In January of 2021, the American Association of Law Schools (“AALS”) theme was Freedom, Equality and the Common Good. The Indian Nations and Indigenous Peoples Section of the AALS embraced the theme and announced a call for personal reflections incorporating the experiences of Native Americans in law schools. The theme of striving for academic freedom and equality allows for an in-depth questioning of whether Native Americans have been adequately and appropriately represented in legal curricula in the nation’s approximately two hundred law schools. The aspirational goal of realizing the common good must be inclusive of Native American voices as students, faculty, staff, and graduates and in curricula choices in law schools across the country.
There has been sparse legal scholarship on the experience of Native American applicants, law students, faculty, and staff in law schools. The Indigenous perspective essays in this compilation are an opportunity to hear the voices of Indigenous peoples on their lived experiences in seeking law degrees and careers in law-related fields. Words such as resiliency, endurance, and perseverance often come to mind when Native Americans discuss their personal experiences in the legal academy. The following collection of essays are a contribution to the legal academy in the Indigenous tradition of storytelling shared as firsthand accounts through the seven authors’ perspectives. Within the personal reflections, the tenacity of Native people to succeed and overcome barriers is a common theme. Many of the contributors speak to the value of mentoring or becoming a Native lawyer to serve as a mentor. The compilation provides insight into the experience the authors share of a deep commitment to their Indigenous communities and to trailblazing for the next generation of Native lawyers.
The first essay in the compilation is Becoming a Native Lawyer by Dominic Terry (Navajo Nation/Diné). His contribution is motivated by his desire to “share my story in hopes that it inspires Native children to believe in themselves.” He details the struggles of surviving a broken home, poverty, and teachers with low expectations, and worse, derogatory comments from his childhood and teenage years. Drawing on his grandmother’s love and determination, he persevered when an injury sidelined his dreams of a football career and re-dedicated himself to pursuing his undergraduate degree after finding himself off-track. A poster in the back of a classroom planted the seed that he could attain a law degree.
With few examples of Navajo college or law graduates, Dominic decided to serve as an inspiration and role model by becoming a Navajo lawyer. Taking the Law School Admissions Test (“LSAT”) twice to gain admission to law school, he explains, “[l]aw school was exactly what I expected- tough.” Major life changes occurred for him as a law student as he moved across the country to attend law school, fathered a newborn, and adopted his nephew. His resiliency was again tested when he failed the Minnesota bar examination and eventually triumphed on the fourth attempt. He remembered his grandmother’s words to never give up. The personal essay concludes with Dominic contributing as a lawyer in the Child Protection Division as an Assistant Hennepin County Attorney in the Minnesota Twin Cities area. Through his many difficult experiences, he finds the sacrifices were worth it as he can now state that “[m]y position allows me to be a voice for the Native community.”
The second essay is titled, Barred: A Personal Reflection on the Native American Experience in Legal Academia, by Lani Petrulo (Native Hawaiian). In her essay, she writes, “[a]lthough Native Hawaiians are treated differently under most federal laws and policies than members of federally recognized tribes, they are still connected to their Indigenous brothers and sisters through shared cultural values that live on today.” In detailing her ancestral history as a Native Hawaiian, Lani explains that the lack of inclusion in both mainstream legal curricula and in curricula focused on American Indians and Alaska Natives can be painful and traumatizing. She shares that “learning and practicing in the field of Native American law can bring up many painful and unresolved issues related to generational trauma, but also involving confusion of cultural identity.” She names the experience of “Native imposter syndrome” as connected to the invisibility for her as a Native Hawaiian woman in the legal field.