Christopher Chaney, J.D.

NAS instructor CHRIS CHANEY (citizen of the Seneca Cayuga Nation) is Principal Deputy Director for the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Tribal Justice in Washington, DC. He has over 30 years of federal Indian law experience and has served as: Prosecuting Attorney for the Jicarilla Apache Nation; Assistant U.S. Attorney (serving the Navajo Nation, the Uintah & Ouray Ute Tribe, and other tribes located in Utah); Assistant Solicitor for Indian Affairs in the Department of the Interior; and as a Unit Chief for the FBI Office of the General Counsel. Mr. Chaney earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Oklahoma and a law degree from Brigham Young University’s J. Reuben Clark Law School. He is licensed to practice law before the U.S. Supreme Court, in the states of Utah and New Mexico, and in the courts of the Navajo Nation. “CRIMINAL JUSTICE IN INDIAN COUNTRY” (Spring 2024) helps students understand the complexities of criminal justice pertaining to the 574 federally-recognized tribes in the U.S. His other NAS classes include “Introduction to Federal Indian Law,” and “Environmental Justice in Indian Country.” For more information: 304-293-4626.