First tribally-affiliated legal education program launched

The Navajo Nation, the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law and Diné College recently created the world’s first tribally-affiliated legal education program.

The program aims to strengthen the Navajo Nation’s cultural traditions, sovereignty, legal system and self-governance. While also allowing the next generation to address legal challenges of the Navajo Nation.

A shortage of lawyers in the Navajo Nation has led to many of the laws becoming lost through generations.

Dean Stacy Leeds of the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at ASU joined “Arizona Horizon” to discuss the program’s benefits.

“It’s a problem not unique to Navajo Nation, when you look at our state here in Arizona we rank 49th out of 50 for lawyers per capita,” Leeds explained. “And that’s even more pronounced in rural areas of our state and on the reservations”.

The Navajo Nation has their own bar exam, their own court system and operate by their own laws. There’s a specific skill set and knowledge base required for someone to become a lawyer or advocate on the reservation.

For one to become a lawyer or advocate they need to know some federal and state laws. This four degree programs will give someone the skills they need to take the Navajo Nation bar. They then can become a judge or lawyer in that system.

Some of the most needed legal needs are housing, consumer protection issues and criminal matters. “It’s the same kinds of things you see anywhere else. It’s just more of a pronounced problem on the Navajo Nation given how few people are taking that bar and then going into careers,” said Leeds.

Some sovereignty issues include: water, who is police force, who are the prosecutors in regards to handling violence and taxation.

“Other tribes all over the country look to those traditions that Navajo Nation has been uniquely strong at maintaining. And so that’s why we think this partnership with Navajo in particular makes sense,” said Leeds. “We think it’ll be replicable to other tribes all over the country”.