Increasing Native representation at the American Bar Association

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At this year’s annual ABA meeting, lawyers and legal advocates gathered to support two prominent Native American legal warriors: John Echohawk (Pawnee Nation) and Mary Smith (Cherokee Nation.)

John Echohawk, executive director of the Native American Rights Fund, received the ABA’s Thurgood Marshall Award for his service in protecting and fighting for the rights of Indian Country. Dallin Maybee (’11), NARF director of development, sang the honor song with Steve LaPointe.

Stacy Leeds, the first Indigenous dean at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, administered the oath ceremony for Mary Smith, the first Native American woman to lead the American Bar Association. 

(Photo courtesy Native American Rights Fund)

Congratulations to both John and Mary! Your leadership greatly bolsters Native Americans in the legal profession and strengthens Indian Country.

Call for articles

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The Law Journal for Social Justice (LJSJ) at Arizona State University’s Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law is seeking articles, notes, or comments for our Spring 2024 issue. We publish articles on a range of interdisciplinary topics at the intersection of law and social justice. In our Spring 2024 publication, we are looking for articles on topics centering around violent crime, Indigenous issues, and social justice. 

If you would like to submit your work for publication in Volume XIX of the Law Journal for Social Justice, you can submit your article to ljsjeic@gmail.com or to Managing Editor Tyler DeMers at tjdemers@asu.edu. 

Additionally, LJSJ is currently seeking out Symposium panelists who are interested in speaking on the topics of violent crime, Indigenous issues, and social justice for our Spring Symposium in February of 2024. If you have legal scholarship or research on these topics and are interested in participating in the Symposium, or if you have any questions regarding the Symposium, please feel free to contact Symposium Natalia Sells (3L) at nlsells@asu.edu. 

For more information regarding the Law Journal for Social Justice, please go to: https://lawjournalforsocialjustice.com/.

Job opportunities with New Mexico Legal Aid

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New Mexico Legal Aid (NMLA) provides civil legal services to low-income New Mexicans for a variety of legal issues including domestic violence/family law, consumer protection, housing, and benefits. NMLA has locations throughout the state including Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Las Cruces, Gallup, Roswell, Silver City, Clovis, Hobbs, Las Vegas, Taos, and Santa Ana.

Staff Attorney posting 8.4.2023

Director for Native American Program 8.1.2023

Pathways to the Bench: Honorable Diane J. Humetewa (’93)

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As the first Native American federal judge, Honorable Diane J. Humetewa (’93) holds her Hopi tribal homelands close to her heart. Being in a position that serves a great purpose has allowed her to mentor and empower future Native American leaders. In Nov. 2022, she invited ASU Law students to visit her chambers and learn about her pathway to the bench.

Building power to Native American law

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Business Today news named three of your ILP family in “Highlighting 10 Top Influential Native American Law Lawyers in Arizona 2023.” Congratulations to ILP Advisory Council Member Judith Dworkin, ILC Director Patty Ferguson-Bohnee and Professor Pilar Thomas!

For their expertise in Indian Law at Sacks Tierney, attorneys Dworkin, Ferguson-Bohnee and Roxann Gallagher (’02) were also recognized by Chambers and Partners in the 2023 USA edition.

Job opportunities: Judicial Branch of the Navajo Nation

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Court Solicitor (244326) – Window Rock, AZ

District Court Clerk (909557) – Tuba City, AZ

District Court Clerk (909563) – Kayenta, AZ

District Court Clerk (240815) – Shiprock, NM

District Court Clerk (112557) – Window Rock, AZ

District Court Clerk (209528) – Window Rock, AZ

District Court Clerk (209534) – Window Rock, AZ

Staff Attorney (240874) – Aneth, UT

Staff Attorney (234987) – Kayenta, AZ

Staff Attorney (211848) – Tuba City, AZ

Associate Justice * (209546) – Window Rock, AZ

District Court Judge * (00000) – District Court, Navajo Nation Wide

 

For full list of job announcements, go to Judicial Branch of the Navajo Nation.

Tribal Court Trial Skills 2023

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After a multi-year postponement due to pandemic-related safety concerns, the Indian Legal Clinic was very excited to once again present its bi-annual Tribal Court Trial Skills College for tribal court practitioners.  
  
The Trial Skills College was an intensive, four-day session that provided practical, hands-on training for advocates to develop and refine the skills necessary to try cases in tribal court. The program culminated in a mock trial held on the last day. 
  
Held in May, twelve tribal court advocates from Arizona, New Mexico, Wyoming and Montana participated.  
  
Students praised the program for the guidance it provided them and the cameraderie experienced throughout the event. In addition to the classroom and simulated training received, the Trial Skills College provided the tribal court lay advocates with a rare opportunity to gather and share with others in similar positions at other tribal nations.  
  
ASU Law alumni served as trial consultants for the students and presented as members of the faculty on topics ranging from ethics to closing arguments including Landon Antelman (’11), Fernando J. Anzaldua (’13), Derrick Beetso(’10), Helen Burtis (’07), Jennifer Giff (’95), Ed Hermes (’13) and Ben Rundall(’14). The Honorable Anthony Hill (’06), Honorable Kaniatarí:io Jesse Gilbert(’07) and Kevin Pooley (’15) served as judges during the simulated trial.  
 
Other experienced litigators and judges who volunteered their service included Eric Dahlstrom, Louis Mallette, Sonia Martinez, Pilar Thomas, Jose Valles, and the Honorable Ida Wilber. 

____
Helen Burtis (’07)
Faculty Associate, Indian Legal Clinic, ASU Law

Press Release

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Justice Department Launches Missing or Murdered Indigenous Persons Regional Outreach Program

Program Will Place 10 New Personnel in Five Regions

PHOENIX, Ariz. – The Department of Justice today announced the creation of the Missing or Murdered Indigenous Persons (MMIP) Regional Outreach Program, which permanently places 10 attorneys and coordinators in five designated regions across the United States to aid in the prevention and response to missing or murdered Indigenous people.

“This new program mobilizes the Justice Department’s resources to combat the crisis of Missing or Murdered Indigenous Persons, which has shattered the lives of victims, their families, and entire Tribal communities,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “The Justice Department will continue to accelerate our efforts, in partnership with Tribes, to keep their communities safe and pursue justice for American Indian and Alaska Native families.”

“These new positions represent the Justice Department’s continuing commitment to addressing the MMIP crisis with urgency and all of the tools at our disposal,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco. “MMIP prosecutors and coordinators will work with partners across jurisdictions and alongside the Tribal communities who have been most devastated by this epidemic.”

“Vindicating the rights of missing and murdered indigenous persons and their families is a top priority for our office,” said United States Attorney Gary Restaino. “As home to 22 federally-recognized tribes, this District has been thinking about — and working on — this issue for several years. It is a complex issue, with no easy solution. Hosting an MMIP coordinator for the Region will allow us to dedicate even more resources to this important issue.”

The MMIP regional outreach program prioritizes MMIP cases consistent with the Deputy Attorney General’s July 2022 directive to United States Attorneys’ offices promoting public safety in Indian country. The program fulfills the Justice Department’s promise to dedicate new personnel to MMIP consistent with Executive Order 14053, Improving Public Safety and Criminal Justice for Native Americans and Addressing the Crisis of Missing or Murdered Indigenous People, and the Department’s Federal Law Enforcement Strategy to Prevent and respond to Violence Against American Indians and Alaska Natives, Including to Address Missing or Murdered Indigenous Persons also issued in July 2022.

The program will dedicate five MMIP Assistant U.S. Attorneys and five MMIP coordinators to provide specialized support to United States Attorneys’ offices to address and combat the issues of MMIP. This support includes assisting in the investigation of unresolved MMIP cases and related crimes, and promoting communication, coordination, and collaboration among federal, Tribal, local, and state law enforcement and non-governmental partners on MMIP issues. The five regions include the Northwest, Southwest, Great Plains, Great Lakes, and Southeast Regions, and MMIP personnel will be located within host United States Attorneys’ offices in the Districts of Alaska, Arizona, Eastern Washington, Minnesota, New Mexico, Northern Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, and Western Michigan. Programmatic support will be provided by the MMIP Regional Outreach Program Coordinator at the Executive Office for United States Attorneys.

“The Executive Office for United States Attorneys and the United States Attorney community are committed to preventing and responding to cases of missing or murdered Indigenous people. To that end, we will work together with all relevant federal, Tribal, state, and local law enforcement partners to locate missing persons and solve crimes where they have occurred,” said Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys (EOUSA) Director Monty Wilkinson. “This new program will allow the Department to build upon the work done by individual United States Attorneys’ offices and ensure continued support to those offices by coordinating outreach regionally on MMIP matters.”

More broadly, this MMIP program will complement the work of the Justice Department’s National Native American Outreach Services Liaison, who is helping amplify the voices of crime victims in Indian country and their families as they navigate the federal criminal justice system. Further, the MMIP program will liaise with and enhance the work of the Department’s Tribal Liaisons and Indian Country Assistant United States Attorneys throughout Indian Country, the Native American Issues Coordinator, and the National Indian Country Training Initiative Coordinator to ensure a comprehensive response to MMIP.

RELEASE NUMBER:    2023-098_MMIP Regional Outreach Program

For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit: Justice.gov/AZ

Follow the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, on Twitter @USAO_AZ for the latest news.

Public Affairs Officer: Diana L. Varela (diana.varela@usdoj.gov)

Indigenizing the legal profession

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The ILP teamed up with its Native American Pathway to Law Initiative partners – University of California, Berkeley School of Law’s Admissions Office, Michigan State University College of Law’s Indigenous Law and Policy Center and Pre-Law Summer Institute, and American Indian Law Center, Inc. – and hosted its ninth annual Pathway to Law workshop at ASU Law. The program brought together 43 Native American students representing 30 tribes to learn about the law school admissions process, and tools and resources to support their law journey.  

Stacy Leeds, Willard H. Pedrick Dean and Regents Professor of Law, gave a warm welcome to the class, discussed brief Indian Law history, and shared her wisdom and tips. Patty Ferguson-Bohnee, ILP Faculty Director, also extended a hearty welcome to the students. 

Wenona Singel, Professor of Law and Associate Director of the Indigenous Law & Policy Center at Michigan State University (MSU Law) presented “Indigenizing the Legal Profession” and provided insight on Native American lawyers in the United States. 

Kristen Theis-Alvarez, Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid at Berkeley Law, provided her expertise in several panels covering the law school admissions timeline and how to create a strong application packet.

To empower the students, Native law professionals Diandra Benally (’05), Torey Dolan (’19), Joseph Flies-Away (’04), Michelle Fox, Kiyoko Patterson (’03) and Denten Robinson presented on a panel “Why we need more Native attorneys.” Law students Gabe Dowell (2L), Keely Driscoll (2L), Shandiin Herrera (2L), Maryam Salazar (3L) and Berkeley Law 2L Robin Martinez shared their current experiences in law school during the panel presentation “Our journeys, in our own voices.” Both panel sessions were moderated by attorney Jeremy Aliason. 

Simon Goldenberg (’17) and Cassondra Church discussed an overview of law school in their presentation “3 years in a Nut Shell.” 

“One of the first courses you’re going to take in law school is Property Law,” said Professor Trevor Reed in his mock class. “It’s a complicated subject because it’s all about ownership.” Students were given cases to read and prepare for Professor Reed’s class and learned about briefing the case and best argument.

ILP Executive Director Kate Rosier and Theis-Alvarez co-presented “Choosing where to apply.” 

Pathway ICT Kate interview

During the Pathway to Law Workshop, Rosier joined Indian Country Today and talked about the history of the Native American Pathway to Law Initiative and positive outcomes of the program. 

Rodina Cave Parnall, Executive Director of the American Indian Law Center presented on “Extending the pipeline: an intro to PLSI.”

Joseph Lindsay, Director of Admissions and Operations at Berkeley Law, presented “Financial aid: resources and considerations for Native law students.”

We appreciate all of the partners, ILP faculty, staff and alumni, attorneys and law students for supporting these motivated Native American students and their bright future.

This was the largest workshop to date, congratulations to the Pathway to Law national team: Cassondra Church and Wenona Singel, Indigenous Law & Policy Center, Michigan State University College of Law; Joseph Lindsay and Kristin Theis-Alvarez, Berkeley Law; Rodina Cave Parnall (’01), American Indian Law Center, Inc.; and Kate Rosier, ILP at ASU Law.