October 25, 2024

Indigenous Initiatives at ASU Law empowers future leaders

The Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University is paving the way for Indigenous futures through several initiatives. One program in particular focuses on supporting Native students even before they enroll in law school.

It’s called the Pathway to Law Initiative, and it provides Native students with support and resources to determine which law school best suits their needs.

“We really want to make the students think about what they need to be a successful law student and where they need to be to have support,” explained Kate Rosier,  assistant dean of community engagement and executive director of the Indian Legal Program. “For many students, they need to be close to home. Some students want to go where they can have the least amount of debt. Other students want to go to the highest-ranked school they can get into. Many want a strong Indian law program. Our job is to give them things to think about so they can find the right individual fit.”

The Initiative is sponsored by the Indian Legal Program at ASU Law and supported by other schools nationwide. It receives backing from the National Native American Bar Association, Native American Bar Association of Arizona, TestMasters and the National Native American Law Students Association.

Its inception followed a 2015 National Native American Bar Association study on Native Americans in the legal field, which showed that pipeline projects targeting students in earlier stages of education are crucial for increasing the number of Native American law students and their success in legal careers upon graduation. The program was created to address issues identified in the survey, including pre-law advising, financial support and mentorship.

“Only 0.4% of all lawyers are Native American, down slightly from 0.7% a decade ago, while the U.S. population is 1.3% Native American,” said Rosier. “Our Native American Pathway to Law team is working to change these numbers.”

A five-day pre-law workshop is held every summer to help students prepare strong applications and learn strategies to implement when pushing that apply button. The 10th Annual Native American Pathway to Law workshop will be held from June 5 to 9, 2024.

“As the first in my family to consider law, the Pathways to Law Initiative showed me that law school was attainable. I enjoyed the program for providing a number of resources that helped me not only apply and afford law school but also help me explore the number of opportunities law school offers,” said Natalia Sells, recent ASU Law graduate. “One of my favorite parts was how I was introduced for the first time to a community of Native law students and Native legal professionals, and that continued when I entered ASU Law to now.”

The need for ASU Law’s programs and initiatives to help Indigenous communities is important due to the legal deserts that plague many Tribal communities and the lack of representation of Native Americans in the legal field overall.

Here are other initiatives at ASU Law that are working to help bridge the gap and get Indigenous voices heard:

• Arizona Native Vote: An National Award Winning Project that brings faculty, staff, students, tribes and other community members together to make sure every vote counts on Election Day.

• 10th Annual Wiring the Rez:A conference that will focus on e-commerce opportunities in Indian Country, featuring experts who will discuss jurisdictional challenges, political dynamics and the necessary financial and infrastructure support for economic growth, while sharing strategies for diverse business models to bridge the digital divide.

• As part of the Federal Advocacy for the Tribal Client class led by Professor of Practice and Director of the Indian Gaming and Self Governance Derrick Beetso, law students trade their fall break for an experience in Washington, D.C., to learn more about real-world insights into federal advocacy for Tribal Nations.

Written by Crystal Jimenez