American Indians on the rise in law studies

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American Indians on the rise in law studies
An expert told UND that American Indians are beginning to succeed in law
programs.
by Jackie Demolee
March 06, 2006

American Indian law studies and the governmental implications attached
to them were the topic of discussion Thursday afternoon at the School of
Law.

Phillip Deloria, director of the American Indian Law Center, Inc. at the
University of New Mexico, spoke as part of the school's lecture series.

When Deloria began his career in American Indian Law, there were only 25
Indian lawyers in the country that had been identified. Even if an
American Indian were interested in pursuing a career in law, many of
them had difficulties getting into law school.

"There was a time before Affirmative Action, believe it or not," he
said.

Many American Indian students were turned away from law schools because
their grade point average wasn't high enough. The University of New
Mexico allowed Deloria to do trial work with students to see if they
could meet the challenges of learning at "law school speed."

"We primed the pump, and we're proud of it," he said. When Deloria began
heading the program the success rate was about 30 percent. Today,
however, the success rate is 95 percent. "Our success rate is based on
students receiving that diploma," he said. Also, there are around 4,000
Indian lawyers across the United States today.

Although the success rate for the UNM American Indian Law Center is
overwhelming, it still faces criticism. "Our program causes controversy
because, getting Indians to pass law school is part of the lunacy that
is the law. It changes them," Deloria said. "If you go to law school for
three years and it doesn't change you, you should get a refund."

The reason for a specialized American Indian law study is that there are
certain elements of Indian sovereignty like rules, regulations and
cultural differences that someone from outside the population doesn't
understand the implications of. Students who study at the American
Indian law Center not only learn practical law, but they also learn
tribal jurisdiction.

"Tribes would seek a lawyer outside their community. As a result of a
number of different factors, they began in hire in-house lawyers who
better understood," Deloria said. Another need for American Indian law
studies is that many American Indian law graduates were not offered jobs
to non-tribe firms. "Indian lawyers are able to work in Indian affairs,"
he said.

Deloria says that his job allows him to be critical of other people's
choices. "I don't pretend to be a value-free computer that they put
information into and the paper work comes shooting out," he said about
dealing with American Indian law affairs.

Deloria also spoke about the issue about the Sioux logo on campus. He
believes that this issue is more complicated than people, on both sides,
like to believe it is. "It's more complicated than just rolling your
eyes at the term 'political correctness.' It's a shame that a great
university would say, 'It's an honor' or whatever the hell they're
saying as an answer to the criticisms."

Deloria is a member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and became the
Director of the American Indian Law Center in 1972. He attended law
school at Yale University and he was a founder of the Commission on
State-Tribal Relations. The Northern Plains Law Center (NPLIC) hosted
Deloria as part of their 2005-06 Speaker Series.