November reminds us to recognize and celebrate the rich culture and contributions of Native Americans. It’s also a time to reflect on the challenges and triumphs that Native American communities faced and continue to face today. One way ACLEA members can celebrate Native American Heritage Month is to learn about the contributions of Native Americans, particularly in the legal field. Native American lawyers have played a vital role in advocating for the rights of Native Americans and Native American tribes.
One early Native American lawyer to recognize is Eliza “Lyda” Burton Conley, a Wyandot Native American and direct descendant of Wyandot’s Chief Tarhe. Conley was the first Native American woman to present a case before the United States Supreme Court. In 1910, she argued against the federal government’s intention to sell a sacred burial ground, Huron Indian Cemetery, to private developers. The cemetery is in Kansas City, Kansas on the sacred land where her Wyandot ancestors and family members were buried.
Conley argued this case during a challenging time when the federal government did not recognize Native Americans as citizens and treated them as wards of the state. Although she lost the case, Conley continued to fight to protect the sacred land, even physically guarding the land with her sister. Noticing her work, Kansas Senator Charles Curtis visited the cemetery and introduced a bill to protect it. The bill was adopted in 1913. It protected the cemetery from future development and secured funds for its preservation. The land is now listed in the National Register of Historic Places as the Wyandotte National Burying Ground.
Today, Native American lawyers continue to face challenges. They make up the smallest percentage of racial ethnic groups among U.S. lawyers. The ABA’s 2022 Profile of the Legal Profession stated that only 0.5% lawyers in the United States are Native American. The U.S. population is 1.3% Native American.
A study by the National Native American Bar Association found that 40.65% of Native American attorneys surveyed reported facing harassment based on their race, ethnicity, and/or tribal affiliation and “33.63% reported experiencing one or more forms of discrimination based on their race, ethnicity, and/or tribal affiliation.” The study also found that Native American lawyers face “high levels of isolation in the workplace and need higher levels of awareness about their issues in the legal profession.”
Despite the many challenges they face, Native American attorneys continue to advocate for the rights of Native Americans and Native American tribes. Take Diane Humetewa (hoo-MEE-tee-wah), a member of the Hopi Tribe in Arizona and first female Native American federal judge. Judge Humetewa’s life’s work has been integrally involved with Indian law issues. After receiving her J.D. from the Arizona State University College of Law (now Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law), she was an intern and later the deputy chief counsel for the U.S. Senate’s Committee on Indian Affairs from 1993 to 1996. She served as a Hopi Tribal Appellate Court Judge from 2003 to 2007 and as U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona from 2007 to 2009. In 2014, the Senate unanimously voted to confirm Humetewa as a federal district judge in the District of Arizona.
As we celebrate Native American Heritage Month, let’s take this opportunity to learn more about the contributions of Native American lawyers and how to support them in their work. Native American lawyers face many challenges, but they continue to advocate tirelessly for the rights of Native Americans and Native American tribes. We can support them by raising awareness of the issues they face and by amplifying their voices.
Here are a few ways you can support Native American lawyers:
By supporting Native American lawyers, we can help to create a more just and equitable legal system for all.
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