Pawnee Nation College has been awarded half a million dollars by the Office for Victims of Crime, United States Department of Justice to develop a free Certificate in Tribal Court Legal Advocacy enabling graduates to practice law in any of the area’s 8 Tribal courts. The 3-year grant award also funds a tuition free Certificate in Victim Advocacy as well as a 12-month paid internship program with placement in many of the area’s government and non-profit agencies that serve victims of crime.
“The National Tribal Trial College at the University of Wisconsin Law School is honored to partner with Pawnee Nation College and the 8 Tribes of Northcentral Oklahoma to create the country’s first ever cohort of tribal court legal practitioners. The 20 weeks online/1-week onsite Certificate program allows students to stay in their own communities while mastering the necessary litigation skills to provide legal representation in protection order and family law cases in tribal courts. The final week onsite at the University of Wisconsin Law School is a litigation boot camp that ensures our graduates can truly practice law after completing a 6-month, compressed version of law school,” says National Tribal Trial College Dean Hallie Bongar White. “The Certificate course is free, recognized by tribal courts across the nation, and is approved by the United States Department of Justice and by multiple ABA accredited law schools.”
The $500,000 award will also support a tuition free Certificate in Tribal Court Victim Advocacy and a 12-month, paid internship program with area criminal justice, legal services, and victim services agencies.
“Pawnee Nation College sits on the site of an Indian boarding school where so many native people suffered. It is truly a blessing that we can now empower native people on that same site to become legal services providers and advocates for victims of crime,” states Pawnee Nation College’s President of the Board of Trustees, Cordelia Clapp. “We are creating job opportunities and increasing the availability of no cost and affordable legal services for the entire area.”
Courses begin Fall semester 2024 and will be tuition free.
For more information contact:
Staci Burns sburns@pawneenationcollege.org
