Category Archives: Students

Arizona Native Vote Changemakers

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The Indian Legal Clinic student attorneys, ILP affiliates and volunteers worked on the Arizona Native Vote Election Protection Project (AZNVEP) for months to prepare for the general election on Nov. 3. The number of this year’s Election Protection volunteers made for a great success despite the circumstances! We had 100 volunteers, which is more than in past years, who assisted Native voters at over 60 polling locations in Arizona on Election Day through the Arizona Native Vote Election Protection Project. The ILC team included Native Vote Fellow Torey Dolan (’19) as lead, Brendan Clark (3L), Aspen Miller (3L), Dustin Rector (3L), MacArthur Stant (3L),and Blair Tarman (3L) under the supervision of Professor Patty Ferguson-Bohnee. Student attorneys provided virtual training sessions for volunteers, ran the hotline and interacted with voters on-site.

Through partnerships with the Inter Tribal Council of Arizona (ITCA), the Native American Bar Association of Arizona (NABA-AZ), the Arizona Election Protection Coalition and volunteers, Native Vote served as an important resource for hundreds of Native voters during the 2020 election. Over 250 Native American voters called the Native Vote Election Protection hotline for assistance on Election Day, and many voters called prior to the election to check voter registration and polling locations, and answered questions regarding general election information.  

With the extraordinary commitment from volunteers—ILP students, alumni, faculty, staff and friends—an Election Protection volunteer was on-site and available at the following locations: Navajo Nation, Hopi Tribe, Salt River Pima Maricopa Indian Community, Gila River Indian Community, Tohono O’odham Nation, White Mountain Apache, San Carlos Apache, Pascua Yaqui, Yavapai Apache, Yavapai Prescott, Quechan, Cocopah Indian Tribe, Colorado River Indian Tribes, Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation, and the Ak-Chin Indian Community. 

We thank our ASU community for the support, which released the ASU Now article on election day that highlighted the greater work of Native Vote as well as the innovative Polling Locator Tool created just this year with US Digital Response. Watch the video  to see how this tool was used by Native voters.

Two of our ILC students Miller and Stant who traveled to Hopi and Navajo Nation were highlighted in an Arizona Republic article. 

Ferguson-Bohnee was quoted in the Center for Public Integrity article and Arizona Republic articles here and here. 

On Nov. 11, Dolan was interviewed by Native America Calling to give a recap about Native Vote. She was also quoted in The State Press articles here and here. 

Find more coverage from Ferguson-Bohnee, Dolan and Brian Garcia (’20) in this VICE article, which included Arizona Native Vote assisting with extension hours to a polling site. 

We appreciate our partners and all who volunteered across Indian Country to ensure Arizona’s tribal communities and tribal members had access to the polls!

Pipeline to Law Online Sessions – First Ever

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The Indian Legal Program (“ILP”) and our partner schools University of California, Berkeley School of Law’s Admissions Office, and Michigan State University College of Law’s Indigenous Law and Policy Center joined with the Pre-Law Summer Institute, and Testmasters to put on the 7th Annual Native American Pathway to law program.

The Native American Pathway to Law Initiative Pre-Law Workshops was created in response to the National Native American Bar Association’s 2015 survey, “The Pursuit of Inclusion: An In-Depth Exploration of the Experiences and Perspectives of Native American Attorneys in the Legal Profession.” The survey identified several obstacles Native students face when applying to law school and the Pathway program helps to try solve some of those problems through pre-law advising, testing assistance and mentorship. NNABA help us secure the original funding for the Pathway program and funds to support students with LSAT prep courses. 

The Pathway to Law program is very unique because the staff from three law schools work together, in a non-recruitment environment, to help students create stronger applications and select the best schools for them. The national team of admissions professionals lead the participants through sessions on the admissions timeline, personal statements, school selection, LSAT preparation, and financial aid. The students experienced a mock class taught by Professor Matthew Fletcher from MSU Law, and students were were provided the opportunity to interact with several law school deans. The team also facilitated a student panel and an attorney panel so pipeline participants could ask questions learn about different areas of the profession. 

This year’s program was held virtually over the course of 6 weeks via Zoom and supported by the Slack application. 37 students from 23 tribes and 17 states participated in our virtual program. These students’ age range from 21 to 59 and there were 29 women and 11 men. 

When asked why ASU ILP would help students get admitted to law schools other than ASU, Kate Rosier stated, “The ILP wants to support ALL Native students no matter where they decide to go to law school. The legal profession needs more Native American attorneys and the ILP wants to help make that happen. Some students may need to be close to home or have different dream schools. We are just happy to support them on their journey and hope they do great things for Indian Country.” 

If you would like to support this program, please consider a gift to the ILP c/o the Pipeline to Law program. Your gifts help purchase LSAT prep courses for students that range from $500 – $1,500 and allow us to put on more programs. Make your gift here.

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ILP & NALSA Virtual Graduation Ceremony – Today!

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The ILP would like to invite the #ILPFamily to join us in celebrating the graduation of this year’s ILP students. Our virtual ceremony will be broadcast live via YouTube Premiere on  May 13 at 1:30 p.m. (MST) 

If you are unable to join us at that time, you may watch the video at a later time on the premiere page.

Set your reminders, post your congratulatory messages, live chat and tune in to watch our students graduate! 

Tune in at: law.asu.edu/ilpgrad2020

Job Opportunity – Practicing Attorney & 3Ls

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Job Description: The Gallup Office of the New Mexico Law Office of the Public Defender is hiring both practicing attorneys and 3Ls interested in a career in indigent defense. Depending on experience, the attorney would be expected to handle a wide variety of misdemeanor and/or felony cases, meeting with clients, interviewing witnesses, developing strategy, researching, briefing, and arguing motions, and conducting jury trials. Additionally, consistent with our offices belief in holistic representation, attorneys would be expected to assist our on-site case manager with the social needs of our clients, including addiction recovery, mental health, and familial relations, as they relate to our clients’ cases. Expect significant responsibility and trial experience early and often. Few public defender offices in the country can offer the sort of experience that our newer attorneys get on a regular basis.

Gallup is a small city in western New Mexico on the border of the Navajo Nation and the Zuni Pueblo. Approximately 75% of the people in the county (and therefore, our clients) are Native American. Thus, in addition to the typical slate of criminal law issues that most public defenders face, our cases often involve complex and sensitive issues of Federal Indian Law.

Located in the high desert of the Colorado Plateau, Gallup enjoys easy access to world class (and uncrowded) hiking, fishing, biking, camping, climbing, skiing, and other outdoor recreation. It is a world-renowned capital of Native American arts and culture, home of the Gallup Indian Ceremonial every year in August.

Minimum Qualifications: For practicing attorneys, being a member in good standing of any state’s bar and willing to obtain a Limited License to practice from the New Mexico Supreme Court.  For current 3Ls, a willingness to take the New Mexico Bar Exam.

To Apply: A full description of the position for practicing attorneys is available here.

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Expanding our reach thanks to $5M donation

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On Jan. 31, we announced the $5 million gift that the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians generously gave to ASU and the Indian Gaming and Tribal Self-Governance programs. The funds will help support our ever-growing program and allow us to extend our reach to more students who wish to study Indian law!

Read the ASU Now article here.

Thank you San Manuel Band of Mission Indians for this incredible gift!

Final Class Guest Speaker

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At Professor Trevor Reed’s celebratory dinner in honor of the end of semester, Shawn Attakai (’00) was invited to present on the importance of preserving culture as a wrap-up of Reed’s class on Nov. 22. Attakai gave an extensive look into how Navajo traditions and the outlook on those traditions have changed over time.

Thank you for the captivating presentation!

Indigenous People’s Day 2019 – Students’ Thoughts

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Every year, more cities and states pass orders to formally recognize Indigenous Peoples’ Day (IPD) on the second Monday of October as opposed to the federally observed Columbus Day. We asked some of our students their thoughts on this topic. These are the answers we received. Happy Indigenous Peoples’ Day!

Our 12 students who took the “Federal Advocacy for the Tribal Client” class in Washington, D.C., also shared their thoughts in an Instagram takeover. Check out our highlight @ilpatasu
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