The Lighthorseman

Benjamin Harjo, Jr. (Seminole & Shawnee), designed and donated the logo for the Sovereignty Symposium. The Lighthorseman depicts an Indian policeman framed in a star. In Indian territory, the Five Civilized Tribes had a body of men, the lighthorsemen, who served as a mounted police force. The lighthorsemen helped the United States Army to keep peace in Indian Territory and to drive out white intruders. Considerable latitude was given to the lighthorsemen in enforcing the judgments of the courts.

Harjo has won many awards in major Native American art shows in the United States. We appreciate his generosity in designing and in donating the logo.

The Sovereignty Symposium was established to provide a forum in which ideas concerning common legal issues can be exchanged in a scholarly, non-adversarial environment. The Supreme Court espouses no view on any of the issues, and the position taken by the participants are not endorsed by the Supreme Court of Oklahoma.