List of Native American jurists facts for kids
This is a dynamic list of Native Americans who are or were judges, magistrate judges, court commissioners, administrative law judges or tribal court judges. If known, it will be listed if a judge has served on multiple courts and their tribal membership.
| Judge | Court/agency and years of service (if known) | State/territory | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abby Abinanti (Yurok) | San Francisco Superior Court (Commissioner: c. 1990–2011; 2014–2015); Yurok Tribal Court (1997–present; Chief Judge: 2007–present) | California | active |
| Dawn Baum (Menominee) | Yurok Tribal Court (appt. 2017-2023) | California | deceased |
| Jessica R. Bear (Meshwaki Nation) | Meskwaki Nation Tribal Court (2007–2013; Chief Judge: 2013–present) | Iowa | active |
| Jennifer D. Benally (Navajo) | District Court for the Navajo Nation (1984–1995) | Arizona | deceased |
| Robert A. Blaeser (Anishinaabe) | Fourth Judicial District-Hennepin County (1995–2012) | Minnesota | retired |
| Evelyne Bradley (Navajo) | Kayenta Judicial Court (1998–2014) | Arizona | active |
| Leo Brisbois (White Earth Band of Ojibwe) | United States District Court for the District of Minnesota (Magistrate Judge) (2010–present) | Minnesota | active |
| Sandy Dexter Brooks (Lumbee) | Robeson County Superior Court | North Carolina | deceased |
| Ada E. Brown (Choctaw Nation) | Fifth Court of Appeals of Texas (2013–2019); United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas (2019–present) | Texas | active |
| Michelle Brown-Yazzie (Navajo Nation) | Mescalero Apache Tribal Court (2011–present; Brown-Yazzie has served as a Chief Judge) | New Mexico | active |
| Michael Burrage (Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma) | United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma/United States District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma/United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma (1994–2001; Chief Judge: 1996–2001) | Oklahoma | resigned |
| Brooke Locklear Clark (Lumbee) | Robeson County District Court (2018–present) | North Carolina | active |
| Chantel Cloud (Southern Ute) | Southern Ute Tribal Court (2013–2018) | Colorado | inactive |
| Charles Cloud (Cherokee Nation) | Norfolk General District Court | Virginia | retired |
| Shirley Cogswell (Passamaquoddy) | Pleasant Point – Passamaquoddy Tribal Court | Maine | deceased |
| Walter Echo-Hawk (Pawnee) | Supreme Court of the Pawnee Nation | Oklahoma | active |
| Eldena Bear Don’t Walk (Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes) | Chief Justice of the Crow Tribe (2007–2011) | Montana | inactive |
| Fred W. Gabourie (Seneca people) | Los Angeles County Municipal Court (appointed 1976) | California | retired |
| Carrie Garrow (Akwesasne) | St. Regis Mohawk Tribal Court | New York | active |
| Lydia Kay Griggsby | United States Court of Federal Claims (2014–2021); United States District Court for the District of Maryland (2021–present) | Maryland | active |
| Keith Harper (Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma) | Mashantucket Pequot Tribe's Appellate Court (2001–2007); Supreme Court of the Poarch Band of Creek Indians (2007–2008) | Montana | inactive |
| P.J. Herne (Akwesasne) | St. Regis Mohawk Tribal Court (Chief Judge: appt. 2008) | New York | inactive |
| Sara E. Hill | United States District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma (2023–present) | Oklahoma | active |
| Gilbert Horn Sr. (Assiniboine) | Fort Belknap Tribal Juvenile Court | Montana | deceased |
| Diane Humetewa (Hopi) | Hopi Appellate Court (2002–2007); United States District Court for the District of Arizona (2014–present) | Arizona | active |
| Joey Jayne (Navajo) | Justice of the Peace in Lake and Sanders Counties (2012–2014) | Montana | resigned |
| William Bluehouse Johnson (Pueblo of Isleta) | Isleta Pueblo Appellate Court | New Mexico | active |
| William D. Johnson (Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation) | Umatilla Tribal Court (1980–present; Chief Judge: 1988–present) | Oregon | active |
| B.J. Jones | Chief Judge of the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate Court, Chief Judge of the Prairie Island Indian Community Court, Chief Justice of the Turtle Mountain Tribal Court of Appeals, Special Magistrate of the Non-Removable Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe Tribal Court, Associate Judge for the Fort Berthold District Court, Associate Judge for the Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Court, Associate Justice for the Oglala Sioux Tribal Court and the Flandreau-Santee Sioux Tribal Courts, Deputy Judge for the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe | North Dakota | inactive |
| Lauren J. King (Muscogee (Creek) Nation) | Northwest Intertribal Court System (2013–2021); United States District Court for the Western District of Washington (2021–present) | Washington | active |
| Gary Larance (Hopi) | Bishop Paiute Tribe Court (2020–present) | California | active |
| Ira Left Hand Sr. (Crow) | Tribal Court of the Crow Indian Reservation (c. 1980) | Montana | deceased |
| Patricia Lenzi (St. Regis Mohawk Tribe) | Court of Appeals, St. Regis Mohawk Tribe (2012– ; Chief Judge: 2020) | California | active |
| Brad Letts (Cherokee) | North Carolina 30th Judicial District Court (2000–2019) | North Carolina | retired |
| Gilbert M. Lopez | Los Angeles County Superior Court (2001–2020) | California | retired |
| Phil Lujan (Kiowa) | Citizen Potawatomi Nation Judge | Oklahoma | active |
| Merwin Lynch (Navajo) | Puerco District of Apache County (Justice of the Peace); Navajo Nation Supreme Court | Arizona | deceased |
| Kelly K.E. Mahoney (Chickasaw Nation of Oklahoma) | United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa (2016–present) | Iowa | active |
| Allie Greenleaf Maldonado (Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians) | Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians Tribal Court (2012–present) | Michigan | active |
| John Manydeeds (Standing Rock Sioux) | Eau Claire County Court (2016–present) | Wisconsin | active |
| Joshua D. Malcolm (Lumbee) | Chief Justice, Supreme Court of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina (2017–present) | North Carolina | active |
| John Martin (Cherokee) | Supreme Court of the Cherokee Nation (c. 1820s) | Tennessee | deceased |
| Lacy Maynor (Lumbee) | Maxton Recorder's Court (c. 1950s) | North Carolina | deceased |
| Angelica Chavis McIntyre (Lumbee) | Robeson County District Court (2018–present) | North Carolina | active |
| Anne McKeig (White Earth Band of Ojibwe) | Minnesota Fourth District Court (2008–2016); Minnesota Supreme Court (2016–present) | Minnesota | active |
| Robert Medina (Zia Pueblo) | Pueblo of Isleta Tribal Court & Justice; Southwest Intertribal Court of Appeals | New Mexico | active |
| Arvo Mikkanen (Comanche/Kiowa) | Court of Indian Offenses for the Anadarko Area Tribes (1988–1994); Supreme Court of the Cheyenne Arapaho Tribes (1991–1994). | Oklahoma | inactive |
| Andrea Miller | 12th Judicial District Court (2017– ) | Nebraska | active |
| Mark A. Montour (St. Regis Mohawk) | New York State Supreme Court (2013–present) | New York | active |
| Raquel Montoya-Lewis (Pueblo of Laguna) | Whatcom County Superior Court (2015–2020); Washington Supreme Court (2020–present) | Washington | active |
| Debra O’Gara (Tlingit) | Central Council of Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska (CCTHITA) Tribal Court (2007–present) | Alaska | active |
| Richard Osburn (Cherokee Nation) | Mille Lacs Band Tribal Court (2008–2014) | Minnesota | inactive |
| Patricia Paul (Iñupiat) | Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde Tribal Court | Oregon | active |
| Mary Peltola (Yup'ik) | Orutsararmiut Native Council Tribal Court (2020–2021) | Alaska | retired |
| James Phillips (Cherokee) | Grays Harbor County Superior Court (1929–1950) | Washington | deceased |
| Joseph Plumer (Leech Lake Band of Chippewa Indians) | Meskwaki Nation Tribal Court (2005–present; Plumer has served as a Chief Judge) | Iowa | active |
| David Raasch (Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohican Indians) | Stockbridge Munsee Tribal Court (elected in 2009) | Wisconsin | inactive |
| Dustin Rowe (Chickasaw) | Chickasaw Nation District Court (2005–2019); Oklahoma Supreme Court (2019–present) | Oklahoma | active |
| Steve Russell (Cherokee) | Austin Municipal Court (1978–1982); Travis County Court of Law No. 2 (1982–1995) | Texas | retired |
| Deborah L. Sanchez (Chumash) | Los Angeles County Superior Court (2006–present) | California | active |
| Frank Howell Seay (Cherokee) | United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma (1979–present) | Oklahoma | inactive |
| Debra Shopteese (Sac and Fox Nation) | Massachusetts State District Court (2011–present) | Massachusetts | active |
| Barbara Smith (Chickasaw Nation) | District Court Judge for the Chickasaw Nation; Supreme Court of the Chickasaw Nation | Oklahoma | deceased |
| Terri Smith (Northern Arapaho Tribe) | Wind River Indian Reservation Tribal Court | Wyoming | resigned |
| George W. Soule (White Earth Nation) | White Earth Band of Ojibwe and Prairie Island Indian Community Court of Appeals | Minnesota | active |
| Melvin R. Stoof (Rosebud Sioux Tribe) | Pascua Yaqui Trial Court (2004–present) | Arizona | active |
| Sunshine Sykes (Navajo) | Riverside County Superior Court (2013–2022); United States District Court for the Central District of California (2022– ) | California | active |
| William A. Thorne, Jr. (Pomo) | Utah Court of Appeals (1986–2013) | Utah | retired |
| Jill E. Tompkins (Penobscot) | Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Court of Appeals (2002) | Maine | active |
| Margaret Seelye Treuer (Ojibwe) | Bois Forte Tribal Court; Leach Lake Tribal Court; United States District Court of Minnesota (U.S. Magistrate) | Minnesota | deceased |
| Carol Jean Vigil (Pueblo) | New Mexico 1st Judicial District Judge (1998–2005) | New Mexico | deceased |
| Philip Viles (Cherokee) | Supreme Court of the Cherokee Nation (1976–2002; Viles served as Chief Justice during his tenure); Supreme Court of Georgia (Sitting judge: 1993) | Oklahoma | retired |
| Korey Wahwassuck (Cree) | Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe Tribal Court; Minnesota Ninth Judicial District | Minnesota | active |
| Sarah Wheelock (Meskwaki) | Minnesota Court of Appeals (2021– ) | Minnesota | active |
| Claudette C. White (Quechan Indian Tribe) | San Manuel Tribal Court (Chief Judge: 2018–2021) | California | deceased |
| Ronald J. Whitener (Squaxin Island Tribe) | Northwest Intertribal Court of Appeals; Chehalis Tribal Court of Appeals; Upper Skagit Tribal Court of Appeals | Washington | active |
| Samuel Winder (Southern Ute) | New Mexico Second Judicial District Court (2011–present) | New Mexico | active |
| Joseph J. Wiseman | Northern California Intertribal Court; Court of Appeals, Round Valley Indian Tribes | California | active |
Other topics of interest
- List of African-American jurists
- List of Asian American jurists
- List of Hispanic and Latino American jurists
- List of Jewish American jurists
- List of LGBT jurists in the United States
- List of first women lawyers and judges in the United States
- List of first minority male lawyers and judges in the United States
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List of Native American jurists Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.