Greetings, 

While in the process of deciding which law school to attend, I spoke to many law professors and advisors for advice on which law school afforded the best opportunity to learn Indian law. Hands down, everyone encouraged me to accept my offer at the University of Arizona College of Law because of its renowned Indigenous Peoples Law and Policy program (IPLP).
 
While in law school, I continually heard that the IPLP was the "crown jewel" of the College of Law. This reputation impressed my summer law firm employers, and I continue to benefit from my IPLP certificate in my practice at Faegre Baker Daniels, LLP,  in Minneapolis, Minnesota. I always tout the IPLP as the best Indian law program in the country.
  
Leah with her husband Jesse Sixkiller ('10) and their daughters.
Not surprisingly, the IPLP continues to rise to the occasion through its programming and hiring, as you will see in this issue. I remember listening to Professor Tsosie at conferences as a law student, and I am so excited to see that she is joining the ranks of IPLP professors. The students who come to the College of Law for the best Indian law program deserve the best professors, and Professor Tsosie certainly fulfills that role.
 
Whenever I read about people like Eli Laltaika ('16), I am so proud to be among the IPLP alumni making waves in Indian Country and for indigenous peoples throughout the world. We all share each other's successes because of our common bond through our IPLP experience.
 
Until the footnotes,


Rebecca Tsosie Joins Arizona Law
We are very pleased to announced that Professor Rebecca Tsosie has joined the University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law faculty as Regents' Professor of Law with the Indigenous Peoples Law and Policy (IPLP) program. 

Rebecca  is  internationally recognized as one of the most respected legal scholars in the field of federal Indian law and indigenous peoples' human rights. She will also serve as special advisor to the provost for diversity and inclusion for the UA.

Her enthusiasm for her new role and for the UA community is clear:

"I am very excited to join the IPLP faculty and participate in the visionary program that my colleagues have created at the James E. Rogers College of Law. Professor Rob Williams has been a tremendous mentor to me throughout my career, and I am honored to now become his colleague. Rob is the one who encouraged me to attend law school and then to go into law teaching." 
 
In addition, Rebecca says:

"The IPLP program is unique in placing equal emphasis upon the domestic, international, and tribal legal frameworks for articulating the rights of Indigenous peoples. I cannot think of another program with the capacity of the IPLP, and I am thrilled to be working with its talented students and fellows. 

I also look forward to the opportunity to work with the many colleagues throughout the law school and University community who are building partnerships with Native nations and undertaking collaborative research projects that will serve Indian Country. The University of Arizona promotes academic excellence and also practical engagement with the communities that we serve. I am inspired by this ethic and very grateful to have this opportunity to work with the outstanding faculty associated with the IPLP."

Starting in the fall, Rebecca will teach in the areas of property, federal Indian law, and tribal law and policy. She has previously taught courses across the IPLP curriculum, on federal Indian law, tribal cultural resource law, bioethics, and critical race theory. She also serves as an appellate judge for the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation's Supreme Court and San Carlos Apache Tribe's Court of Appeals.
 
Prior to joining Arizona Law, Rebecca was a Regents' Professor of Law at the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law and vice provost for inclusion and community engagement at ASU. She received her B.A. and JD degrees from UCLA, and is admitted to practice in Arizona and California.

Both Dean Marc Miller and IPLP faculty chair Rob Williams cite Rebecca's extensive experience with tribal communities around the globe as invaluable assets to the IPLP program and the College of Law as a whole.
 
We welcome Professor Tsosie to the University of Arizona community, where we know she will make a significant and lasting contribution.
 

Jim Diamond to Lead New Tribal Justice Clinic
Teaching Criminal Procedure.
Joining Amanda Sampson Lomayesva to judge NALSA moot court practice rounds with IPLP students .
With fellow IPLP alums 
Gabriel Galanda  ('00) and Chase Velasquez ('15) at the 2016 IPLP Fed Bar reception. 



We are equally pleased to announce that one of our graduates, Professor Jim Diamond (SJD '14) has been appointed director of the new IPLP Tribal Justice Clinic. 

The clinic will combine the legal work, applied research, and clinical placements of the former Indigenous Peoples Law Clinic and Tribal Courts Clinic together under one umbrella -- assisting indigenous communities and non-governmental organizations on a variety of legal issues and initiatives designed to support the improvement of tribal justice systems across Arizona, the United States, and the world.
 
Jim practiced law for 27 years prior to earning his SJD with IPLP in 2014. His extensive experience spans serving as a Connecticut Assistant State's Attorney, managing a law firm, and working as both a criminal prosecutor and defense attorney. Certified by the National Board of Trial Advocacy as a Criminal Trial Specialist, Diamond has tried more than 30 jury trials to verdict. Over the course of his career he has defended more than 1,000 criminal cases. He is admitted to practice law in the states of Arizona, New York, and Connecticut, the Pascua Yaqui Tribal Court, the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Court, and numerous federal trial and appellate courts.
 
In addition to teaching law in the BA in Law and Master of Legal Studies programs at the UA College of Law, Professor Diamond is currently a member of the faculty at the National Tribal Trial College. He advises Indian tribes and has conducted training of tribal court prosecutors, defense lawyers, and judges on trial skills and ethics in tribal courts.
 
Jim tells us:
 
"I'm thrilled to join the world class faculty at IPLP. This faculty has, literally, written the book on Indian law and international human rights for indigenous peoples. The program is well known for engaging students in cutting edge litigation and advocacy and I'm looking forward to expanding hands-on casework for our students in the new Tribal Justice Clinic. My career has emphasized two principal forums, the courtroom and the classroom, thus my new position is a dream come true." 

2016 IPLP Grad Appointed to UN Forum
IPLP graduate Elifuraha Laltaika (l) with Sami rights advocate Magne Ove Varsi.
 
Just a month after completing his Doctor of Juridical Science (SJD) from the IPLP program, Elifuraha ("Eli") Laltaika ('16) was appointed to serve on the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues as an expert on the intersection of economic development, environmental protection, and the protection of indigenous peoples' human rights.
 
Together with the appointment of IPLP alumna Erika Yamada ('09) to the UN Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the IPLP program now has two SJD alumni serving on the two UN Bodies with the specific mandate to promote indigenous peoples' human rights within the UN system. IPLP faculty chair Rob Williams, notes, "No other law school or university in the world can say that right now."
 
The UN Permanent Forum is one of the main UN Bodies promoting indigenous peoples' rights. The forum is responsible for facilitating dialogue with indigenous peoples on salient issues and convening indigenous groups, UN Member States, UN Agencies, and other stakeholders.
 
Eli expresses his gratitude:
 
"I am profoundly thankful to everyone at IPLP. The program has been both a training ground and source of inspiration; its experiential learning environment allowed me to interact with renowned professors, friendly staff, local indigenous communities, international practitioners, and brilliant students from diverse backgrounds. Thanks to the skills I honed at IPLP, I will make meaningful contributions advancing indigenous peoples' rights."

Read more here.

Footnotes
More IPLP News
 
You can learn more about developments within the IPLP program and read news about its alumni on a regular basis through the  new IPLP newsletter.
 
And, find out what many of the program's students are up to through the UA Native American Law Students Association's NALSA blog.

AJELP and AJICL Journals Name Newest Members
 
As we explained in last week's issue, Arizona Law now has four student journals. Each journal recently announced its new editors and writers for the 2016-2017 year. This week, we share the lists of students selected for Arizona Journal of Environmental Law and Policy (AJELP) and Arizona Journal of International and Comparative Law (AJICL). Please join us in congratulating them.

Arizona Journal of Environmental Law & Policy
 
David Barlow
Jean Paul Barnard
Nareg Boyadjian
John Erwin
Ali Fowler
Spencer Garn
Rujin Guo
Mia Hammersley
Katherine Henrichs
Woody Herriot
Tony Hoag
Jacqueline Leahy
Derek Linford
Elizabeth May
Jacob Metoxen
Amanda Rutherford
Ellen Stark
Yonggang Wang


Arizona Journal of International and Comparative Law
 
Joseph Bonasera
Alonzo Corral
Amanda Dick
Rachel Dyckman
Amanda Ehredt
Miriam Enriquez
Sami Farhat
Ryan Foley
Christopher Gerber
Oren Givol
Michael Guiliam
Douglas Imperi
Zoey Kotzambasis
Mariah Logan
Richard McManus
Cindy Nguyen
Clarence Olson
Camilo Rodriguez
ovan Ruvalcaba
Peter Sabori
Shannon Scola
Madeleine Sligh
Tyler Stanton
Brett Steele
David Tangren
Laura Unklesbay


Summer Alumni Receptions

Alumni, students, family, and friends are all welcome at our summer alumni receptions. If you live or work near one of our events or will be in the area, please stop by to say hello. We would love to see you.
 
Tues., July 26, and Weds., July 27 
Lunch for the Arizona Bar Takers at Steptoe, 201 E Washington, Suite 1600, Phoenix. For all Arizona Law alumni taking the Arizona Bar.  No registration required.
 
Tues., July 26   CORRECTED DATE 
Downtown Phoenix Alumni Reception  at Copper Blues 50 W Jefferson Street, Phoenix, 5 - 7 p.m.  Register here.

Wed., August 3   
Downtown LA Alumni Reception at  The Library Bar,  630 W 6th Street Suite 116-A, Los Angeles, 5:30 - 7:30 p.m.  Register here.
 
Monday, August 8   NEW
Downtown Denver Alumni Reception, location details to come, 5:30 - 7 p.m. Register here.
 
Fri., August 19
New Mexico Alumni Reception in conjunction with the New Mexico State Bar Convention, at Buffalo Thunder Resort & Casino, Caldera Ballroom B, 30 Buffalo Thunder Trail, Santa Fe, 5:30 - 7 p.m. Register here.

Notes from the Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference
 
James Patrick Shea ('82) is a member of the executive committee for the Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference. At this year's conference, held in Big Sky, Montana, Jim was a moderator for the bankruptcy breakout session. One highlight of the conference was a "Conversation with the Honorable Anthony M. Kennedy, Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court." 


Jim, Justice Kennedy, and USAF Lieut. Col. Jannell MacAulay (l-r) at the 2016 Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference in Big Sky, Montana.

I am so happy and humbled to connect with all of you this week. What a wonderful opportunity to praise my law school alma mater, particularly the "crown jewel" commonly known as the Indigenous Peoples Law and Policy program!
 
Leah

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