Professor Diamond Re-Joins IPLP as Interim Director
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 In August Professor James Diamond returned to University of Arizona Law and the Indigenous Peoples Law and Policy (IPLP) Program. Professor Diamond will be serving as the Interim Director of the IPLP Program for the 2022-23 academic year, while IPLP faculty chair Professor Robert Williams takes a well-deserved sabbatical. Professor Diamond will have a wide range of responsibilities, including advising and mentoring students and teaching core courses in the Bachelor of Arts in Law (BA in Law) program.
While on sabbatical, Professor Williams will continue to support the work of UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples José Francisco Calí Tzay and work on projects related to the University of Arizona strategic plan.
During the 2021-22 academic year, Diamond was Visiting Professor at Roger Williams University School of Law where he taught Federal Indian Law, Tribal Courts, Law & Governments, Criminal Law, and Criminal Procedure. Diamond is also the Dean of Academic Affairs at the National Tribal Trial College (NTTC), where he trains victim advocates who work in tribal courts in domestic and sexual violence cases. He has been on the faculty of the NTTC since 2016.
He is the former founding Director of the IPLP Program's Tribal Justice Clinic and taught Tribal Courts and Tribal Law, and Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure in the BA in Law program at University of Arizona Law. Diamond was a Special Prosecutor in the Pascua Yaqui Tribal Court in Arizona.
Prior to teaching, Professor Diamond practiced law for 25 years in Connecticut. He achieved success as a criminal attorney as both a state prosecutor and a defense attorney. Diamond is certified by the National Board of Trial Advocacy as a criminal trial specialist, has extensive criminal trial experience, and was the lead lawyer in more than 1,000 criminal cases.
Diamond's academic research focuses on the aftermath of mass shootings and restorative justice. He is the author of the 2019 book: After the Bloodbath: Is Healing Possible in the Wake of Rampage Shootings? The book looks at the phenomenon of mass shootings and compares social and legal responses in Indigenous communities and non-Indigenous communities. Diamond is the author of numerous articles on the practice of law in tribal courts. This spring Professor Diamond published a law review article, “An Uncomfortable Truth: Law as A Weapon of Oppression of The Indigenous Peoples of Southern New England.”
▶️ Read the full article
Professor Diamond is admitted to practice law in three Tribal Courts, the States of Connecticut, New York and Arizona, and numerous federal courts, including the United States Supreme Court. Diamond obtained a doctoral degree (SJD) in Indigenous Peoples Law and Policy from University of Arizona Law, a juris doctor degree from Brooklyn Law School, and a bachelor’s degree from the State University of New York at Albany.
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IPLP Students Make an Impact While Gaining Valuable Experience
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Over the summer, IPLP students gained valuable experience working at Native non-profits, tribes, private firms, and the Pre-Law Summer Institute, all while making important contributions to the community.
 Second year law student Shania Kee (Navajo Nation) worked as a Teaching Assistant for Advocacy at the Pre-Law Summer Institute (PLSI) at the American Indian Law Center, Inc.
As a teaching assistant Shania assisted legal writing professors in classes and feedback, completed a bench memo sample with fellow teaching assistants for students in preparation for oral arguments, and made multiple presentations concerning case briefing, legal writing style, and persuasive techniques.
“Working with PLSI this summer has been meaningful because it helped improve my public speaking skills, sharpen my legal writing skills, and pushed me to present information in different ways. I am so honored to have been a part of these future lawyers’ careers as they were introduced to a law school environment. The connections that I have made this summer with fellow teaching assistants, professors, staff, and students are ones that I will take into the future as I continue my legal career,” said Shania.
 Rising 2L Callie Phillips (Eastern Band of Cherokee) served as a Summer Law Intern with the Attorney General Office for the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.
“The Attorney General's Office does many things for the tribe. My projects included note-keeping for our executive and legislative branch sessions, creating a political profile of our representatives, researching various topics, attending meetings with tribal departments, client meetings (mostly regarding property transactions), administrative hearings, ICWA cases in court, drafting resolutions and ordinances for tribal council, and meetings with state and federal lobbyists.
This summer has been amazing and I got to experience so many facets of tribal law. I had an amazing supervisor and co-workers that helped me understand so much and gave me plenty of opportunities to get hands-on experience. Working in my tribe's AG office this summer has been great! It has shown me how much I truly love the world of tribal politics and Indian law. I will be working remotely with my tribe throughout the upcoming year. It is my hope to return to my tribe a few years after graduating. I want to gain more experience before settling back at home, which my supervisor is extremely supportive of. I found a really great place to work this summer. I am very sad to leave and return to school, but it's been an amazing ride so far and I can't wait to see what is in store for my 2L year,” said Callie.
 Third year law student Rebecca Cohen worked as a summer law clerk for the Native American Rights Fund (NARF) in their Boulder office. “I have been providing research assistance for projects on Native American voting rights, protecting tribal sovereignty in the wake of the Castro-Huerta decision, and Native American land trusts. One of the most exciting projects I had the chance to help with was the drafting and submission of an amicus brief to the Supreme Court for their upcoming Voting Rights Act case, Merrill v. Milligan. Although I am working remotely, I have really appreciated being able to connect virtually with NARF's many lawyers across their three offices nationwide who are doing incredible work protecting Native Americans' civil rights, tribal sovereignty, and tribal lands and natural resources,” said Rebecca.
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Sinnai Avila (Maya) interned with the Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation (NHLC) this summer, where she learned how the State of Hawai'i aims to protect Native Hawaiians' burial rights, sacred sites, and water rights. Some of her projects included creating know-your-rights pamphlets on burial rights, water rights, and quieting title claims, and writing a memo on determining damages for the desecration of Indigenous sacred sites and items. She is also a research fellow with the IPLP Program, where she is creating a report dedicated to documenting the 20 Years of Indigenous Advocacy: A Celebration of the 20th Anniversary of the UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples conference held in the fall of 2021.
"NHLC's attorneys and their zealous advocacy for Native Hawaiian rights reaffirm my experience as a Maya Q'anjob'al law student seeking to serve Indigenous peoples in the fight for sovereignty rights, ancestral lands, and environmental justice,” said Avila. “I am grateful for the opportunity to learn from and support this critical work. There's strength in Indigenous peoples' solidarity, and I look forward to continuing to build alliances in the heart-centered work I do throughout my career.”
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Over the summer rising 2L Esperanza Campos (Cherokee/Mexican) worked as a Summer Judicial Extern through the Maricopa County Superior Court System.
“I worked on memos about legal issues in the Probate Division,” said Campos. “I introduced my judge to how probate works within Indigenous tribes. I was able to tour the Maricopa County Crime Lab, shadow the Public Defender's office and Juvenile Delinquency Courts, and tour the Public Fiduciary of Maricopa County.”
I did not know what probate was, but my externship had me jump right in and I was tasked with teaching another extern that started later in the summer, which helped me better understand how the Probate Division operates. Probate has expanded what I was introduced to in my 1L classes and although I may have not chosen it based on my lack of knowing, I am glad that my judge picked me and I am grateful that she also had the connections so I could attend other divisions,” said Campos.
 Slam Dunkley (Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape) is a rising 2L and President of the University of Arizona Native American Law Students Association chapter. This past summer, Slam worked as a Summer Associate at McCarter & English, LLP. Slam spent his summer traveling between the firm's Manhattan, Philadelphia, Newark, and Delaware locations. His work included legal research and memo writing on issues involving insurance allocation, river remediation, bankruptcy, and product liability involving pharmaceutical torts. He also provided the firm's clients with law updates from the Delaware Court of Chancery and shadowed multiple depositions, hearings, and trials. Beyond legal work, Slam attended numerous events including an associates retreat in the Poconos. Most notably, Slam had the opportunity to attend the Delaware Barristers' Louis L. Redding Gala, which recognized the life achievements of Delawares’ distinguished Black attorneys and judges. Slam was also invited by the firm's governmental affairs senior advisor to a campaign event supporting Georgia Senator Raphael Warnock, where he met senators, judges, and Julius Irving (Doctor J). Slam recently accepted an offer to continue his work at McCarter & English next summer.
"I am extremely blessed to have this opportunity,” said Dunkley. “McCarter & English is a big law firm with a close-knit feel and strives to make a difference. More importantly, it is based on my ancestral homelands and has enabled me to work on issues that directly affect my tribal community. I learned about the business side of running a law firm. Beyond that, the wide array of people that I have met, from senators to judges to the U.S. General Council of one of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies, has fired me up to keep grinding. Working at a firm like McCarter & English also made me realize that I need to appreciate and enjoy the rest of my time at school, while learning as much as possible. I am ready to face my 2L year and am excited to get back to the grind with the squad."
 IPLP SJD candidate Irene Namae (Mugisu) had two positions over the summer. She worked as a legal researcher at FLOW (For Love of Water), an NGO in Michigan that works on ensuring the waters of the Great Lakes Basin are healthy. As legal researcher, Irene worked to help FLOW develop a recommendation for a humanitarian exception to the Great Lakes Compact’s limitation on water diversions. Irene canvassed existing international and national laws, policies, and strategies for responding to humanitarian crises due to water shortages, distilling the elements that are most critical to providing humanitarian assistance while protecting local water resources, integrating the elements into a policy recommendation that makes Great Lakes water available for limited humanitarian reasons without compromising the ecological and cultural integrity of the Great Lakes Basin.
“My experience with FLOW has remarkably impacted my career, said Namae. “As an SJD candidate now immersed in research, my work with FLOW has ironed and sharpened my research skills. It exposed me to complex issues and taught me that there must always be resolutions to a problem. FLOW has grounded my research and analytical skills which are very critical for any researcher. I verily trust that I will sail through my SJD dissertation and will apply the skills and knowledge acquired to advocate for preservation of water sources, especially those of Indigenous communities that are prone to privatization.”
Irene also worked as a summer Law Clerk with the Navajo Nation Department of Justice, Office of the Attorney General, supporting the work of the Chief Prosecutor of the Navajo Nation. Her duties included drafting legal analyses of criminal cases for prosecution in Navajo Nation courts and observing various criminal case proceedings in the Navajo Nation courts. She has also been working with the Chief Prosecutor on preparing a writ and researching the laws and evidence that can support the case.
“This experience has grounded my Federal Indian law learned in the classroom. I feel very privileged to have got the practical experience of working on live cases in tribal courts and have come to experience the real meaning of tribal sovereignty and self-determination. I must say Navajo Nation has the most robust tribal court system and has by far achieved the status of blending its native laws with Anglo American law, in addition to having strong governance structures. After law school I hope to employ what I have learned here to ensure that the right of Indigenous peoples to self-determination, especially in Africa where I am from, is recognized and practically enforced.”
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IPLP alumnus Leonard Mukosi (SJD, '22) recently published "Extraction of Personal Data: A New Form of Colonialism or Continuation of a Colonial Practice? Adult Native American Adoptees Resist Assimilation and Rebuild Erased Identities" in the American Indian Law Journal.
Abstract
A new form of colonialism, distinctive of the 21st century is reported to be taking shape: data colonialism. Data colonialism interprets the contemporary capture and processing of personal data by governments or data corporations as an evolution of historical colonialism. The main argument made in this paper is that; to construe contemporary data relations through the lens of colonialism, as a preliminary step, it is worth revisiting and examining the contents of historical colonialism.
▶️ Read the full article
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Arizona Attorney Magazine Indian Law Edition
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The special Indian law edition of Arizona Attorney Magazine includes some important articles by IPLP alumni and faculty:
- "Indigenous Erasure in Public Schools" by Arizona Law alumni Mia Hammersley and Wouter Zwart
- "ICWA - the Gold Standard" by Arizona Law alumni Tara Hubbard and Fred Urbina
- "Oral History on Trial" by IPLP Professor Robert Hershey
▶️ Read the special edition
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Rebecca Tsosie’s latest article in the Journal of American Indian Education, “Tribal Self-Determination in Higher Education: The Role of Legal Education in Nation Building,” explores the role of legal education in building tribal sovereignty, which is a core feature of self-determination for tribal governments within the United States.
▶️ Read the full article
After over a century of dismissing tribes’ rightful claims as senior water rights holders, despite pivotal court rulings, legislation and federal policies, tribal leaders from ten Indigenous communities whose lands converge with the Colorado River were included in panels and discussions during the annual meeting of the Colorado River Water Users Association. Heather Whiteman Runs Him, the director of the Tribal Justice Clinic at University of Arizona Law weighs in at Yahoo News.
▶️ Read the full article
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Critical Race Theory Summer School
Professor Williams was a featured speaker, alongside University of Arizona Professor Stephanie Russo Carrol and IPLP alumni Gabe Galanda and Michelle cook, for the Teaching Truth to Power: Critical Race Theory Summer School, which took place July 18-22.
Teaching Truth to power was organized by Kim Crenshaw's African American Policy Forum. This year marks the third Critical Race Theory Summer School and this was the first time there was a full week of classes focused on Indigenous peoples' issues and the intersections with Critical Race Theory and Practice.
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Connect with IPLP
Please email us about your professional accomplishments, awards, news about your advocacy work, new additions to your family, or updates to your contact information to LAW-IPLP@email.arizona.edu.
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Land Acknowledgement
We respectfully acknowledge the University of Arizona is on the land and territories of Indigenous peoples. Today, Arizona is home to 22 federally recognized tribes, with Tucson being home to the O’odham and the Yaqui. Committed to diversity and inclusion, the University strives to build sustainable relationships with sovereign Native Nations and Indigenous communities through education offerings, partnerships, and community service.
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