This summer, Samantha Oswitch (rising 3L), is working as a Judicial Law Clerk for Gila River Indian Community Court. She has had new experiences this summer including observing a full jury trial. She works with the Court Solicitor as well as the Judges. On a daily basis, she help Judges with research, drafting memos, reading documents and providing feedback, and helping draft and edit orders. She has worked on both criminal and civil cases, and she has had the opportunity to see her research cited in Court orders.
Samantha has also had her first solo research assignment when the judge needed an answer before a hearing that was 2 hours later. She has loved her summer job and will be sad to leave.

This summer, Christina Andrews (rising 2L) was a recipient of the Native American Congressional Internship, under the bi-partisan Udall Foundation. She is grateful to have been placed with Congressman Raul Grijalva’s office. In her position, she is learning the Legislative Process by working on Bill H.R. 3166, The Native American Suicide Prevention Act 2017, which would require input by American Indian/Alaskan Native communities to the state receiving federal grants to develop and implement statewide suicide prevention strategies. This bill would open constructive dialogue between the state and tribes.

She is also working on a bill to make Consultation with tribes a law. Presently, Consultation at the federal level is not actually defined in statute. There has been an executive order since the Clinton Administration that requires each federal agency to have a tribal consultation policy and to “Consult” with Tribes. Those policies spell out the federal responsibilities, but not necessarily what a state would be required to do. It is worth noting that the executive order has yet to be reaffirmed by the current administration.

Rani Williams (rising 3L) is a legal fellow in the office of Nevada United States Senator Catherine Cortez Masto in Washington, D.C. Rani assists the Senator and her staff in her role as a member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs and Committee on Energy & Natural Resources.

Rani’s duties include researching and writing memos on legal questions and statutory interpretation, drafting legislative hearing memos and witness questions, and attending constituent meetings in regards to Indian affairs and natural resources. Rani has the privilege to work with the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs staff to learn how federal Indian law and policy is made. She is honored for the opportunity to serve Nevadans and tribal communities. Working for her home state in our Nation’s Capital is such an exciting experience. When she’s not on the Hill, Rani leaves the D.C. area to hike, camp, and meet new people.

This summer, Torey Dolan (rising 2L), is interning in Washington D.C. with the National Indian Gaming Association. She has had the opportunity to work with the legislative team conducting policy research relating to the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, tribal sovereignty, and economic development in Indian Country.

Simon Gertler (rising 3L) is having an incredible summer in Alaska. He has been doing work for tribes all over the state, dealing with issues in environmental law, property law, contracts, and even decedents’ estates. He enjoys collaborating with his coworkers in Juneau and has been up a couple times to meet the folks in the Anchorage office. He has also had the opportunity to spend time with the NARF intern whom he met at NALSA moot court this year.

When he’s not working, he’s out hiking, biking, and playing music! Simon is sad to leave Juneau at the end of the summer, but awaits his next adventure in Washington D.C., where he will be externing with the Department of Justice ENRD Indian Resources Section!

This summer, Dylan Rain Tree (rising 3L) is clerking with the Native American Rights Fund (NARF) at the Boulder, Colorado headquarters. NARF is the oldest and largest non-profit law firm dedicated to asserting and defending the rights of Indian tribes, organizations, and individuals nationwide. Mr. Rain Tree’s assignments are part of on-going legal cases that NARF accepts on behalf of Native American tribal clients whose legal issues are of national importance. Mr. Rain Tree’s work has focused on sacred site protection, tribal court jurisdiction, tribal recognition, and traditional criminal justice systems. His duties include researching and writing memorandums on legal questions of presidential authority, lawsuit immunities, traditional tribal legal procedures, and the new federal recognition regulations for acknowledgement. Overall, Mr. Rain Tree’s clerkship is an exciting opportunity into the legal practice of federal Indian law.

Chris Channell (3L), Meredith Duarte (2L) and Sarah Crawford (2L) are spending their summer at Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community’s Office of the Prosecutor lead by ILP grad Jeff Harmon (’05). The students are shown with their certificates to practice in tribal court where they spend most of their time. Thank you to Jeff and the SRPMIC community for giving them this great opportunity!

DesiRae Deschine (rising 2L) is one of ten selected for the prestigious Udall Foundation Native American Congressional Internship and is interning at the Department of the Interior, Solicitor’s Office, Division of Indian Affairs in Washington, D.C. DesiRae has been working closely with the attorney-advisors in the Branch of Trust Services on the Land Buy Back Program for Tribal Nations. Her major project is researching matters related to the federal trust responsibility for Indian trust land and the implications for Indian probate. As a Udall Intern she is meeting with Congressional members, such as Senator Tom Udall, and with American Indian advocacy and public interest organizations, such as the Native American Rights Fund and the National Congress of American Indians. She is enjoying the D.C. experience by visiting the Smithsonians, walking the National Mall, attending Congressional hearings, networking, and making new friends.