New Leader for the Indian Legal Clinic

An accomplished lawyer known for her careful approach to legal issues and commitment to serving tribal communities is the new director of the Indian Legal Clinic at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law. Patty Ferguson-Bohnee is supervising the continued development of the rapidly growing clinic, which provides students with important training and skills in the research and application of tribal law. Ferguson-Bohnee, a former associate in the Indian Law and Tribal Relations Practice Group at the Scottsdale law firm of Sacks Tierney P.A., also is a visiting clinical professor at the College. Being able to guide students through real cases in tribal, state and federal courtrooms, while helping Native populations in Indian country and in urban settings around the country, is a good mix for Ferguson-Bohnee. “I’ve always been interested in academics, but I couldn’t really see myself not practicing law,” she said. “As director of the Indian Legal Clinic, I can still practice law, while being in the environment of teaching. It’s also exciting to be able to work with the professors in the Indian Legal Program, who are nationally known.” Rebecca Tsosie, executive director of the College’s Indian Legal Program, said she was delighted by Ferguson-Bohnee’s decision to leave her private practice. “Patty brings a wealth of talent and expertise to this position,” Tsosie said. “Her stellar credentials and commitment to professional service have earned her the respect of members of the State Bar and law faculty alike. Patty is known for her abundant energy and positive approach to law practice, and she immediately immersed herself in the life of the College’s outstanding clinical program and began to organize the Indian Legal Clinic for this year’s classes.” Ferguson-Bohnee, a member of the Pointe-au-Chien tribe, recently helped four bayou tribes, including her own, obtain recognition from the state of Louisiana. She currently is seeking federal recognition of the 700-member Pointe-au-Chiens, of which she is the only attorney, and has assisted tribal entities in government relations by drafting appellate briefs, grievance decisions and codes and constitutions. “I feel a responsibility to my community, because it has been ignored and disenfranchised,” she said. “If I don’t help them, who will?” Ferguson-Bohnee grew up in a rural community in Louisiana where her dad worked in a paper mill and her mother was a stay-at-home mom. She became hooked on law and politics while competing in a mock trial as a high school student. After receiving her undergraduate degree in Native American Studies with an emphasis in Policy and Law from Stanford University, she earned a J.D. from Columbia University School of Law with a certificate in Foreign and Comparative Law. “There were very few Native students at Columbia,” she said. “That was a good experience because I was able to interact with people of different backgrounds, most of whom were interested in public-interest law and rights-based issues.” Initially, Ferguson-Bohnee intended to practice international rights law. “But I had received several grants from Stanford to work on historical projects on Louisiana Indians, and from there, I realized I should be focusing in this area,” she said. After law school, Ferguson-Bohnee clerked for Judge Betty Binns Fletcher of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and then joined Sacks Tierney, where a substantial part of her practice focused on Voting Rights Act issues. She has assisted in complex voting-rights act litigation and has drafted state legislative and congressional testimony on behalf of tribal clients with respect to voting-rights issues. As a lawyer, Ferguson-Bohnee has often returned to Louisiana to speak to high school students and others. “They need to see that they have more opportunities, because they don’t know that they do,” she said. In her role as director of the Indian Legal Clinic, Ferguson-Bohnee said she plans to continue cultivating existing relationships with tribes, while expanding services to other native communities and enabling students to build confidence and gain experience as lawyers. She would like to investigate potential issues within the Inter Tribal Council of Arizona., Inc., that may be appropriate for students to be involved with and start an American Indian rights summer fellowship program for students interested in working in impoverished Indian communities or with indigenous peoples on rights-based issues.

Diandra Benally – Newspaper Article

Young lawyer makes her mark as a leader
Staff Writer
Farmington Daily Times

Diandra Benally is a leader who takes action.

The Shiprock resident has been involved with everything from American Indian health care and diabetes programs to emergency preparedness and the reform of Medicare and Medicaid.
And that’s just the tip of what this 29-year-old has taken on since graduating from college.
She’s also quite the attorney.

After just two years on the job at the Navajo Nation Department of Justice, Benally recently was named the Outstanding Young Lawyer of the Year by the State Bar of New Mexico.
“Our board looked well beyond Albuquerque and Santa Fe to find this degree of excellence and professionalism in other areas of the state, and we are pleased to have found it on the Nation,” said Joe Conte, the state bar executive director.

Benally was one of only 10 of the state’s 1,600 young layers to be nominated. To qualify, a lawyer must be younger than 36 and must have practiced law for fewer than five years.
San Juan County, and especially the Navajo Nation, should be proud.

Benally holds degrees from Dartmouth College and Arizona State University and is just the kind of role model our youth need to see making news.

Benally set her goal to become a lawyer long before she even entered middle school. She has stuck to her dream so that she can make a difference for those who follow.

What may be most impressive about Benally is that not only has she found success, but she’s giving back to her community. She has immersed herself in the issues when it would have been easier to take her success and run.

“Benally is conversant with the native population both on and off the reservation. She’s very in tune with what their needs are,” said Rebecca Tsosie, a law professor.

Benally doesn’t stop there. She realizes she is an example for youth and that they can learn from her experience.

“I hope I can provide guidance, support and mentorship to any student I meet,” Benally said.
That’s where the winds of change start.

Things only can get better for youth of the Nation and of the entire county when we have such leaders willing to take the hands of our youth and lead them to great opportunities.

We hope that many more on the Navajo Nation and in San Juan County will follow Benally’s lead.
And we hope there will be much more recognition to come her way in the future.

ILP Welcomes 3 LLMs

TEMPE, Ariz. — Three women who hope to shape the future of education in Indian law are the first to enter the thesis track of the LL.M. (Master of Laws) program in Tribal Policy, Law, and Government at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University.
They include a member of the Navajo Nation, a member of the Acoma Pueblo in New Mexico, and a woman who grew up in Hawaii.
“These are tremendously talented, well-qualified young lawyers, who will pursue scholarly writing, be given the opportunity to teach, and to participate in the intellectual life of the College,” said Patricia White, Dean of the College. “This program provides training for young scholars who will enter the world of Indian law education.”
Kevin Gover, a professor in the Indian Law Program and former Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Indian Affairs, praised the rich backgrounds of the candidates.
“Their interest in art, culture, and international affairs shows their devotion to new ideas and new perspectives,” Gover said. “Their diverse backgrounds, their obvious academic ability, and their various experiences will bring a new atmosphere to the classroom and to the law school as a whole.
“Young scholars like these will generate a new level of scholarship that transcends traditional legal scholarship and moves into a dynamic and transdisciplinary approach to Indian Law and Indian policy.”
Kate Rosier, director of the Indian Legal Program, said the master’s candidates also will be an asset to the J.D. students.
“The LL.M. students will enrich the classroom and provide valuable information about their legal careers with the law students,” Rosier said. “
One of the candidates, Wenona Benally, a member of the Navajo Nation, was inspired to pursue a career in law after hearing stories of her great-grandfather being sent on a forced relocation march. After graduating summa cum laude from Barrett, The Honors College at ASU with a bachelor’s degree in English, Benally completed her master’s in Public Policy along with her Juris Doctor at Harvard University in 2006. While at law school, she spent her breaks serving as an intern and visiting researcher at the Jumbunna Indigenous House of Learning at the University of Technology, in Sydney, Australia. Her mentor there, Larissa Behrendt, is a professor of law and aboriginal studies, director of the House of Learning, and advocate of indigenous rights, a combination that appealed to Benally. “From the first time I worked with her, I knew that was my passion,” Benally said. After finishing at Harvard, Benally went to work in the Portland office of the Washington, D.C.-based firm, Hobbs, Straus, Dean & Walker, focusing on trust reform, health care and financial issues. “I enjoyed the work, but I wanted to do more with public policy,” she said. “I wanted to get into academia and share what I’ve learned with other people. I’d love to teach a class on the topic.” She plans to sharpen her analytical skills and increase her knowledge of Indian law issues by investigating the ways in which foundational principles of federal Indian law and tribal law in this country may be transformed to strengthen and advance the indigenous self-government rights agenda being pursued in countries like Australia and Canada. Breann Swann is the fourth generation of Puerto Rican, Japanese and Irish ancestors to grow up in Hawaii. She began taking hula as a young girl, and over the years, her kumu hula (hula teacher) instilled in her an appreciation of the rights of indigenous peoples. In third grade she decided she wanted to be a lawyer. The combination has steered her to a career in Native law. Swann earned her bachelor’s degree in English from Yale University and a J.D. from the University of Southern California — Gould School of Law in 2004. After graduation, she worked on labor and employment law in the Los Angeles office of Thelen, Reid, Brown, Raysman & Steiner, a national firm with large offices in New York and San Francisco. “I was always interested in academia,” Swann said. “I was interested in the issues of Constitutional rights, citizenship. My friends were surprised I practiced law for three years.” She plans to research Native American tribal self-governance in order to continue her interests in analyzing the effects of colonization on indigenous communities. “I’m interested in how rights are recognized, how sovereign nations interact with the federal government, how it is different in Polynesia and Latin America.” She taught a hula class at Yale and continues working through her halau hula (hula school) to climb the three-step ladder to become a kumu herself. “It is very difficult, with many requirements, including fluency in Hawaiian.” She has established a scholarship for gifted students at her elementary school which has paid for more than 15 children to attend summer arts programs, including one in art, one in drama and three in ukulele. She is “wide open” about her future, and thinking she may end up teaching in Latin America, where her boyfriend, who has a master’s degree in radical political philosophy and is working on a doctorate, could continue his research on indigenous revolutions. Lynn Trujillo, whose roots are in the Taos, Acoma and Sandia pueblos in New Mexico, was enrolled and raised in the Sandia Pueblo. Her life is an amalgamation of art, religion and law. She earned her bachelor’s degree in studio art (drawing, painting and sculpture) and religion from Dartmouth College. “I love to paint,” Trujillo said. “When I think about how I approach issues and having perspectives, I think the combination of art and law makes sense. “When I’m working on a sculpture, I’m thinking three-dimensionally. There are components that feed into a bigger piece of work. I’m always thinking, ‘Where does this fit into my other work?’ Trying to push the envelope. Or with a painting, thinking about all the components that make up a really good painting and how it makes sense in that piece. “In regard to law, you’re looking at different perspectives, coming up with certain solutions. I think it sort of fits for me. “I feel I’m doing my best work and am happiest when I’m actively engaged in both areas.” She said the study of religion helped her question the things she learned as a traditional Native person raised as a Catholic, and she was fascinated with Eastern religions like Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism and Judaism. After college, she worked on the Committee on Indian Affairs for the U.S. Congress. “Sitting in on hearings, seeing tribes come to Capitol Hill, then coming back home to Sandia, where we had a non-Indian lawyer representing our tribe, I said, ‘Where are the brown faces?’ “I had never thought about going to law school, but I thought, ‘I can complain about it or I can do something.’ I was the first person from my tribe to go to law school.” She earned her J.D. at the University of New Mexico in May 2001, then worked with Professor Kevin Gover at Steptoe & Johnson in Washington, D.C. She then went on to serve as general counsel for the New Mexico Indian Affairs Department, a state office charged with the lead role in carrying on the state’s relations with the 23 tribes of New Mexico. In 2004, she was asked to serve as her tribe’s first general counsel. “I really enjoyed it,” she said. “It was an exciting time. I learned the most and grew the most as a lawyer and a person.” She was drawn to the LL.M. program because she wanted to do more work in policy. “Policy shapes law and law shapes policy,” she said. “If you just do one, you don’t get anywhere.”

Indian Law Curriculum for schools

We are partnering with the Arizona Foundation for Legal Services and Education and Maricopa Community Colleges to develop an Indian Law curriculum for schools. At first, we are aiming for junior high, but that may change. I may have spoken to some of you in the past about this endeavor and/or received your feedback on it — and thank you for your input.

The survey link below is very short. We are asking for 5 topics you think should be included in the objectives. Please do pass it to anyone and everyone for their input as well. We want to hear from students, teachers, legal professionals, tribal members, adults, kids, and more.

This is our first step in designing the objectives for the program, so please answer and pass it along. Thank you.

http://www.zoomerang.com/survey.zgi?p=WEB226S2DKJUZT

K Royal Director of Pro Bono Programs and Student LifeSandra Day O’Connor College of LawP.O. Box 877906 Tempe, Arizona 85287-7906 480.727.8979

2nd Annual NALSA Golf Tournament

Announcing the
2nd Annual ASU NALSA Golf Tournament
Sponsored by the
Native American Law Students Association
Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law
Arizona State University

Date: Saturday, November 3rd, 2007
Time: 7:30 AM Shotgun Start
Place: The Foothills Golf Club, Awahtukee (Phx), AZ
Course info: http://www.thefoothillsgc.com/
Entry Fee: $100 per player
Fee includes: Lunch, green fees, cart, range balls and 1 raffle ticket

Format: Men, Women, and Coed (Scramble format). Teams consist of 4 players but all golfers are welcomed and entries with less than 4 players will be consolidated into teams of 4.

Contests: Longest drive, closest to the pin, putting contest, raffle, and skins (side bets).

Prizes: Championship and runner up prizes to Men’s, Women’s, and Co-ed divisions.

Deadline: Entries will be limited to the first paid 100 golfers. Paid entries must be recieved on or before Wednesday, October 24th, 2007 (No exceptions). ASU NALSA will adhere to this strict deadline in order to facilitate scheduling with the golf course. Please see attached sign up form for payment.

For more info, contact: JC at clarkEjerome32@yahoo.com

In addition, NALSA recognizes there could be non-golfers who would like to contribute. There is an opportunity for hole sponsorship. Golf hole sponsorships are $100 per hole or if you’d like to sponsor current NALSA members who play golf, please contact JC at the e-mail address above.

The ILP Welcomes New Students!

The ILP would like to welcome several new students to the College of Law!

First Year Students

  1. Derrick Beetso (Navajo)
  2. Amanda Burley (Creek)
  3. Sarah Cedar Face (Oglala Sioux)
  4. Matthew Colton (Cherokee)
  5. Jason Croxton (Navajo)
  6. Pat Kincaid (Southern Cheyenne)
  7. Daniel Lewis (Laguna)
  8. Bradley Martin (Hopi)
  9. Wendell Matt (Salish/Kootenai)
  10. Dallin Maybee (Seneca)
  11. Andrea Patton (Sac&Fox)
  12. Suzanne Trujillo (Laguna)
  13. Naomi White (Navajo)

LL.M. Students

  1. Wenona Benally
  2. Breann Swann
  3. Lynn Trujillo

M.L.S. Students

  1. Rochelle Trimble
  2. Carolyn Loder

Visiting Students

  1. Paul Silvey

Arizona Indian Court Judges Association Meeting

SAVE THE DATE — AUGUST 31, 2007

The AICJA are scheduling our annual meeting on this date, so please schedule accordingly and plan to attend.

Time: 8:00am-(to be determined by topics/agenda items submitted)

Location: TBA

Also, please submit any topics or items that you would like to be considered for the agenda.

This meeting is going to be considered a “re-grouping” session to get back on track and develop some concrete ideas on what kind of activities we would like to see the Association conduct and to hopefully develop some much needed trainings for the Tribal Court Judges and related staff.

Please plan on attending and also start soliciting your colleagues for their participation as well.

If you or new judges employed by you have not yet signed up for membership in the Association, please feel free to contact Judge White at (760) 572-5552 or c.white@quechantribe.com and she will provide you with any necessary information prior to the meeting.

State Bar Leadership Institute

Greetings Colleagues:
Great news! The Leadership Institute Program Overview, Application and Nomination Form are available on the State Bar website. Applications and Nomination Forms are due Friday, August 3rd. As a member of the Board of the Leadership Institute, I am very excited about this program! Please take a look at the website, ask your colleagues to do the same, nominate participants for the first class, and please consider applying for the program and encouraging others to apply. Go to http://myazbar.org/BarLeadership/

Participants will be notified of their selection by Friday, August 31st. The overnight kick-off retreat is tentatively scheduled for Participants on Saturday, Sept. 15th and Sunday, Sept. 16th. Below is a list of the program sessions:

September 2007 – What Does It Take To Be A Leader?
October 2007 – Working the Bar
November 2007 – Is that Ethical?!
December 2007 – Improving Your Legal Practice & Path to the Career of Your Dreams
January 2008 – Practicing Law in the Public vs. Private Sector and Making the Transition February 2008 – Meet the Bench: Conversations with Judges (Federal, State, County & Tribal) March 2008 – Law and Order: Conversations with Government Attorneys and Defense Lawyers
April 2008 – Corporate America: Conversations with In-House Counsel and Business Executives
May 2008 – We the People: Conversations with Congressional Reps, Lobbyists and Tour of the State Capitol

Thank you.
Linda J. Benally Attorney(State Bar Leadership Institute Board member)Pinnacle West Capital Corporation Law Department 400 N. 5th Street – MS 8695 Phoenix, AZ 85004
Business line: 602-250-3633 Fax line: 602-250-3393