Ken Bellmard to speak at NOC commencement May 6

Attorney Ken Bellmard will address candidates for graduation at Northern Oklahoma College commencement exercises Saturday, May 6.

NOC Tonkawa candidates will march into Foster-Piper Fieldhouse on the Tonkawa campus at 9:30 a.m. on May 6.

That same day NOC Enid and Stillwater candidates will enter Briggs Auditorium on the Enid campus at 2:30 p.m.

Pinning ceremonies for graduates from the NOC nursing program will take place at 6 p.m. on May 6 in Briggs Auditorium.

Bellmard received his A.A. degree from Northern Oklahoma College in 1978, his B.S. degree in History/Education from Oklahoma State University in 1981, and his J.D. from the University of Oklahoma College of Law in 1989.

While in law school, Bellmard served as Editor-in-Chief (1988-1989), Writing Competition Editor, (1987-1988), and a member of the Staff, (1986-1987) of the American Indian Law Review at the University of Oklahoma College of Law. Bellmard was a Delegate to 34th National Conference of Law Reviews in 1988. Bellmard received American Jurisprudence Awards, for Conflict of Laws, and the American Indian Law Review in the Spring of 1989.

Since 1990, Bellmard’s practice has primarily consisted of representing Native American tribes and Tribal entities as a Tribal Attorney in various matters in Tribal and Federal Courts. Bellmard recently assisted an Oklahoma Tribe in becoming HEARTH Act authorized for the purpose of establishing a renewable energy project on tribal trust land which is in the construction phase as of December 2016.  Bellmard negotiated the first three federally approved Tribal-State of Oklahoma Class III gaming compacts on behalf of the Tonkawa, and Miami Tribes, and for the Miami-Modoc Tribal joint venture, and subsequently negotiated a Class III Compact for the Otoe-Missouria Tribe and was involved in the federal approval of the Comanche-State of Oklahoma Class III Compact approved during the administration of Governor Henry Bellmon.

Bellmard’s practice also involves the development of Tribal economic ventures. Bellmard is licensed to practice in all Oklahoma Courts, the United States District Courts for the Northern, Eastern and Western Districts of Oklahoma, various Tribal Courts, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, and the U.S. Court of Claims. Additionally, he is admitted and actively practices in Tribal and CFR courts throughout Oklahoma. Bellmard is an Associate Supreme Court Justice for the Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma.

Bellmard was inducted into the Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame for Northern Oklahoma College in 2015.

Bellmard is married to Debra Diane (Clegg) Bellmard and has two sons Joshua Paul Bellmard and Dylan Tamerlane Bellmard. He is an enrolled member of the Kansa (Kaw) Tribe and was past Drumkeeper for the Kaw I’n loshka. He was also on the Board of Directors for USA Judo, the National Governing Body of the Olympic Sport of Judo in the United States and attended the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the 2012 London Olympics part of USA Judo delegation. He is also a Member of the Board of Governors for The National Wrestling Hall of Fame.