Jessie Stomski, Prairie Island Indian Community

Jessie Stomski Seim is general counsel for the Prairie Island Indian Community, where she has served since December 2015, overseeing legal and government relations matters for the tribe and its entities, including Treasure Island Resort & Casino. An enrolled citizen of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, she combines her legal expertise with a deep understanding of tribal sovereignty and self-determination.

Before joining Prairie Island, Stomski Seim practiced at Briggs and Morgan from 2008 to 2014, followed by two years at Hogen Adams, a boutique Indian law firm. She earned her law degree from William Mitchell College of Law in 2008, where she received support from faculty and administration while caring for her father during his battle with a brain tumor in her third year.

Her work at Prairie Island focuses on addressing what she calls a “trifecta of threats” facing the Mdewakanton band on their Mississippi River reservation near Red Wing: flooding from a nearby lock and dam, train access issues, and concerns about Xcel Energy’s nuclear plant and radioactive waste. She has successfully advocated for significant legislative victories, including securing congressional consideration for adding 1,200 ancestral acres to the reservation and obtaining $46 million from an Xcel-financed fund for Prairie Island’s clean energy project.

Stomski Seim’s legislative advocacy led to passage of a 2023 Minnesota law allowing tribal police to enforce state criminal law on tribal land without requiring county agreements. She continues to work on governmental relations matters that support the tribe’s ability to self-determine, govern, and flourish.

Before law school, Stomski Seim was a standout basketball player at the University of Wisconsin-Madison from 1998 to 2002, ranking among the top players in university history. She was drafted by the Charlotte Sting into the WNBA and played professional seasons in France and Greece. She was inducted into the UW Athletics Hall of Fame in 2020 and received the NCAA Legacy Award in 2022.

She serves on the board of trustees for Mitchell Hamline School of Law and the board of directors for the Minnesota American Indian Bar Association.