2025 Tribal Summit
2025 Tribal Summit - Hosted by ECU NASNTI REACHE Program
Event Details:
- Dates: November 19–20, 2025
- Location: Chickasaw Business & Conference Center, Ada, OK
- Theme: Rooted & Rising — Cultivating Connection, Culture, and College Success
Be part of something transformative. The 2025 Tribal Education Summit invites bold, creative proposals that move Native education forward. Focus areas include:
- Student retention & graduation - Share proven strategies and innovative programs that keep students enrolled, supported, and crossing the commencement stage.
- Culturally responsive teaching & advising - Showcase practices that honor Indigenous knowledge, boost engagement, and transform classroom and advising experiences.
- Tribal & institutional partnerships - Present models for meaningful collaboration that create pathways, funding, and sustained opportunities for tribal communities.
- Mental health & belonging - Highlight approaches that nurture wellness, belonging, and resilience for students, staff, and families.
- Indigenous research & storytelling - Amplify community-driven research and storytelling that reclaims narratives, centers Indigenous methodologies, and inspires change.
Additional information
- Complimentary hotel accommodations for travelers >100 miles
- See attached call for presentations and registration flyers for full details
Keynote Speakers
Governor Bill Anoatubby
Chickasaw Nation
Bill Anoatubby began work for the Chickasaw Nation in 1975 as its health services director. A year later, he was asked to direct its finance department. In October 1978, he was promoted to the position of special assistant to the governor and controller. In 1979, he was elected as the tribe’s first Lt. Governor. Governor Anoatubby was elected to his first term as Governor in 1987. He has since been re-elected to serve each term and began his tenth term in office in 2023. In his first term, Governor Anoatubby established goals of economic development and self-sufficiency for the Chickasaw Nation and its people. Today, the Chickasaw Nation is well on the way to achieving those goals. In 1987, the tribe had about 250 employees. Today, the Chickasaw Nation employs nearly 14,000 people. The financial condition of the tribe has been improved tremendously. Funding for tribal operations has grown exponentially. Tribal assets have grown two-hundredfold. Governor Anoatubby is committed to meeting the needs of Chickasaw people through programs and services. He is a graduate of East Central University with a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting. Governor Anoatubby and his wife, Janice, have two sons, Brian and Chris, and five grandchildren, Brendan, Eryn, Chloe, Sydney, and Preslea.
Lewis Johnson
Seminole Nation
Lewis Johnson (Bird Clan, Tallahassee Band) is the son of the late Charles “Jiggs” Johnson and Sue Ann Kilcrease Johnson, and comes from a family with a strong tradition of service to the Seminole Nation and Indian Country. He served eight years as Band Chief of the Tallahassee Band and General Council Representative, and later spent eight years as Assistant Chief and four years as Principal Chief of the Seminole Nation. He also served as President of the Intertribal Council of the Five Civilized Tribes. Over the course of his leadership, he was appointed to numerous boards and committees, including the Administration Appeals Board, Seminole Nation Housing Authority, Development Authority, and several cultural, legal, and negotiation committees. He was also selected to represent the Seminole Nation before the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., and served as Tribal Liaison to the Congressional Code Talkers Medal collaborating with the United States Mint. Professionally, Johnson worked nearly 20 years at the Seminole Nation Museum as education director and assistant curator and later established the Records Management Office as Records Management Specialist. An ordained minister, he now serves as a Cultural Community Curator, documenting his memoirs and reflecting on more than 30 years of change and challenge within the Seminole Nation and Indian Country.
Dr. Brandon Postoak
Emergency Medicine
Chickasaw Nation
Dr. Brandon Postoak is an Emergency Medicine Resident Physician at Integris Southwest
Medical Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. He earned his Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine
from Oklahoma State University College of Osteopathic Medicine in 2022, following
a Master of Science in Biomedical Sciences from OSU Center for Health Sciences and
a Bachelor of Science from East Central University.
Throughout his training, Dr. Postoak has remained a passionate advocate for diversity
within medicine and STEM. He previously served as National President of the Association
of Native American Medical Students and held the role of Diversity Chair within the
OSU Student Government Association. He was also involved in the Oklahoma Louis Stokes
Alliance for Minority Participation Program, where he supported efforts to recruit
and empower underrepresented students pursuing scientific and healthcare careers.
An enrolled member of the Chickasaw Nation, Dr. Postoak is committed to mentoring
and uplifting future generations—particularly Indigenous and rural youth—by promoting
equitable access to education and representation in healthcare.
Dr. Amanda Tachine
University of Oregon
Assistant Professor
College of Education
Navajo Nation
Dr. Amanda R. Tachine is Navajo from Ganado, Arizona. She is Náneesht’ézhí Táchii’nii (Zuni Red Running into Water) born for Tł’ízí łání (Many Goats). She is an Assistant Professor in Educational Studies at University of Oregon. Amanda’s research explores the relationship between systemic and structural histories of settler colonialism and the ongoing erasure of Indigenous presence and belonging in college settings using qualitative Indigenous methodologies. She is the author of the award winning book Native Presence and Sovereignty in College and co-editor of Weaving an Otherwise: In-relations Methodological Practice. She has published in the Journal of Higher Education, Qualitative Inquiry, International Review of Qualitative Research, International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, and other scholarly outlets. Her work has also been published in Marvel and Grist! She also has published thought pieces in the Huffington Post, Al Jazeera, The Hill, Teen Vogue, Indian Country Today, Inside Higher Ed, and Navajo Times where she advances ideas regarding discriminatory actions, educational policies, and inspirational movements.
Jerod Tate
Classical Composer and Pianist
Chickasaw Nation
Jerod Impichchaachaaha' Tate (Chickasaw) is a dedicated American Indian classical composer and pianist who expresses his native culture in symphonic music, ballet and opera. All of his compositions have been commissioned by major North American orchestras, ensembles and organizations and his works are performed throughout the world.
