents had to deal with as owners of allotted Indian land, it was important to learn how to help Indian landowners. Understanding this complicated land ownership structure has become my passion, and my experiences growing up helped guide my path through law school and beyond.

Before becoming Executive Director of OILS, Stephanie was a staff attorney for 15 years and provided legal assistance to tribal members in Oklahoma tribal courts as well as Oklahoma state district courts. Before OILS, she worked with the Oklahoma Supreme Court’s Alternative Dispute Resolution System.

Stephanie received her Juris Doctor from the School of Law at Oklahoma City University and an accounting degree from OCU. She has also taught the American Indian Wills Clinic at the Oklahoma City University School of Law. She has taught Tribal Law, Tribal Peacemaking, Client Representation in Mediation and Interviewing, Counseling and Negotiation.

In 2007, she was presented with the Tucker Award which is given to the Guardian Ad Litem of the Year by the Family Law Section of the Oklahoma Bar Association. She is a member of the Oklahoma Bar Association, the Oklahoma Indian Bar Association, and numerous Tribal Court Bar Associations. She has served as the Special Advisor to the Standing Committee on Legal Aid and Indigent Defendants for the American Bar Association.

She is a member of the Board of Directors of the United Urban Indian Council and has served on the Board of Directors of the Jacobson House. She has served as the Chairperson of the Oklahoma Advisory Committee to the United States Commission on Civil Rights.