Life as a Dakota woman lawyer

On April 11, UND alum, law professor will discuss balancing two worlds

Angelique EagleWoman, professor of law at Mitchell Hamline School of Law and a UND Law alumna, will present “Balancing Between Two Worlds as a Dakota Woman Lawyer” on Monday, April 11. It is part of the College of Education & Human Development speaker series and sponsored by the College’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee.

There will be two talks, one at 10 a.m. for students, and at 2 p.m. for faculty and staff. A question and answer segment will after each session. Access information is below.

• Student session, 10 a.m. April 11: For Zoom link send email request to lesli.riskey@und.edu.
•  Faculty session, 2 p.m. April 11: https://und.zoom.us/j/98056851225?pwd=Zlk5Z2RSVDBtbzc3dFgwVHU3dEhQZz09
  Access Code 002699

EagleWoman will provide a personal, legal and historical framework for her perspectives as a Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate individual throughout her educational journey, including as a graduate of the University of North Dakota School of Law. She also will discuss best practices for working with Indigenous faculty, colleagues and students in the faculty session.

Angelique W. EagleWoman, (Wambdi A. Was’teWinyan), is a professor of law at Mitchell Hamline School of Law, legal scholar, associate justice on the Sisseton-Wahpeton Supreme Court, and has served as a pro tempore tribal judge in several other tribal court systems. As a practicing lawyer, one of the highlights of her career was to serve as general counsel for her own tribe.

She is a citizen of the Sisseton-Wahpeton (Dakota) Oyate of the Lake Traverse Reservation and has Rosebud Lakota heritage. She graduated from Stanford University with a B.A. in political science, received her juris doctor degree from the University of North Dakota School of Law with distinction, and her L.L.M. in American Indian and Indigenous law with honors from the University of Tulsa College of Law. As a law professor, she has taught in the areas of Aboriginal Legal Issues, Indigenous Legal Traditions, Tribal Nation Economics & Law, Native American Law, Native American Natural Resources Law, Tribal Code Drafting Clinic, Contracts, The Business of Law, and Civil Procedure.

EagleWoman presents and publishes on topics involving tribal-based economics, Indigenous sovereignty, international Indigenous principles, and the quality of life for Indigenous peoples.  She has been the recipient of numerous awards in legal academia and has been a frequent speaker on issues of diversity, inclusion, and professionalism in legal and academic fora.

As a Dakota woman, her personal reflection includes tribal understandings of place, time and relationship. Motivated by a sense of injustice, she has attained her J.D. degree and LLM degree to further tribal sovereignty as a lawyer, tribal judge and law professor. She believes strongly that tribal governments are in a permanent neighbor relationship with the United States through legal treaty agreements with ongoing legal relevance and enforcement obligations.