ASU law students Dawn Bitz, Jessica Lee-Domebo, and Tim Harjo all credit their tribal colleges for launching their academic careers.

With the increasing number of tribal colleges, more and more Native students are realizing their dream of not only attending college but also furthering their education beyond an associate or bachelor’s degree. Three such students now attend law school at Arizona State University (ASU) in Tempe, AZ. All are graduates of tribal colleges, and each considers it the best educational decision they could have made.

Dawn Bitz (Blackfeet), now starting her third year of law school, appreciated her education at Blackfeet Community College (BCC) in Browning, MT. “I entered college to get my associate’s degree to become a legal secretary,” said Bitz. “The faculty there gave me the support I needed to continue my education beyond that goal.” While working on her AA, she realized the importance of being proactive in tribal interests. So rather than just assisting someone else as a paralegal, Bitz decided to attend law school and become a leader.

Staffs at tribal colleges recognize that Indians who grow up on the reservation often have a harder time in school.  The tribal colleges help bridge the gap. Bitz used the support of the teaching staff and faculty at BCC. She said teachers took time to work with students, ensuring that when they left the college, they were ready for anything. According to Bitz, faculty put more time into teaching. They led students through the processes instead of using a “sink or swim” approach.

Helping students set themselves up for success is a common theme. Jessica Lee-Domebo (Colville Confederated Tribes) is currently starting her second year at the law school. She had a similar experience at Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, KS. During her first year orientation, all students went through a vision quest where they developed an outline towards their goals. Lee-Domebo believes the wonderful support from the students, faculty, and staff made it easier. Every one of her classmates came from a reservation. Thus, she believes, they addressed and worked out problems very similarly.

“Going to a Native college was important to me because attending school with other Native students made me comfortable,” explained Tim Harjo (Seminole, Chiricahua Apache, and Comanche), now starting his third year of law school at ASU. He chose the Southwestern Polytechnic Institute (SIPI) in Albuquerque, NM. SIPI provided the environment that allowed him to focus on his education. “They wouldn’t let you just take your degree credit classes. They tested you first to see what level you were at and then started your education there. They wanted people to succeed,” said Harjo.

Bitz, Harjo, and Lee-Domebo agree that had it not been for their tribal colleges, their journey to and success within law school wouldn’t have occurred at all. ASU’s Indian Legal Program (ILP) gives its students the same type of encouragement and community that a student would receive at a tribal college. “The ILP faculty and staff applaud tribal colleges across the country. Tribal colleges have high retention rates, and their students are outstanding,” said Kate Rosier, director of the program. “The ILP has been using the same type of philosophy at the law school, and it is working! Our students excel at ASU, graduate with their law degrees, and go on to serve Indian Country.”

For example, Ann Marie Downes (Winnebago), an ASU College of Law alumna and a member of the ILP Advisory Council, is currently serving the Winnebago Tribe as president of Little Priest Tribal College in Nebraska. Other graduates are working as tribal attorneys, judges, counsel for the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, staff of the American Indian College Fund, and as assistant U.S. attorneys.

“We are definitely looking for more students like Dawn, Jessica, and Tim. They have only been in law school for a short time and they already have a long list of accomplishments,” said Rosier. Also according to Rosier, Bitz worked for Gila River Indian Community’s Law Office and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Arizona District, and she is drafting a Civil Procedure Code for the Yavapai-Apache Nation. She was also selected for the summer FBI honors internship program.

Lee-Domebo attended the Pre-Law Summer Institute for Native Americans in Albuquerque, won an award for one of the best oral arguments, and made it to the finals in the law school’s client counseling competition. She worked this summer with Salt River Indian Community’s Tribal Court as a law clerk. Harjo is drafting a model code on governmental immunity and has worked for the Council on Environmental Quality in the Executive Office of the President. He has worked as an extern for Judge Robert Broomfield, the senior judge for the U.S. Court for the Federal District of Arizona. Additionally, he is doing an internship with the Supreme Court of Arizona and clerking for the prestigious Indian law firm of Sonosky, Chambers, Sachse, Endreson, and Perry. “There is no stopping these students,” Rosier said.

As Harjo pointed out, “Native Americans are greatly affected by the law, yet they are traditionally one of the most underrepresented groups legally. I wanted to learn the law and actively represent Native rights.”

Though they have long since accomplished the goals their tribal colleges helped them set, these graduates are carrying the lessons far beyond the tribal colleges. After completing law school, all three hope to return to their communities. Lee-Domebo offers advice for other students. “School is what you make of it. Make a vision quest, journey towards it, rely on your support, and you will reach your goals.”

Amy Courson is an enrolled member of the Tohono O’odham Nation. She is currently starting her third at the ASU Law School and an active member of the Indian Legal Program.

For more information about the program, contact Kate Rosier, Director of the Indian Legal Program, at (480) 965-6204 or visit the ASU website <www.law.asu.edu>.