The Indian Law Resource Center is an American Indian nonprofit organization providing legal help without charge to indigenous peoples in the United States and throughout the Americas.  For over 45 years, the Center has championed the cause of American Indian and indigenous peoples, demanding justice, equality, and respect for indigenous peoples’ human rights. Together with Indian and Alaska Native nations, we have not only defined but also created new human rights at the international level. We have many times confronted forces that threatened to undermine Indian sovereignty and emerged victorious in national and international legal and policy arenas. The Center’s work has raised awareness of systemic inequities and has transformed attitudes rooted in ignorance and racism.

The Center is headquartered in Helena, Montana, with a Washington, D.C. office and eight programs currently operating in the United States and five countries in Central and South America. The Center has a staff of ten and an annual operating budget of approximately $3.4M.  More information on the Center can be found at:  https://indianlaw.org

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Qualifications and responsibilities:

The Executive Director is responsible for the overall leadership, strategic direction, and growth of the organization. This role requires a dynamic and visionary leader with exceptional interpersonal and organizational skills, a deep commitment to indigenous peoples’ rights, and the ability to inspire and mobilize staff, collaborators, funders, and those we serve.  We seek an Executive Director with these core skills and values and are open to organizing our team to best complement this person’s leadership style.

For example, an Executive Director focused on legal and public activism may opt to elevate operations and fund-raising professionals to play a larger role in their respective areas of expertise.  Conversely, an Executive Director with strong general management, executive leadership and fund-raising skills may want to encourage staff focused on legal work and public activism to play a more public role. These are ideas we are open to exploring in this process.

For full Executive Director job description and application, click here.

STAFF ATTORNEY

The attorney’s job will include work on our project for ending violence against indigenous women and girls. In our Safe Women, Strong Nations project, we:

• Raise public awareness to gain strong federal action to end violence against Native women and children;
• Provide legal advice to Native women’s organizations and Indian and Alaska Native nations on ways to restore tribal criminal authority, to preserve tribal civil authority, and to prevent violense against Native women and girls; 
• Advocate at the United Nations and the Organization of American States to attack violence against indigenous women as a human rights violation; and
• Build alliances with indigenous and indigenous women’s organizations and indigenous communities and peoples in the United States and in Mexico and Central South America to help them address all forms of violence and discrimination against indigenous women and children.

The attorney will also participate in carrying out other legal work of the Center including providing legal assistance to Indian and Alaska Native nations and indigenous organizations in the United States and Canada in matters relating to self-determination, lands and resources, international human rights, and environmental protection and providing assistance to indigenous peoples in Mexico and Central and South America to title or secure legal ownership of their lands.

For full Staff Attorney job announcement and application, click here.