UND School of Law hosts tribal flag ceremony, national Indian law competition Feb. 26, 27
The University of North Dakota School of Law will hold a tribal flag ceremony Friday, Feb. 26, and a national Indian law competition Feb. 26 and 27.
The five American Indian tribes of North Dakota have presented their national flags to the UND School of Law for permanent display. The flags will be installed in the VandeWalle Courtroom at the UND School of Law in an online ceremony at 6:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 26.
The live ceremony will feature tribal veterans posting the colors as a Native drum group sings a flag song. Dignitaries present and making remarks at the ceremony include UND President Andrew Armacost, School of Law Dean Michael McGinnis and Chairman Mark Fox of the Mandan, Hidatsa & Arikara Nation.
The five tribes presenting flags are Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate, Spirit Lake Tribe, Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa, Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, and the Mandan, Hidatsa & Arikara Nation.
The event is sponsored by the UND School of Law Northern Plains Indians Law Center and the UND Native American Law Students Association.
The ceremony is a featured event of the National Native American Law Students Association Moot Court Competition, which will take place Thursday and Friday, Feb. 26 and 27, at the UND Law School.
Forty two-person teams of law students are participating via Zoom.
The teams will compete as lawyers representing clients in a fictional lawsuit before the United States Supreme Court. Competitors analyzed complex Indian law issues in written briefs submitted in advance of the competition. At the competition, competitors will argue their case orally to a panel of three attorneys who act as Supreme Court Justices, asking probing questions about how prior Court precedent applies to their case. The scores on the quality of the competitors’ written briefs and oral arguments determine who advances, leading to a championship round judged by a distinguished panel of federal, state and tribal judges and leaders.
The competition is sponsored by the Mandan, Hidatsa & Arikara Nation, and hosted by the UND Native American Law Students Association.
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