S. Bobo Dean

S. BOBO DEAN On February 16, 2017, S. Bobo Dean of Washington, DC. S. Bobo Dean practiced law in Washington, DC since 1965. His practice was primarily in the representation of Indian tribal governments. In 1982 he was a founding partner of the firm Hobbs, Straus, Dean & Wilder (now Hobbs, Straus, Dean & Walker). Over a legal career of over 50 years, Bobo represented Native American tribes including the Miccosukee, Seminoles, Navajo, Mohicans, Oglala Sioux and Mississippi Band of Choctaw as well as various tribes and tribal organizations in Alaska including the Bristol Bay Area Health Corporation and the Norton Sound Health Corporation. Among his many accomplishments in the field of Indian law, Bobo was a pioneer in the field of Indian Self-Determination and was deeply involved in the drafting, enactment and implementation of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act, which replaced federal paternalism over tribes and Indian people with a focus on tribes building their own administrative and political capacities to better provide services to Indian people. Bobo assisted the Miccosukee Tribe of Florida to negotiate the first contract with the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) under which an entire BIA agency was taken over and administered by a tribal government. Bobo was particularly proud of the close to 50 years he spent advising the Metlakatla Indian Community in Southeast Alaska, including the advocacy he provided that ensured that the Tribe retained its full sovereign authority when the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act was enacted. In the early 1990's, Bobo was a key advisor to a number of tribes and tribal organizations in Alaska as they negotiated the Alaska Tribal Health Compact, an agreement that transferred virtually all Indian Health Service programs in the state to tribal control. Bobo served as chair of the Native American Concerns Committee of the Section on Individual Rights and Responsibilities of the American Bar Association. Bobo served on the vestry and as senior warden of Ascension and St. Agnes Episcopal Church and was Chairman of the Commission on Racism of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington. Raised in Sanford, Florida, Bobo graduated from Yale College in 1954 where he majored in History and was President of Elihu. Bobo graduated from Yale Law School in 1961 and attended Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar. He was a serving brother of the order of St. John of Jerusalem. He is survived by his wife, Margaret Dean; sons, Gordon and Ted Dean; daughters-in-law, Elizabeth Landsberg and Vivian Wang; and grandchildren, Jacob, Ari, Emily, and Teresa. Services will be held at Ascension and St. Agnes, 1217 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, DC on Wednesday, February 22 at 2 p.m. In lieu of Flowers, memorial donations may be made to: The National Congress of American Indians at ncai.org" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">ncai.org/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://www.ncai.org/[ncai.org] or The Elihu Club, 175 Elm Street, New Haven CT 06511.In lieu of Flowers, memorial donations may be made to: The National Congress of American Indians at http://www.ncai.org/[ncai.org] or The Elihu Club, 175 Elm Street, New Haven CT 06511.

Arrangements under the direction of Joseph Gawler's Sons LLC, Washington, DC.