Jay has been a member of the Native American Law Section since it was founded. He has served as a past Chair and presently holds the position of Treasurer and Council Member. Jay created the first Texas American Indian Section Law Conference and has continued to be active helping to present the American Indian Law conferences and serving as a presenter on Indian law topics. This year’s conference was held February 8, 2013 where he spoke on the topic of Eagle and Migratory Bird Laws as Applied to American Indians.

Jay is an enrolled member of the Chickasaw Nation of Oklahoma. His Native American heritage can be traced back to the 1780s when an English trader named Thomas Love settled with the tribe in Mississippi. The Love family became a prominent mixed-blood family in the tribe. The Chickasaw Nation now consists of 13 counties in what is now known as Oklahoma and one of these counties is named Love County after Jay’s family. Jay’s family courageously walked the Trail of Tears from Northern Mississippi to Indian Territory during the removal years of the 1830’s-1850’s. Jay’s Chickasaw name is Tishkila, which means “Blue Jay.” Jay was given this name by his Grandfather, who called him Blue Jay when Jay first began speaking as a child.

Jay was born in Victoria, Texas. He is the first member of his Chickasaw family born outside of Chickasaw country in over 200 years. His father, Jack Hurst, from Broken Bow, Oklahoma, attended the University of Oklahoma after World War II on the G.I. bill and became a petroleum engineer working for Schlumberger. Jay’s mother, Sammie Ruth Love, from Ardmore, Oklahoma, and his father moved to South Texas to work on land wells for Schlumberger following Jack’s graduation from OU. After several moves in South and West Texas, Jay’s family moved to Lake Charles, Louisiana, where his father began working on offshore oil wells. Jay spent third grade through high school graduation in Lake Charles and then returned to Texas to attend Baylor University. Jay graduated from Baylor in 1976 with a cum laude degree in Philosophy and was the National Collegiate Debate Champion for Baylor in 1975. Jay graduated from The University of Texas School of Law in 1979. Jay has been married for over 30 years to his wife Beverly. Jay and Beverly have two daughters and two granddaughters.

Jay is involved in local Native American groups and activities, currently serving as a board member of Great Promise for American Indians and the Chickasaw Community Council of Central Texas. Great Promise hosts the annual Austin Powwow and American Indian Heritage Festival, the largest one-day powwow in the country, which is held the first Saturday of November each year. Jay is also a gourd dancer. The gourd dance is dedicated to honoring veterans and warriors who have served in the line of duty for this Nation. American Indians, as a percentage of population, represent the largest group of individuals who have served the United States in the line of duty.

Jay works in the Texas Attorney General’s Office in Austin, Texas. Jay has over 13 years of state service and represents Texas in bankruptcy courts in Texas and across the Nation. Jay has been practicing law for 34 years. He received his California State Bar license in 1979 and his Texas State Bar license in 1988. Jay spent his first 8 years practicing law in Los Angeles and Southern California and returned to Austin in 1987.