Kekek Jason Stark is a member of the Turtle Mountain Ojibwe and belongs to the Bizhiw (Lynx) Clan. He holds a B.A. in American Indian Studies, with an Ojibwe Language emphasis, from the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities and a J.D. from Hamline University School of Law.
Kekek is currently the Legal Director/Tribal Attorney for the Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe Indians. The mission of the Lac Courte Oreilles Legal Department is to support, defend, and advance the interests of the Lac Courte Oreilles Band by providing quality legal services to tribal policy makers and tribal government employees. As the Legal Director, Kekek serves as the chief legal representative and advisor to the Lac Courte Oreilles Tribal Governing Board. Under the policy direction of the Tribal Governing Board, the Legal Department provides legal services to directors, employees, and staff of the Lac Courte Oreilles Tribal Government and tribal business enterprises. The Legal Department also acts as liaison to federal, other tribal, state, and local governments, court systems, officials, professional associations, and interest groups on matters of interests to the Lac Courte Oreilles Band.
Kekek also provides technical supervision of the Legal Department on a wide range of issues including: treaty rights, natural and cultural resources, land use, child welfare, child support, real property, procurement, preference, tort, contract, constitutional, gaming, environmental, intellectual property, employment law, and litigation.
Before assuming his role with Lac Courte Oreilles, Kekek served as an Attorney/Policy Analyst for the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission. His work at the Commission involved the preservation, implementation and utilization of treaty-reserved rights for eleven Ojibwe bands encompassing Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan.
Kekek is the past president of the Minnesota American Indian Bar Association and a Bush Foundation Leadership Fellow. He has served as board member of the Waadookodaading Ojibwe Language Institute, the Bad River Head Start Policy Council, the Anoka-Hennepin Indian Education Committee, and Nawayee Center School. Kekek has also served as an adjunct instructor for the Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe Community College, the University of Wisconsin – Superior, and the University of Minnesota – Duluth.