Brian Patterson is a Bear Clan representative to the Oneida Indian Nation's Men's Council, the Nation's governing body responsible for directing policy for the Nation. He serves on several Nation committees and commissions, including the Community Policing Committee, which he chairs. He also serves as head of the Nation Athletic Commission, which oversees professional boxing matches and other sporting events on Nation lands.
Patterson is active in efforts to revitalize Oneida culture and heritage to counter the effects of 200 years of poverty and displacement. He is the Nation's liaison for issues related to the federal Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act. He also has been active in government-to-government consultations on a variety of issues with local and state governments and federal agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency, the federal Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, the National Park Service and the Fort Drum Army Base.
He serves as chairman of the Culture and Heritage Committee of United South and Eastern Tribes (USET), a national Indian organization that represents some two dozen tribes east of the Mississippi River.
USET's Culture and Heritage Committee is charged with influencing and advocating federal laws and policies regarding proper repatriation of remains and artifacts, the protection of sacred sites and the promotion and protection of American Indian cultural identity.
As the Cultural Affairs Director of Indian Country Outreach, Patterson also serves as the Nation's liaison to several local organizations dedicated to educating the community about the many historical sites in Central New York. He is actively involved with the Friends of Oriskany Battlefield, where Oneida warriors fought side by side with the American colonists, and with the Mohawk Valley Heritage Corridor Commission, which aims to link sites and communities with historic and cultural significance.
Patterson is a well-known authority on contemporary American Indian cultural issues and has spoken on the topic at several conferences, including the annual American Indian Law Symposium sponsored by the St. Thomas School of Law. He has completed several continuing education and certification programs, most notably the "Leadership for the 21st Century" and "Senior Executives in State and Local Government" programs at Harvard University.
Patterson is the father of four children.

Updated 5/04