Professor Robert N. Clinton receives the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Native American Bar Association of Arizona

Congratulations to ILP’s Professor Robert N. Clinton who received the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Native American Bar Association of Arizona last Saturday at the 6th Annual NABA-AZ – The Seven Generations Annual Awards Dinner & Silent Auction.

Quote from Carole E. Goldberg, UCLA Law,  Jonathan D. Varat Distinguished Professor of Law, Vice Chancellor, Academic Personnel. B.A. Smith College, 1968, J.D. Stanford, 1971

In the spirited exchanges over treatment of cases and doctrines, Bob was not shy about expressing his views, and more than held his own with more senior colleagues.  His razor sharp analytical powers were on display from the start.  It became my lifetime goal to stay on the right side of that blade.  Over the next twenty years, I had occasion to learn from Bob’s many law review articles, including his classic explication of Indian country criminal jurisdiction – to this day called a “maze,” a term Bob coined – and his original designation of federal Indian policy as “colonialism.”

Some of the arguments about treatment of particular cases and doctrines, especially arguments between Bob and me, could get intense.  Rebecca became very adept at ducking.  But it was all done with respect and affection, and out of concern to make the casebook the best possible instrument for teaching federal Indian law.  We even included a tribal court opinion that Bob had written, and proceeded to critique it in the Notes.

Congrats also goes out to the following ILP Alums: 

Community Service Award:  Diane Enos, President, Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community  (Class of 1992)
NABA-AZ Member of the Year:  Diandra D. Benally, Assistant General Counsel, Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation (Class of 2005)