Mark C. Tilden
Staff Attorney

(Navajo), NARF Senior Staff Attorney. Mark was the Lead Attorney and Project Manager on the development and publication of A Practical Guide to the Indian Child Welfare Act, as well as a contributing author. He was formerly with a private law firm from September, 1990 to September, 1994 when he then joined the Native American Rights Fund as a staff attorney. He represents tribal governments on federal recognition, administrative law, water law, environmental law, Indian gaming law and economic development, legislative advocacy at the state and federal level, Indian child welfare and protection services law and tribal governance.  He writes, lectures and trains in some of these areas of federal Indian law.  He was awarded the Environmental Achievement Award by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for Outstanding Work with the Oglala Sioux Tribe on developing a Tribal Environmental Code. He is the author of a book titled Tribal Constitution Handbook, A Practical Guide to Writing or Revising a Tribal Constitution and co-author of Indian Child Welfare Act Handbook: A Legal Guide to the Custody and Adoption of Native American Children published by the American Bar Association. He is admitted to practice law in Colorado, New York and the District of Columbia, as well as several federal and tribal courts. He is a member of a number of legal associations, including current service on the American Bar Association’s Presidential Advisory Council on Diversity in the Profession, and former service on the ABA Steering Committee on the Unmet Legal Needs of Children and the ABA Commission on Homelessness and Poverty.