Appellate court

Chief Justice Henry M. Buffalo, Jr. was appointed as the Chief Justice of the Sac & Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa in 2006. He's a member of the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. Before entering private practice, he served as in-house tribal counsel for the Red Cliff Tribe and later for the Fond du Lac Band which he continues to represent in a lawsuit affirming Fond du Lac's 1837 and 1854 ceded territory rights. 

Judge Buffalo serves as a Judge for the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux (Dakota) Community.  Henry served as the first executive administrator of GLIFWC. He received his JD from the University of Wisconsin Law School in 1981 and has a Bachelor's in Criminal Justice from UW Milwaukee in 1978.

 Justice Kittecon, a tribal member from the Menominee Indian Tribe, was appointed as an Appellate Justice for the Court of Appeals of the Sac & Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa on May 22, 2007.  Justice Kittecon received a Bachelor’s of Arts (B.A.) from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and later received a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from the University of Washington Law School in 1981.  He is licensed to practice law in Wisconsin. 

In addition to serving on the Meskwaki Court of Appeals, Justice Kittecon has served as the Chief Justice of the Menominee Tribal Court from 2003 to the present.  Prior to entering the judiciary in 1983, he was a Staff Attorney for Wisconsin Judicare and a Staff Attorney for Minnesota Legal Services.  Justice Kittecon has also interned at the American Indian Law Center at the University of Wisconsin Law School and interned at the Legal Assistance to Inmates Project at the University of Wisconsin Law School.  He has served on numerous boards, including but not limited to, National American Indian Court Judges Association; the Wisconsin Tribal Judges Association; Indian Law Section of the Wisconsin State Bar; Advisory Committee of the Indian Law Center, University of Wisconsin Law School; Coalition Member of the American Indian Religious Freedom Act with the Native American Rights Fund; and Governor’s Conference on Community and Youth. 

Justice Pyatskowit, an enrolled member of the Menominee Nation, was appointed to the Court of the Appeals for the Meskwaki Tribal Court on September 22, 2016, as an Appellate Justice.  Justice Pyatskowit attended college at Wisconsin State University and is an attorney with a law degree and Master’s degree from the University of Wisconsin Law School.  He is currently in private law practice in Shawano, Wisconsin, with an emphasis on work in the Menominee Tribal Court and the surrounding Wisconsin Circuit Courts for Shawano and Oconto Counties.  Previously, he was a Staff Attorney for the Oneida Tribe of Indians of Wisconsin, Oneida, Wisconsin.  He has over 30 years of experience in Indian law and private practice. 

In addition to serving with the Meskwaki Tribal Court, Justice Pyatskowit also serves as an Appellate Court Judge for the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan.  Justice Pyatskowit is licensed with the State Bar of Wisconsin, the Eastern and Western Federal District Courts of Wisconsin; the Menominee Indian Tribal Court; and Forest County Potawatomi Tribal Court.  Justice Pyatskowit is also a veteran of the United States Army.