Gabe is an Indigenous rights attorney and the managing lawyer at Galanda Broadman.
His practice focuses on complex, multi-party litigation and crisis management, representing Indigenous nations, businesses and citizens. He has been named to Best Lawyers in America in the fields of Native American Law and Gaming Law from 2007 to 2024, and dubbed a Super Lawyer by his peers from 2013 to 2024.
Gabe is skilled at defending Indigenous nations and business against legal attack by governmental or private parties, as well advocating for the human rights of Indigenous Americans. He advocates against tribal disenrollment and citizenship rights violations, as well as other domestic Indigenous human rights abuse, including law enforcement violence. He also assists Indigenous clients with transactions and strategy related to various economic diversification initiatives.
The American Bar Association awarded Gabe the Spirit of Excellence Award in 2022 and named him a Difference Maker in 2012. The Washington State Bar Association honored him with the Excellence in Diversity Award for his "significant contribution to diversity in the legal profession" in 2014. For his staunch disenrollment advocacy, the University Arizona College of Law awarded him the Professional Achievement Award, and Western Washington University named him a Distinguished Alumnus, in 2018. The University Arizona College of Law also named Gabe its 2022-23 Alumnus of the Year.
Indian Country Today honored Gabe as one of “five people are rocking the world with their forward thinking, innovation and commitment to social justice” in 2013, and as one of "Fifty Faces of Indian Country" in 2017. In 2009, the National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development named him to the Native American 40 Under 40 list. He has also received the Native Justice Award from the Northwest Indian Bar Association.
Gabe writes prolifically about Indigenous legal rights issues, having been published over 100 times in national periodicals such as High Country News, National Law Journal, Business Law Today, Gaming Law Review & Economics, and Indian Gaming magazine. His law review article, “Curing the Tribal Disenrollment Epidemic: In Search of a Remedy,” was published by Arizona Law Review in 2015.
Since 2023, Gabe has published a series of scholarly essays about existential challenges facing Indigenous peoples:
In the Spirit of Vine Deloria, Jr.: Indigenous Kinship Renewal and Relational Sovereignty
Durability and Duress: Inter-Tribal Kinship and Indian Gaming Capitalism
He also often lectures about Indigenous human rights issues at universities and law schools, having talked at Harvard University and Yale, Cornell, UC Berkeley and Irvine, and Arizona law schools.
Gabe is a frequent media commentator as well, having been interviewed and quoted by mainstream and international news outlets such as The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, and Le Monde.
In his "spare" time, Gabe founded and now operates Huy, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to enhancing religious, cultural and other rehabilitative opportunities for incarcerated Indigenous people. Serving as Chairman of the Huy Board of Advisors, he has lead the organization’s amicus curiae efforts before the U.S. Supreme Court and federal and state appellate courts across the country.
Gabe belongs to the Round Valley Indian Tribes of California, descending from the Nomlaki and Concow Peoples.
Cases
Bender v. City of Forks (W.D. Wash. 2022) (settled jail suicide case for Quileute family for $1 million).
Chiefstick v. City of Poulsbo (W.D. Wash. 2021) (settled police misconduct/wrongful death case for Cree/Suquamish family for $2 million).
Lacy v. Snohomish County (King County Super. 2021) (settled police misconduct/wrongful death case for Tulalip family for $1.75 million).
Davis v. King County (King County Super. 2021) (settled police misconduct/wrongful death case for Muckleshoot family for $1.5 million).
Covarrubias v. City of Lakewood (W.D. Wash. 2018) (settled police misconduct/wrongful death case for Suquamish family for $500,000).
Cougar Den v. Washington (Wash. 2017) (affirming Treaty right to travel and trade and thus striking down state fuel import taxes)
Alexander v. Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde (Grand Ronde Ct. App. 2016) (reversing the disenrollment of 66 Grand Ronde Tribal Members who directly descend from a Treaty Chief)
Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation v. Thurston County (9th Cir. 2013) (prohibiting county from assessing property taxes on permanent improvements to reservation trust lands)
State of Washington v. Clark (Wash. 2013) (affirming requirement that state police follow codified tribal criminal procedures on reservation trust lands)
CTGW v. Thurston County Treasurer (Thurston Cty. Bd. of Equal. 2014) (prevailed against a county tax assessor who attempted to tax $60 million on personal property owned by a joint venture between a tribal government and a publicly-traded company; company found 100% tax exempt).
Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation v. USDA (E.D. Wash 2010) (enjoining the United States from permitting a private company's importation of Hawaiian municipal waste into Yakama Treaty territories)
Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe v. State of Washington (Thurston Sup. Ct. 2005) (compelling the return of an ancestral burial ground and the reinterment of unearthed ancestral Indian graves)
Accolades
Super Lawyer, 2013-2024
Best Lawyers in America, Native American Law and Gaming Law, 2007-2024
Spirit of Excellence Award, American Bar Association, 2022
College of Law Alumnus of the Year, University of Arizona, 2023
Alumnus of the Year, University of Arizona College of Law, 2022-2023
Distinguished Alumnus Award, Western Washington University College of Humanities and Social Sciences, 2018
Professional Achievement Award, University of Arizona College of Law, 2017
Washington State Bar Association Excellence in Diversity Award, 2014
Difference Maker, American Bar Association, 2013
Best Lawyers in Washington State, Puget Sound Business Journal, 2011
Best Lawyers in the Puget Sound, Seattle Business Monthly, 2010, 2012
Seattle’s Best Indian Law Attorneys, Seattle Metropolitan Magazine, 2010-2013
40 Under 40, Puget Sound Business Journal, 2009
Native American 40 Under 40, National Center for American Indian Economic Development, 2009
Rising Star, Washington Law & Politics/Super Lawyers Magazine, 2002, 2004-2008, 2010-2012
Washington State Bar Association Outstanding Young Lawyer Award, 2004
Northwest Indian Bar Association Native Justice Award, 2004
Leading Edge Litigator, Washington Law & Politics, 2003
Alumni of the Year, National Native American Law Students’ Association, 2001
Memberships
Washington State Bar Association
Indian Law Section, Chair, 2004
Indian Law Newsletter, Editor-in-Chief, 2004-2010
Northwest Indian Bar Association
President, 2002-2003 (two terms), Governing Council, 2001, 2003-2006
Indian Legal Scholars Program, Chair, 2003-2010
National Native American Bar Association, Executive Board Member, 2007-2018
Gaming Law Review & Economics, Editorial Board, 2007-2018
Indian Gaming Magazine, Board of Directors, 2007-Present
American Bar Association
Gaming Law Committee, Chair, 2007-2010
Business & Corporate Litigation Committee, Tribal Court Litigation Co-Chair, 2007-2012
Annual Review of Developments in Corporate & Business Litigation, Editor-in-Chief, 2007-2009
International Masters of Gaming Law, Admitted Member, 2007-2011
American Arbitration Association, Trained Arbitrator
U.S. Institute for Environmental Conflict Resolution
Native Dispute Resolution Network, Partner, 2010-Present
Bar Admissions
State of Washington
U.S. Supreme Court
U.S. District Court (Western Washington, Eastern Washington, Washington, D.C.)
U.S. Court of Appeals (9th Circuit)
U.S. Court of Federal Claims
Yakama Nation Tribal Court
Puyallup Nation Court
Suquamish Tribal Court
Muckleshoot Tribal Court
Tulalip Tribal Court
Lummi Nation Tribal Court
Nooksack Tribal Court
Port Gamble S'Klallam Tribal Court
Chehalis Tribal Court
Quinault Tribal Court
Grand Ronde Tribal Court
Winnebago Tribal Court
Quileute Tribal Court
Nisqually Tribal Court
Hualapai Tribal Court
Cow Creek Tribal Court
Sauk-Suaittle Tribal Court
Quapaw Tribal Court
Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe Tribal Court
Warm Springs Tribal Court
Education
University of Arizona (JD, Tribal Law & Policy Program)
Western Washington University (BA, English)
Peninsula Community College (AA)
Recent Publications
Durability and Duress: Inter-Tribal Kinship and Indian Gaming Capitalism, Starting Points, March 5, 2024.
The Federal Indian Blood Quantum Fiction, SSRN, September 14, 2023.
Into The Void: Indigenous American Civil Rights, Trial News, February 2023.
In the Spirit of Vine Deloria, Jr.: Indigenous Kinship Renewal and Relational Sovereignty, SSRN, January 26, 2023.
Tribal Nationhood Requires Civil Rights Protection, Indian Country Today Media Network, March 7, 2022.
Disenrollment and the Missing and Murdered, Indian Country Today Media Network, October 6, 2020
Tribal Members Bear the Cost of Ending Blood Quantum Certificates, High Country News, October 11, 2019.
Interior’s Depopulation Idea, Indianz, May 16, 2019.
The Indian Reorganization Act: Realigning Tribal ‘Membership’ With Kinship, Indian Country Today Media Network, June 14, 2017.
Obama’s Disenrollment Legacy, Indian Country Today Media Network, January 25, 2017
Let’s Seize New Market Tax Credit Opportunities, Indian Country Today Media Network, December 24, 2016.
Don't Join the Disenrollment Club, Indian Country Today Media Network, November 16, 2016.
Reinvigorating the Indian Arts and Crafts Act, Indian Country Today Media Network, May 12, 2016
The Reluctant Watchdog – How National Indian Gaming Commission Inaction Helps Tribes Disenroll Members for Profit and Jeopardizes Indian Gaming as We Know It, Gaming Law Review & Economics, April 2016
Shared Faith: Tribal State Indian Religious Rights Reform, Bar Bulletin, February 2016.
Tribal Lawyer Ethics: Gaming Per Capita Disputes, December 10, 2015.
Back to the Future: The GOP and Tribal Termination, Indian Country Today Media Network, September 9, 2015
Disenrollment IS a Federal Action, Indian Country Today Media Network, March 10, 2015.
The Unintended Consequences of Disenrollment, Indian Country Today Media Network, February 2, 2015.
Disenrollment is a Tool of the Colonizers, Indian Country Today Media Network, January 16, 2015.
Indian Country Stylebook, December 1, 2014.
Exploiting, or Filling, the Ethical Void for Tribal Lawyers, Federal Bar Association Indian Law Section, November 2014.
Inside the Dirty-Tricks Playbook of Jack Abramoff, Indian Country Today Media Network, October 20, 2014.
Tribal Per Capitas and Self-Termination, Indian Country Today Media Network, August 13, 2014.
Defending the Religious Rights of Native Prisoners, Indian Country Today Media Network, May 29, 2014.
Upcoming/Recent Seminars
Speaker, Indigenous Land Acknowledgment and Plenary Session Keynote, Access to Justice Conference, August 2021, Seattle, WA.
Speaker, “Overcoming the Felony Bar,” Representing Victims of Police Misconduct CLE, June 2021, Seattle, WA.
Co-Chair, 18th Annual Northwest Gaming Law Summit, December 2020, Seattle, WA.
Co-Chair, 17th Annual Northwest Gaming Law Summit, December 2019, Seattle, WA.
Speaker, “Indian Law for the Washington Port Commissioner,” Washington Public Ports Association Annual Meeting, November 2019, Tacoma, WA.
Speaker, “Indian Law for the Washington State Legislator,” Washington State Legislature Joint Work Session, September 2019, Seattle, WA.
Speaker, “Indian Law and Policy for the DOC,” Washington State Department of Corrections, February 2019, Tumwater, WA.
Co-Chair, 16th Annual Northwest Gaming Law Summit, December 2018, Seattle, WA.
Speaker, “Re-imagining Tribal Citizenship,”The Next Horizon Symposium, Harvard Kennedy School, May 2018, Cambridge, MA.
Keynote, “Keeping it Real: Indian Lawyers & Indian Law Scholarship,” American Indian Law Journal Banquet, April 2018, Seattle, WA.
Co-Chair, 15th Annual Northwest Gaming Law Summit, December 2017, Seattle, WA.
Speaker, American Indian Civil Rights Advocacy, Clallam-Jefferson Pro Bono Lawyers CLE, November 2017, Sequim, WA.
Speaker, “Tribal Kinship Versus Disenrollment,” UNM Gallup, October 2017, Gallup, NM.
Speaker, “Restoring Indigenous Kinship Amidst America’s Nationalist Movement,” Western Washington Univerity, October 2017, Bellingham, WA.
Keynote, “Blood Quantum, Identity, and Sovereignty: Contemporary Legal Battles in Indigenous Communities," March 2017, UC Irvine, CA.
Co-Chair, 14th Annual Northwest Gaming Law Summit, December 2016, Seattle, WA.
Speaker, “Get Your Hands Off My Trust Responsibility? Debating the Federal Government’s Role in the Trust Responsibility,”41st Annual Indian Law Conference, Federal Bar Association, April 2016, Scottsdale, AZ.
Speaker, “Origins of Tribal Disenrollment,” University of Washington School of Law Diversity Week, February 2016, Seattle, WA.
Co-Chair; Speaker, "Tribal Lawyer Ethics: Gaming Per Capita Disputes," 13th Annual Northwest Gaming Law Summit, December 2015, Seattle, WA.
Co-Chair; Speaker, "Ethical Considerations," 12th Annual Northwest Gaming Law Summit, December 2014, Seattle, WA.
Speaker, "What are the Ethical Considerations of Representing Opposing Factions in Tribal Government Disputes?," Federal Bar Association 16th Annual DC Indian Law Conference, November 14, 2014, Washington, DC.
Lecturer, "The American Indian Disenrollment Epidemic: Finding A Cure," Lewis & Clark Law School, October 27, 2014, Portland, OR.
Speaker, “The Perils of Indian Law Buy Back," 2nd Annual Tribal Lands Conference, January 27, 2014, Tucson, AZ.
Co-Chair, 11th Annual Northwest Gaming Law Summit, December 2013, Seattle, WA.
Speaker, "State Tax Man Cometh: New Threats to Tribal Economic Development," November 6, 2013, Seattle, WA.
Speaker, "Building a Book of Business," April 2013, Seattle, WA.
Speaker, “Tribal Tax Revenue Opportunities for Tribes” and “Modern Federal Indian Tax Implications for Economic Development," RES 2013, March 13, 2013, Las Vegas, NV.
Co-Chair, 10th Annual Northwest Gaming Law Summit, December 2012, Seattle, WA.
“Economic Diversification: The Time is NOW,” 14th Annual Native Nations Law Symposium, September 14, 2012, Kickapoo, KS.
“American Indian Treaties: The Consultation Mandate,” United Nations Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights, July 16-17 2012, Palais de Nations in Geneva, Switzerland.
“The Federal Indian Consultation Right,” Silver State Mining & Tribal Forum, April 17, 2012, Winnemucca, NV.
Speaker, "Myths and Realities of Limited Sovereign Immunity Waiver" & "Talking Tribal Sports and Entertainment," RES 2012, February 29 & March 1, 2012, Las Vegas, NV.
Speaker, “ADR’s Role in Tribal/Non-Tribal and Inter-Tribal Disputes,” ADR and Contract Disputes Symposium, Seattle, WA, June 30, 2011.
