The Dynamic World of Federal Indian Law

Mark Vezzola is the Deputy General Counsel for the Pechanga Band of Indians, a sovereign tribal nation located in Temecula, California. His responsibilities include representing and advising various tribal entities, such as the tribe’s court, school board, social services agency, and Pechanga Resort Casino, as well as developing and updating ordinances, policies, and procedures, and advocating for the tribe’s interests in state and tribal court matters. Previously, Mark served as a directing attorney at California Indian Legal Services, chief judge for the Pala Band of Mission Indians, chief judge for the Chemehuevi Indian Tribe, adjunct professor of American Indian Studies at Palomar College, and adjunct professor of American history at San Diego Mesa College. He also served as a board member for the California Indian Law Association and on the San Diego County Bar Association’s Client Relations Committee. Mark graduated from UMass-Amherst with a B.A. in history, a minor in Anthropology, and certificates in Native American Studies and International Relations, and from UCLA with a J.D. and M.A. in American Indian Studies. During law school, Mark clerked for the Hopi Appellate Court, interned at the Office of Tribal Justice at the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, DC, participated in research for Carole Goldberg’s 2007 final report on Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice under Public Law 280, and assisted with editing the 2005 edition of Felix Cohen’s Handbook of Federal Indian Law.