National expert in Indian law and museums to speak at MLK event

Kevin Gover, director of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of the American Indian, will give the keynote address at the Martin Luther King Jr. Unity Breakfast at the University of Washington Tacoma on MLK Day, Jan. 16, 2012.

In addition, U.S. Sen. Patty Murray will give brief remarks. Murray is serving her fourth term representing Washington state in the Senate, and chairs the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs.

The breakfast will also feature presentation of the Dream Awards, recognizing a UW Tacoma student organization and a community member or organization that consistently addresses diversity, social justice and civil rights.

Gover will speak on "Building Bridges Across Cultures - Using the Past to Guide Our Future."

Gover, a citizen of the Pawnee Nation, has had a distinguished and varied career as a law professor, presidential appointee, lawyer and museum director.

Before becoming museum director in December 2007, Gover was a faculty member of the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law at Arizona State University and of the university's prestigious Indian Legal Program.

Nominated by President Bill Clinton, Gover also served as assistant secretary for Indian Affairs in the U.S. Department of the Interior from November 1997 until January 2001.

Gover grew up in Oklahoma and received his bachelor's degree in public and international affairs from Princeton University and his law degree from the University of New Mexico.

Since its debut in 2007, the MLK Unity Breakfast at UW Tacoma has grown into a popular community-wide event. Space is limited to the first 300 paid participants, and people are encouraged to pre-register.

UW Tacoma and the Black Student Union present the breakfast in commemoration of Martin Luther King Jr.